Monday, July 15, 2019

TIME TO BRING BACK BRIGG FIREWORK NIGHT AT THE RECREATION GROUND?


Is it time to bring back November's annual fireworks display at Brigg Recreation Ground, off Wrawby Road, which once attracted more than 1,000 spectators?
Many years have elapsed since the last was held and we've recently been asked by a local resident: "If towns like Barton and Winterton can still run one, why can't Brigg?"
We replied that the organisation was undertaken by hard-working Brigg volunteers and this takes a great deal of time and effort, especially in this age of well-intentioned health and safety regulations.
There's also the cost to consider - several thousand pounds, we estimate, being required to put on a good display.
With parents with children dominating the attendance, the admission charge has to be kept at a reasonable level.
That means that some organisation needs to underwrite the event, particularly if the weather is bad and reduces the turnout.
Some companies in the UK will organise firework displays on behalf of communities, but this obviously costs more than shows put on by volunteers.
Brigg Town Council has a limited budget set aside to support Major Events that benefit the town and its residents.
It also tasks small groups of councillors to get together and consider various subjects and topics.
Would the Town Council be interested in forming a group to look at the possibility of re-starting fireworks at The Rec?
Back in the 1970s a committee was created to organise and run our annual display - something that might perhaps be rekindled.
Many groups and individuals contributed, with Brigg Town Cricket Club assigned to build the bonfire.
A local haulage company provided a lorry and driver and we went to the British Steel Corporation's Scunthorpe works to collect 'scrap' railway sleepers to form the frame of the bonfire.
One year, following the closure of Spring's Brigg jam factory, we called at the site to collect a range of wooden furniture.
Fairground rides, vans selling food and a hog roast were popular features of these displays for many years, while the Town Mayor applied the flaming torch to light the bonfire..
Would Brigg people today like to see the fireworks display re-introduced?
It might well be too late to put the wheels in motion for this November, but how about 2020?
Organised firework displays expanded across the UK decades ago because they were seen as being much safer than households letting off bangers and rockets in their back gardens.
Parking proved a problem in years past at The Rec with cars having to be lined up on the cricket pitch outfield.
However, recent improvements at the ground have added more hard-standing spaces while nearby Brigg Town Football Club can accommodate many more vehicles.
For those attending firework displays on foot, the Hawthorns bar might well prove a popular watering hole after the last rocket has been fired, which would help generate some income for the Zebras.

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