Fireworks set for Labor Day weekend

The Shafter Chamber of Commerce decided to postpone the annual 3rd of July Fireworks Extravaganza and rescheduled it for Saturday, Sept. 5, as part of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

The decision was made at the chamber’s last regular meeting, after the group discussed several options. A decision had to be made in order to avoid paying a penalty for violating the cancellation policy put in place by Zambelli Fireworks Inc., the company that provides the fireworks display for the event.

According to their policy, the event has to be cancelled or postponed before a deadline set by Zambelli’s.

“We decided to postpone the event and reschedule it for Labor Day weekend. We will not be charged a penalty, and we also will get the display for the same price that was set for the July 3 event,”said Rachel Zermeno, of the Shafter Chamber of Commerce. “This decision was made because at the time of the decision, the county had not began to open any businesses and Phase II of the governor’s plan had not been started,” she added.

There was discussion of leaving the show for July 3 and have the fireworks display with no one in the stands, but that turned out not to be an option. This was not possible, according to Zermeno, because the Kern High School District is not allowing anyone to use their facilities for any events or gatherings at all. So, the chamber would have had to find another venue to hold the event at.

Zermeno said that the event is now scheduled for Sept. 5, but could not give any details on the specifics of the event, such as the location, safety precautions, etc.

“It really all depends on the guidelines that are in place at the time of the event,” Zermeno said. The chamber will next meet in June, and further discussions will take place at that time regarding the event. “We are seeing the school district slowly loosening restrictions, along with the rest of the county, but at this time, we cannot say for certain that we will not have to find another location for the event,” she said.