Cities Struggle To Fund Fireworks

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- Thousands of people gathered at Crane's Roost Park in Altamonte Springs on Thursday to get an early start on the Independence Day holiday.

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The crowd may have been a bit bigger this year because a number of surrounding communities canceled their celebrations because of the slow economy.

While Altamonte Springs celebrates the 13th year of the gathering, other cities like Cocoa Beach and Winter Springs canceled their events because of a lack of funds.

In Volusia County, Edgewater was able to save their celebration with the help of local businesses.

Altamonte Springs officials said Red, Hot and Boom is able to survive the hard economic times because they rely heavily on sponsors.

"What we do is we involve our sponsors, our local business leaders, and we allow them to come in and market themselves, bring their products into our community, and it helps us pay for this event," organizer Frank Martz said.

The budget for the event is about $160,000. The city pitches in $40,000, and the sponsors come up with the rest.

Martz said Red, Hot and Boom grows each year, and is increasingly difficult to fund, so finding additional sponsors is a priority.

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