The annual fireworks celebration is a collaborative effort among the City of Park Ridge, Park Ridge Park District, and School District 207. Together the decision has been made to cancel the 2021 third of July Fireworks Celebration traditionally held at Maine East High School.

The fireworks celebration requires a number of contracted services, as well as permits, to be secured months in advance of the event. The committee explored modifications to the event to adhere to possible mitigations, including reservations for designated spots and a drive-in event. However, it was determined, based on the historically large crowd, not only at the High School but also in the surrounding areas, controlling the attendance in any alternative format would not be possible. Due to the current mitigations imposed by the pandemic and the uncertainty whether or not the mitigations would be lifted at the time of the event, the difficult decision has been made to cancel the event for the third of July. All those involved in the planning share the community’s disappointment of this decision. We were hopeful that this holiday tradition would be possible, but the decision needed to be made with the information known at this time.

The Park District will work with our partner organizations to explore the opportunity to offer a fireworks celebration later in 2021 should circumstances allow.