Expect a magical fireworks display for Canada Day in Guelph this year.
The night sky will light up at Riverside Park at 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 1.
"It'll actually be a bit of a bigger show than we did last year because we divided some of our funds last year between two events," said Matthew Webster, the chair of the Canada Day committee with Rotary District 7080.
"This year, there's more money going into the fireworks."
Much like 2022, there will not be a day event in Riverside Park, though Webster said it is looking for a sponsor to cover the cost of the mini-train and carousel during the day.
There is also expected to be a free shuttle service from Guelph Transit to Riverside Park beginning at 7 p.m. But Webster added that is not finalized at the moment.
The fireworks event is free, but donations will be collected as residents file into the park.
"When we ran it this way last year, we ended up netting more funds for Rotary – which that money (obviously goes) back into the community – than when we ran the big events," Webster said.
"There's a little bit less of a benefit as far as having a festival during the day. But overall, our focus on the community benefit, we're able to put a little bit more money back into the community by sort of paring back the event to just fireworks."
For comparison, the two-day Canada Day event held in 2019 raised $4,000, but the event cost $150,000 to run.
In 2022, without the day-long event, $6,000 was raised for Rotary after netting out the costs.
"A 50 per cent increase by doing sort of a simpler event allows us to spend a little bit more money back in the community," Webster said.
This year, he added the hope is to raise $8,000.
