I was listening to the CBC on the way into work this morning, and heard an interview with a man who is organizing the city's Canada Day celebrations tomorrow. The interviewer asked how much the committee is spending on the fireworks display tomorrow night. His response? In the range of $15-20,000 dollars!
I normally don't attend the fireworks display. The last time I was there I was very upset to see so many people taking their dogs to the event. Many of the dogs were afraid of the loud bangs and were crying and barking. I think it's very unfair to our canine friends to take them to an event like that. They don't understand that there is no danger and that they don't need to be afraid. After making this observation several years ago, I lost interest in gathering with the rest of the city to watch the display.
Since I have little interest in the fireworks, perhaps I'm writing out of turn. However, I can't help but feel that the $15-20,000 could be put to a better use. Think about how that money would help a few of our homeless people put shelter over their heads, or how many meals it could provide at our local food bank.
We live in such a wasteful manner, don't we?
2 comments:
I agree! I do enjoy the fireworks, and so do my kids, but for the 5 minutes of entertainment, the price is awfully steep. I think there are so many other ways that would build community better, and be cheaper - maybe volunteers could put together a live concert at the park, a play, old movies shown on an outside theatre screen...or, if they still did fireworks, I don't think anyone would mind bringing a donation or canned goods for the needy.
There are actually several concerts throughout the day in the downtown area. The entire day is a wonderful community event. It's just a shame they spend so much money on the fireworks. Your donation idea is superb, but it would be hard to implement with so many people perched wherever on either side of the river to watch the spectacle. However, there's no reason why they couldn't accept donations at the various concerts and other events that go on throughout the day.
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