Updated 8:46 p.m., July 21–
By Mike Hazlip— Thousands of onlookers used to flock to the Sunrise Mall area each year to celebrate the Fourth of July with a popular annual fireworks show. The shows were discontinued after 2011, but support for bringing back shows have been simmering ever since.
Councilman Bret Daniels told The Sentinel earlier this month that he’s had some discussions with the city manager and Sunrise MarketPlace Executive Director Kathilynn Carpenter about bringing back the fireworks show and said he is “hopeful that will happen next year.” However, Carpenter told The Sentinel in an email Wednesday that putting on the show is no small task.
“Generally around 10,000 people would attend spread out among the mall, Birdcage and Citrus Town Center,” Carpenter said. “It’s a very expensive event with fireworks cost and police costs. I don’t see the mall paying for this.”
Carpenter said the Sunrise MarketPlace board would still be open to review any proposals for a fireworks show, but said the city would have to provide funds or waive costs for police and traffic control.
“It’s really up to the city,” she said.
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Asked about the potential to bring back the show, city spokesman Elyjah Wilbur said any plans for a new fireworks show “would require careful consideration of impacts, fiscal and logistical implications, viability, identification of potential partners and alignment with the Community’s priorities.”
Wilbur said past shows were hosted by the marketplace “with cooperation and assistance” from the city. He said the final decision to retire the fireworks display was made by the marketplace, but Carpenter disputes that and says “it was totally a mall event and the mall’s decision to stop them.”
A 2012 news release from Sunrise Mall indicates the decision was made by the mall, and an email from the mall’s former manager in 2018 also confirmed the decision was made by the mall. The Sunrise MarketPlace is a business improvement district made up of hundreds of businesses in the Sunrise-Greenback commercial corridor, including Sunrise Mall.
In an article published in 2018, The Sentinel quoted the mall’s manager saying the fireworks show was discontinued due in part to it “becoming a safety and fire danger concern.” Cost and future development plans for vacant pads in the mall’s parking lot were also cited as reasons.
The idea to bring back the show has been popular in local social media channels, generating largely positive comments from residents. Some have said it could be a way to curb illegal fireworks use, giving people a legal option for viewing aerial displays.
Update: This article has been updated to include comment from Sunrise MarketPlace clarifying that the decision to discontinue the aerial fireworks show was made by Sunrise Mall.
Want to share your thoughts on bringing back a fireworks show to Citrus Heights? Click here to submit a letter to the editor online.
By Mike Hazlip—
Thousands of onlookers used to flock to the Sunrise Mall area each year to celebrate the Fourth of July with a popular annual fireworks show. The shows were discontinued after 2011, but support for bringing back shows have been simmering ever since.
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