Thursday, July 5, 2012
Patch compares the costs of displays in Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park, Glenview, Northbrook and Deerfield.
While some Illinois municipalities have canceled fireworks or combined forces to save money in recent years, the show goes on in the north suburbs. Between Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park, Glenview, Northbrook and Deerfield, Chicago’s North Shore will spend nearly $200,000 on fireworks this year. Among those suburbs, the most expensive display is the one in Wilmette, which rings in at $40,000, according to Steve Wilson, executive director of the Wilmette Park District. Including entertainment, set up and staff time, the total bill for the day comes to $60,000, Wilson said. The least expensive display is Deerfield’s, put on by the city at a cost of $9,500, according to Andrew Lichterman, management analyst for the …
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Volunteer lakefront and fireworks director Dave Sniader, who has helped coordinate the city’s pyrotechnics since the ’80s, explains what makes a good fireworks song and how he sets the sound system up.
If you’re going to set off fireworks to music—as Evanston has for more than 30 years—you’ll need a song list with just the right ingredients. Good “fireworks shooting music” must be popular, have some patriotic element, a varying score and “a terrific beat,” according to Dave Sniader, volunteer lakefront and fireworks director for the Evanston 4th of July Association. Though he's a Winnetka resident, Sniader has helped coordinate the music for Evanston's fireworks display for the past three decades. The 18 songs in this year’s set will offer a little something for everybody, he says, from old favorites like the 1812 Overture to pop songs from 2012. Many of the selections will commemorate anniversaries—like the 50th anniversary of …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Animals with anxiety or just great hearing tend to get scared on the 4th of July. From snug clothes to rock n' roll, there are ways to keep pets calm when the fireworks go boom.
It's very common for pets to get scared this time of year. Fireworks and thunderstorms can startle the tamest animals. Jill Korfist, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the Northbrook Animal Clinic offered some tips to keep your furry friends calm when it starts to sounds like the sky is falling.
Monday, July 2, 2012
A Patch photographer gives advice on capturing the sparkle in the sky.
Capturing fireworks on camera is a challenge that can be mastered easily with the right equipment and settings on your camera. Here is a short tutorial to help you snap great photos of the rockets' red glare as they explode over Evanston this Fourth of July. Equipment needed:
Friday, June 29, 2012
Patch has put together a collaborative map of all the best spots. We'd love you to share your favorite spots to enjoy the festivities, too.
Communities all over the Chicago area will offer fireworks in the coming days. Patch has put together a map of all the Fourth of July festivities occurring in the north and northwest suburbs, including the fireworks at Clark Street Beach in Evanston. Please, add all your favorite spots to watch fireworks to our public collaborative map. You can also post it in the comments! You can offer tips about where to park or the best place to unpack the picnic, or just let us know which town offers the best show. The map shows pins with all the area fireworks shows and links back to the important details — when, where and how to get there. If you need any more information from us, just let us know. And you can drop a pin on the map, too, to help out…
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The host of “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me” will be filming for a documentary during Evanston’s July Fourth celebration.
Gunning down the streets of Evanston on his “We the People” Road King motorcycle, NPR’s Peter Sagal will join the city’s Fourth of July festivities this year. The host of the radio station’s news quiz “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me” will be in town shooting footage for a PBS documentary on the Constitution, set to debut in spring 2013, according to Fourth of July Association President Joan Ducayet. “Peter his film crew will take part in our pie-eating contest and the Lincolnwood playground games, talk to Evanstonians about their feelings about the Constitution, and take a ride in the parade on his motorcycle,” Ducayet said. The PBS film crew will be recording Sagal’s appearance, along with stock footage of various events in town. “So when …
Jennifer Fisher
10:09 am on Tuesday, July 10, 2012
$40,000 is the total cost for the fireworks in Wilmette. Counting payroll, entertainment and setup, the celebrations were $60,000. more ›