Naval Station Great Lakes will not host its annual fireworks show because of too many other events, but the base commander hopes to reinstate it next year on Ross Field.
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“We regret having to cancel this celebration. We know that it is a centerpiece of many area residents’ summer,” Capt. Raymond C. Leung said.
Multiple events scheduled on base during the same week, including a recruit graduation and Navy ROTC graduation, have made it hard to plan the event while maintaining the same high level of safety festivalgoers have come to expect, according to a statement.
Rather than hosting a downgraded event, the commanding officer decided to cancel it for this year.
“Although we don’t know for certain, we hope that we can bring the event back bigger and better in 2021,” Leung said.
North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham said the cancellation is unfortunate, “but it’s a safety concern of theirs. (The) commander wants to make sure everyone is safe.”
The city has been holding its fireworks on Community Day, the first weekend of August, so not to conflict with the base celebration that draws people from all over but especially those service men and women and their families that live there, Rockingham added.
“They’re the ones the event is really for, the Navy personnel. We look forward to it coming back,” he said.
In the past, the Fourth of July festival was a two-day event with live music the first night and then a performance by the Navy Band and fireworks the second night, with carnival rides for families on both days.
Last year, it was a one-day event, and organizers learned the carnival ride operators don’t do just one-day contracts, so the rides were replaced by some bouncy houses, said John Sheppard, spokesman for the base.
“It wasn’t the same. We want to do it right,” he said.