The co-organizers of a cancelled Canada Day fireworks show in London maintain that it is only a hiatus. The east London fireworks display is the second show to be scrapped in advance of the nation’s birthday celebrations. “We did everything we could to save the day, I guess you can say. But this year they will be unfortunately cancelled,” said Bethany Mejia, executive director of the Argyle Business Improvement Association (BIA). The decision comes down to money. An annual $8,000 federal grant for the show was cut in half just a few weeks ago. That left little time for organizers to ask sponsors to dig deeper in tough economic times. “We’re all feeling it right now, not just businesses,” Mejia said, while adding that another factor is the rising cost of displays, saying, “It has gone up to about $14,000 this past year.” That’s a $4,000 price increase in just five years, a big hit according to event creative director Leah Thomas. “It is essentially half of our budget. We can do so, so much programming and entertainment and activities during the day with so much less,” she said. Daytime events at the East Lions Community Centre will include everything from facepainting to a live wrestling show. When the event is complete, Mejia said the focus will return to setting off a 2027 fireworks display over east London. “We’re just saying, let’s pivot to 2027. Let’s have a great Canada Day fireworks celebration next year,” she said. Over the past few years, the BIA and its partner, the Optimist Club of East London, have explored options to meet noise, pet, environmental and safety concerns surrounding fireworks. Drones are an option, but an expensive one, according to Thomas. “Whatever you would pay for the fireworks is about 5,000. On top of that, if not a little bit more for kind of the same programming,” she said. East Londoners looking for a public fireworks display on Canada Day have options. They include the City of London display at Harris Park, and community displays in White Oaks and Summerside.
