Grimes holds its biggest summer celebration in June, when the whole town turns out for Governor’s Day. And on July 4, a fireworks display will light up the night sky.
After Governor’s Day fireworks were rained out one year, the show was moved to July 4, and it has stayed that way ever since, said Brian Buethe, executive director of the Grimes Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development, which is organizing the display, formally titled the Home Base Grimes Independence Fireworks show.
“It works out well, because we are a Home Base Iowa community, and that’s a designation that we had to work for and then apply for and receive through the state of Iowa,” Buethe told the Grimes Journal in a telephone interview.
“Essentially, that says we are veteran friendly,” he explained. “We recruit from the veteran community. If they are leaving military service to come to our community and be part of our community, then we provide a certain number of benefits that they can receive if they choose to call Grimes home.”
The city’s designation and commitment to hiring and helping veterans is something to celebrate on July 4, he said, even though most other festivities associated with summer occur in June.
“When it comes to July 4, we just encourage people to get together with their neighbors and family, and celebrate the many freedoms that they have that whole day, and then end their day with a great patriotic fireworks display down at the sports complex.”
The display is slated to begin around 9:50 or 10 p.m. at the complex on South James Street. It will be accompanied by music, and there will be a snow cone vendor available to people who arrive early. There is plenty of parking there, Buethe said, and nearby St. Peter Lutheran Church is offering the use of its parking lot as well.
Most people come to the complex and watch from inside or on the hood of their cars, but Buethe said the Home Base fireworks are high explosives that blow up very high, so a lot of people will be able to watch from their own yards.
One cautionary note, he added that there have been problems in the past when people have brought their own fireworks to the display site. Please don’t.
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