Denton's Fourth of July fireworks show will need a new producer. The Denton Noon Kiwanis Club, which has staged the free show for 54 years, has told the city it will not host it in 2027, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported Friday.
The club's board agreed Tuesday to send the city a letter, and the City Council received it Wednesday. Through a city spokesperson, Mayor Chris Watts said the council "will work with staff to schedule a future work session to discuss plans moving forward." No date for that session has been announced.
Money for a children's clinic
The show has doubled as a fundraiser for the Denton Kiwanis Children's Clinic, a nonprofit founded 105 years ago that offers free or low-cost medical, dental and vision services for children from families with limited means.
A club member told the newspaper that running the show now pulls the club away from that mission and that it no longer has the capacity to produce the event.
"We would have lost money this past year were it not for last-minute generous donations of over $20,000," the member said. "It's time for us to move on and hopefully, someone else will pick up the torch."
Robin Meyer, the club's executive director, has put the cost of each year's North Texas Fairgrounds show at roughly $60,000, not counting the police and fire coverage the city supplies as an in-kind contribution.
