By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
While Osoyoos’ favourite fireworks guru Frank Zandvliet might be the best-known character in the Osoyoos Fireworks cast, fund-raising chief Annette Star and her team have a crucial job in raising the funds to pay for that magical 30 minutes of pyrotechnic delight.
Indeed Star’s job is ever more important this year because of the goal of raising twice as much money as normal – which is why for the first time she has a tiny, but mighty team of five people helping her in the task.
“We are aiming to raise $95,000,” she says with such conviction I’m already won over. “Usually we raise around $40-45,000 but because this is the 25th anniversary and also we haven’t had it for two years,” she says in an apparent desire to literally ‘go big or go home’.
‘Going big’ is the likely watchword for this summer’s events, with extra big, extra enthusiastic crowds eager to shake off the pandemic doldrums fully expected to flood into Osoyoos and Oliver throughout the summer and into the fall.
Richard McGuire photo
Star notes accommodation in Osoyoos has been sold out for the July 1 weekend for quite some time. “With COVID people haven’t gotten out and you just cannot get a hotel in town for that weekend,” she said.
“Usually, we have about 30,000 people watching the fireworks which don’t start until about 10 p.m. when it gets dark but people start lining the beach at about 7 p.m. and it’s all the way around the lake. I would say we’re probably looking at having 40-50,000 people here,” this Canada Day she says. The Osoyoos fireworks are informally touted to be the second-largest in Canada after Ottawa’s.
Fundraising has basically just started Star says, ever conscious of the approaching Cherry Fiesta/Canada Day long weekend. “It’s coming in kind of bits and pieces,” she says noting the weather has been unkind.
“People don’t want to donate or think about fireworks when it’s lousy weather,” she says. But she and her team are slowly making their way around town, dividing and conquering. One takes the Industrial Park, another the Main Street businesses, another the wineries, while Star takes the hotels, motels and resorts.
Richard McGuire photo
While many people might think that there has been an accumulated budget for fireworks due to the two-year pandemic-induced hiatus, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“We go to each and every business in Osoyoos including the wineries but we couldn’t do it because of being under lockdown and we knew we couldn’t have fireworks anyway, plus a lot of the businesses were hurting so it’s kind of hard to go and ask for money when the events not gonna happen and half the places aren’t even open,” she says.
The fireworks coffer got a boost earlier this year when the Town of Osoyoos kicked in $8,000 and the Elks Club gave $1,000 more recently.
Star has recently created a GoFundMe page for the fireworks which can be found here and she is asking people to help share the page.
Many people drop off their donations and local supermarkets have old, one-metre tall firework canisters for donations. Various stores around town as well as Town Hall have donation tins available too. Personal donations are tax-deductible and a receipt will be given if requested.
Businesses will get a receipt straight away, but the tax-deductible receipt will only be mailed out next January. Star says people can also call her directly to arrange donations, at 250-495-6227.
Volunteers will also be soliciting donations on the night of the fireworks. Star added that she will be working at the Elks Beer Garden during Cherry Fiesta and donations can be made there as well.
Star says the fireworks are ordered from an Alberta company which in turn is supplied by a company in Portugal.
She’s already plunked down a deposit and soon she will give Zandvliet a rough number to work with for placing an order. Two to three weeks prior to the event she will provide a final number and the order will be finalized.
Richard McGuire photo
