Donations Lagging, Sizzle of Fireworks May End This Year

By JAMES KINSELLA

For more than three decades, the Oak Bluffs Firemen's Civic
Association fireworks have served as the unofficial notice that the
Vineyard summer is drawing to a close.

This year, the fireworks, a 45-minute spectacular scheduled to get
under way around 9 tonight, may be serving notice that they themselves
are coming to an end.

Ken Davey, head of the association's fireworks committee, said
waning financial support and volunteer involvement have placed the
annual mid-August event in jeopardy. The 2006 firemen's fireworks,
he said, may be the last.

"We need more help," Mr. Davey said about the display,
celebrating its 31st continuous year. "We need money."

He estimates the cost of the Oak Bluffs event at about $20,000. But
Mr. Davey said the principal sources of support for the event -
T-shirt sales, donations from businesses and $100 tickets for a cruise
to watch the fireworks from the sea - have been lagging.

In truth, Mr. Davey said, the event has not been flush for a number
of years. But this year definitely is worse. Business donations are off,
though he said it is unclear whether that stems from a slower business
summer or from changes in ownership. He said he does not want to
harangue Oak Bluffs businesses. To compensate, he has started
approaching businesses outside town.

Mr. Davey also has been reluctant to aggressively pursue the summer
residents. The money left over after expenses, he said, goes to fund
charitable works for year-round Islanders, such as scholarships for
students at the Martha's Vineyard High School; food baskets for
the poor at Christmas, as well as a Christmas party for children at the
Portuguese-American Club; donations to benefit injured town employees
and firefighters; and support for Boy Scout Troop 293.

He said the volunteers who principally make up the Oak Bluffs
department also have had less time available this summer to help with
preparation for the event. In response, he stepped up himself to pull
the event together, logging about 700 miles on his truck in the last
couple of weeks.

"We either need more funds, or a corporate sponsor, or more
help in doing everything," Mr. Davey said.