Lewes plans Fourth of July fireworks

As the Cape Region bids farewell to another summer season, Lewes officials are hard at work to add a little fireworks to the 2018 season. 

Lewes Mayor and City Council held a workshop Aug. 31 with the sole purpose to discuss hosting a Fourth of July fireworks show next summer. 

“We get more phone calls about Fourth of July fireworks than any other subject for about a two-week period,” said Betsy Reamer, executive director of the Lewes Chamber of Commerce. “If you’re visiting from some other place, you’re naturally interested in going to fireworks.” 

She said fireworks would be a perfect cap to Lewes’ Fourth of July celebration that already includes old-fashioned children’s games on Second Street, a boat parade in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal and the Doo-Dah Parade down Kings Highway and Savannah Road.

Mayor Ted Becker said there’s been a tremendous response since the state fire marshal attended a city council meeting in June to strongly urge officials to enforce state law on illegal fireworks. 

For many years, Lewes residents and visitors took advantage of traditionally light enforcement, setting up and launching their own fireworks along Lewes Beach.

This year, though, the entire Lewes police force was on duty patrolling the beach to deter people.

Lewes groups support fireworks

After discussing options with four local, regional and national fireworks companies, Becker said, the estimated cost for a 15- to 20-minute fireworks show is $40,000 to $45,000. 

“That is not an inconsequential amount of money,” he said. “I have had numerous people and some businesses approach me and say they were interested in seeing this go forward, and they would be willing to contribute.”

The city has also heard from representatives from Lewes Yacht Club, Lewes Chamber of Commerce, Lewes Historical Society, Delaware River and Bay Authority and Cape Henlopen State Park, and all are willing to help with planning a Fourth of July fireworks show next summer. 

“I thought it was going to be over $100,000,” said resident Russ Palmer. “I don’t think you’ll have any problem raising money for fireworks, so you can have a slush fund for the following year, which would be a positive thing also.” 

Heath Gehrke, director of Cape May-Lewes Ferry operations, said the ferry would likely host a party at the Lewes terminal if a sanctioned show were to come to fruition. He said it could also alleviate some traffic concerns because the terminal parking lot and property are capable of holding more than 300 vehicles. He’d also be willing to shuttle people to the terminal via the ferry’s buses, he said. 

The new Lewes Transit Center park and ride is one location where visitors could park to avoid traffic before and after the fireworks, he said. 

Kay Carnahan, chair of the Lewes Planning Commission, said community outreach could result in other parking opportunities at schools and churches. 

“For a couple of hours, parking is going to be scary,” she said. “I have no doubt with three entrances we can make it work.”

Regional or Lewes event?

Some members of the public urged council to make the show a community event to keep the numbers down. 

“I would think this would be a Lewes town event, and there would be no need to advertise it or promote it,” said resident Barbara Warnell. “I don’t see a benefit to trying to bus people in here. I don’t think it was ever the intent to, all of a sudden, provide fireworks for the county.” 

Resident Debra Evalds suggested the city close all entrances at a certain time and not let anyone enter unless they prove they’re from Lewes. 

“I’ve seen it done in Narberth, Pa.,” she said. 

Reamer disagreed, saying the Lewes community is much greater than the city limits. 

“People who live on the other side of Route 1 who have a Lewes address consider this their community,” she said. “I think it would be very offensive to a lot of people to find out that we're going to be selective.” 

What’s the best location?

There is also a question about where to launch the fireworks. Unlike Rehoboth Beach, which has the Boardwalk and a long stretch of beach, a show from the beach in Lewes would require the city to shut down most of its public beach for six to 10 hours because the state requires a radius of at least 200 feet for safety. As the fireworks increase in size, the radius grows. 

The likely launch location would be from a barge in the bay, Becker said. The challenge with an offshore launch is finding a barge to rent for the event. The closest company Becker has found is in Galesville, Md. The company offers barges of varying sizes that can be trailered to Lewes. Larger barges are available, but they would likely come with extra expense, as they are too large for the road and would have to be towed to Lewes.

Aaron Jackson, owner and operator of Brothers Pyrotechnics, attended the workshop and said his company has its own barge but could work with a rented or owned barge. 

He said the negative for using his company’s barge is that it would have to be on land for set up and then towed out to its launch location, meaning a section of Lewes Beach would have to be closed. 

Jackson urged council to consider buying its own barge if it plans to make Fourth of July fireworks an annual event. By acquiring a barge, the city would not incur the annual expense of renting and transporting a barge to Lewes. 

Other locations discussed were Cape Henlopen State Park and the Virden Center. 

Mayor and city council is expected to vote on Fourth of July fireworks at its Monday, Sept. 11 meeting. For more information, call city hall at 302-645-7777.