Fireworks to Light Up Ramona Sky on Fourth of July
By Ruth Lepper

It was 14 years ago that the Rotary Club of Ramona decided to do something for the community in an effort to keep the Fourth of July celebration closer to home.

"We just do it as a public service," said Greg Chick, this year's chairman of the Ramona Fireworks and Family Picnic event. "The full intent is to keep people off the road."

The event has grown over the years with an estimated attendance exceeding 5,000 people watching the spectacular pyro-technical display.

The fireworks, which start promptly at 9 p.m. and last 25 minutes, are synchronized to patriotic music on KYXY-96.5 FM radio station. The fireworks display is simulated throughout the county at events in Spring Valley, El Cajon, La Mesa, Vista, San Marcos, Oceanside, Rancho Bernardo, Coronado, Chula Vista and San Diego.

The fireworks are the tip of the iceberg, the grand finale of an evening's worth of entertainment. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. at the ballfields behind Olive Peirce Middle School, 1521 Hanson Lane. Opening ceremony includes singing of the National Anthem by David Castberg.

Picnics may be brought to the school but no alcoholic beverages are allowed. A variety of food will be sold by non-profit groups from Ramona, along with the local Rotary Club's sister club, the Tijuana Oeste Rotary Club, returning with tasty, homemade tacos.

A special attraction this year will be the Rotary Club's "car-whacking" demolition booth. Funds raised will be used for the club's community involvement.

"They're going to crush the car," Chick said. "We'll be selling smashes with a sledgehammer."

Children's games, such as watermelon-eating contests, sack races, tug-of-war and three-legged races, will be going on during the evening.

For more information about the event, contact Sharon Schlumpberger at (760) 789-9402.