After months of planning for a day of community celebration, the BG BOOM Festival and Fireworks on July 3 was a huge success. Despite a couple of errant rain showers, the BG BOOM Festival and Fireworks was a hit for the community. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the day was the expanded 35-minute firework display put on by Rozzi Fireworks, which drew rave reviews and left the crowd cheering.
“We couldn’t be happier with the attendance and for the people that have reached out to the Chamber with congratulations and thanks,” said Mary Hinkelman, executive director for the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce. “It is always nice to hear this when your team has worked so hard on putting all this together. The vision of bringing the community together to celebrate Independence Day with a festival in addition to the fireworks has proven successful in just two years. A family could attend without worry of the cost to enjoy the inflatables and the games. This is all done with the generous sponsorships and donations of the businesses, organizations, and people in our community.”
Prior to the event, a logistics meeting was held to cover every detail of the event. This meeting was attended by at least one representative of all offices, departments and organizations who had a part in the event, including City Administration, BG Fire Department, BG Police Department and WC Sheriff’s Office, Rozzi Fireworks, Northwest Ohio Tractor Pullers Association, Wood County Agriculture Society Fair Board, BG Area Community Band, Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce and Visit BG Ohio.
The Northwest Ohio Tractor Puller Association Board of Directors yet again played a big role in the event by allowing Rozzi to use their property for the fireworks launch site. Additionally, the NWOTPA made sure the field was cut, baled, and cut again to provide ideal conditions for the fireworks launch.
Additionally, the Wood County Agriculture Society was a major help in setting up and preparing for the festival. They worked hard to set up chairs for the community band, picnic tables and trash cans across the Fairgrounds, set up roadblocks to control traffic flow around the Fairgrounds, and more.
The support from the City of Bowling Green Fire, Police and Public Works Departments were a huge asset to the event. Behind the scenes planning and preparations tend to go unnoticed, but they were essential to making this event safe and successful. Safety features were installed at the launch site to specifications of the State Fire Marshal, the mortar set up and the pyrotechnics were also inspected. It was important to have their presence at the event in case their immediate response was needed. The Chamber respected the level of attention that these departments gave to this event for the safety of our community.
The Wood County Sheriff’s office provided security of the launch site, patrolled the festival, and helped the Chamber with golf carts for transportation needs. The Sheriff’s office also provided drone coverage of the firework launch site to identify any potentially unsafe hot spots. The Sheriff’s Auxiliary presence at the festival was also appreciated and they offered the security of a quick response if needed.
Kristen Kreienkamp, event lead for the Chamber of Commerce, was the main point person throughout the planning process and on the day of the event. She coordinated all of the social media efforts, led Project Team planning meetings and the logistics meeting, and much more to make the event possible.
Events of this scale cannot be successful without a strong committee that backed Kreienkamp. The BG Chamber Fireworks Project Team met for months to create and monitor the plan for fundraising, volunteer recruitment and the overall event. The committee is made up of Chamber Investors that volunteer to serve. The Project Team’s Chairperson, Mark Cassin (State Bank and BGCC Secretary), was assisted by committee members Greg Esposito (InTech IT Solutions and BGCC Past President), Melinda Kale (Work Leads to Independence), Thom Headley (BG Area Community Band), Kat Patterson (Visit BG Ohio), Victoria Schroeder (Wal-Mart), Tom Kehres (Wal-Mart), and Chris Gulgin (BioFit).
The Chamber appreciates each person who was able to support the event through sponsorship, donation, fundraiser or by being a volunteer. Volunteers make the BG BOOM Festival and Fireworks, and the Chamber would like to thank those that volunteered during the festival, as well as the group of 20 volunteers that came out to assist in cleaning up the fairgrounds on July 4. For a full list of donations and sponsors, head over to bgchamber.net/annual.
New Chamber partners provided activities, face painting and more. The Chamber encourages anyone interested in taking part in the 2024 Festival to contact the Chamber.
The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce supports an environment for the development and success of business within the Bowling Green area. The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce celebrates, educates and strengthens its investors through business improvement events, grants, services, leadership, legislative updates, and group savings programs. They are your community connection via ‘The Morning Show’ radio program WBGU 88.1FM, Wood County Safety Council, annual awards, Holiday Parade and BG BOOM Fireworks Festival. The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce is celebrating 87 years; Established 1936.
Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce
