This Monday, the Freedom Festival fireworks show at Alton Baker Park is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
A major fundraiser for the Eugene Active 20-30 Club, the weekend-long event is bringing the Club and Maude Kerns Arts Center together to benefit a number of children’s charities in Eugene.
“The Club has always found creative ways to raise money for the children’s charities in the community,” Emily Gray, the Club’s publicity contact said in an email, “And a fireworks display definitely fits into that.”
The fundraising for this year’s special weekend-long celebration will also benefit the Maude Kearns Arts Center, which will be providing live music, food and supplying the fireworks that will be launched by the Active Club.
The Art and the Vineyard, a joint event at Alton Baker Park that will be put on by the Arts Center is bringing together over 90 artists and 20 vineyards to pair with the fireworks show coordinated by the Active 20-30 Club.
Over 70 years, the Freedom Festival has earned itself a reputation as a staple in Eugene. The show has moved around the city, appearing at Autzen Stadium and the Fairgrounds before landing in Alton Baker Park.
Holding to tradition, the festival also represents one of the few hand-launched fireworks shows in Lane County. Most other shows operate using quick match wire to launch their fireworks.
“It’s a blast!” Tyson Woodard, Fireworks chairperson for the festival said in an email, “It’s a lot of fun and an adrenaline filled experience.”
According to Woodard, the experience of putting on a hand-launched show is rewarding for the adrenaline junky as well as the organization itself.
“It’s a great team building experience,” Woodard said, “[From] having to build the fireworks shoot from the ground up [to] rubber banding the fuses in place.”
Fireworks team members can also use the experience from this show as a way to earn their Oregon Pyrotechnic license if they wish to pursue one.
As storied as the show has become, the Active 20-30 Club has been present in Eugene even longer.
“This is a very long standing tradition for our club,” Loni Waltasti, the Active Club’s president said in an email, “We are celebrating 89 years as an organization supporting the children in Eugene. All of the money we raise through sponsorships helps us with our work in the community.”
Community engagement is a selling point for Woodard and the fireworks crew. When they are planning their show, they do so knowing that more than just paid attendees will be witnessing their work.
“Hundreds of people line up in the streets surrounding the shoot,” Woodard said, “Hundreds more will watch from inside the Art and the Vineyard, which is the best view beside the one we have inside the drop zone.”
Day passes for the fireworks show are $9 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-14, and free for all kids younger than six years. Weekend passes to all days of the celebration are $16.