The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Crested Butte says bring the evening concert downtown, too
Instead of one big finale for the Fourth of July fireworks, the upper end of the valley could end up with two smaller shows this summer. The debate over where to launch the holiday fireworks is not over. Representatives from Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte and the Chamber of Commerce are still arguing over where to light the fuse.
The Crested Butte Town Council officially passed a motion at the Monday, May 17 meeting insisting the fireworks be launched from Crested Butte. “It’s an issue of fairness,” stated mayor Leah Williams.
Mt. Crested Butte mayor William Buck said he too thought it was a matter of fairness. “Having the daytime activities on the Fourth of July downtown in Crested Butte and having the nighttime activities on the mountain, including a concert at the Base Area, seems fair to us and the people I’ve spoken with,” he said. “We are trying to help round out the guest experience. So at the moment, I don’t know where we are. I’ll try to touch base with the other council members but we don’t have a meeting even scheduled until June.”
The Crested Butte council came to its conclusion after a presentation by Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce Director Richard Bond at the regular Monday meeting. Bond stood by his recommendation to have the fireworks originate in Mt. Crested Butte. He laid out an argument that of the 53 scheduled hours of events surrounding the Fourth of July, starting with Friday’s Black and White Ball and stretching to Monday’s late-afternoon Alpenglow concert, only two hours of activity were scheduled for Mt. Crested Butte.
There is a July 4th Mama’s Cookin’ concert slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Base Area.
Bond presented a color-coded chart to the council exemplifying the split in activities. “This chart was to show the scope of the weekend and also the location of the events,” Bond told the council. “In the interest of working with Mt. Crested Butte and CBMR, it seems logical and a great community decision to hold the fireworks in conjunction with the evening concert on the mountain. The tests we did Sunday showed there was not a site that would provide good viewing for both towns.”
Everyone on the council appeared to agree that the Sunday evening tests confirmed there was not a good launch site that accommodated both communities. As for the scope of events, Williams pointed out that many of the scheduled events were fundraisers from private groups like the local museum. “I appreciate that outline but we are talking specifically about the fireworks,” she said. “Last year the Chamber requested we change the venue and we moved them at the last minute. We also agreed to alternate the location between the two towns each year out of a sense of fairness. Traffic last year was a nightmare and people stopped me on the streets saying they hated losing it from town.”
Councilperson John Wirsing is the town representative on the Chamber board of directors. “I understand the schedule but if everything else on the Fourth is down here it seems like a lot of work to motivate people to move up the mountain,” he said. “If the Mama’s Cookin’ concert is a Chamber-sponsored event, the concert could be held downtown in light of the numbers of people already down here. Also, in light of last year’s understanding, the hand of cooperation doesn’t seem to be moving in this direction at all. The Saturday activities on your schedule aren’t for everyone. Maybe put the concert up there on Saturday. It’s not like the fireworks are going to draw people up to buy hiking boots in Flatiron at 9 o’clock on the Fourth of July when the fireworks are going off.”
Councilperson Roland Mason seconded that thought. “With all the open space on your schedule for Monday, July 5, there is an opportunity for a great full-day concert on the mountain. I know a lot of families might hesitate to take the kids to a concert with that band atmosphere and a lot of people drinking and partying. They want a different vibe. They want a place they can roll out the blanket in the park, relax and watch the fireworks.
“In town is the best place to watch the fireworks at this end of the valley,” Mason continued. “This is supposed to be for the people, not for the politicians or the businesses. The idea is to get people to come back next year and that will help everyone, including the businesses.”
It was councilperson Phoebe Wilson’s turn. “You mention the idea of working together,” she said. “Then honor the agreement the two towns came to last year. When two parties get this set in their ways, it’s only fair to move it back and forth.”
Councilperson Reed Betz noted he voted against moving the fireworks from town last year and is even more adamant this year. “I appreciate you trying to spread the love but it’s not about taking events that make sense in town and trying to plug them in somewhere else,” he said. “This is a ridiculous conversation to even be having. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I agree that the best thing might be to have Mama’s Cookin’ playing downtown that night at the Center for the Arts. The understanding between the towns last year was to have them down here. They belong down here.”
Bond responded that the Chamber was indeed “trying to spread the love. We are the Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber and we are funded by both towns. But ultimately it’s not a Chamber decision. It is up to the two towns to work out. I believe the Mt. Crested Butte Base Area is the best place to gather people together to view the fireworks but it’s up to you and Mt. Crested Butte to decide and I hope you do it soon because we have to make a financial commitment soon.”
Bond sent a letter to Williams after the meeting expressing his disappointment. While some have suggested two separate fireworks shows, he thinks that would be a bad idea. As for the charge that an agreement was made between the two towns to alternate sites each year, Bond states, “There was no such agreement to alternate the locations; there was only a suggestion that ‘it may make sense,’ as recorded in the attached minutes from the June 1, 2009 Council meeting. Mayor Buck attended that meeting. If there had been an agreement of any kind, he would have party to it. Don’t you agree?”
And so as it stands, there is little agreement at all over this issue. And fireworks on the Fourth of July are still in limbo at this end of the valley.
