The Family 4th at Lake Union fails to raise funds
Apr 1, 2013, 6:43 AM | Updated: Apr 5, 2013, 10:36 am
Bergauer says they've been working for nine months to raise the funds, and last night at midnight, they still had a ways to go with just over $50,000 pledged. They needed $500,000. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
“The Family Fourth at Lake Union is a ‘No,'” says One Reel’s Aubry Bergauer.
With a fundraising deadline of March 31, One Reel says the traditional Independence Day fireworks show in Seattle won’t go on as planned.
Bergauer, the marketing director at One Reel, says they tried to be as transparent as possible about the fundraising deadline. It wasn’t an arbitrary date, but a deadline set by their suppliers.
Bergauer says they’ve been working for nine months to raise the funds, and last night at midnight, they still had a ways to go with just over $50,000 pledged. They needed $500,000.
“We’ve been updating our website, pretty much in real time, letting people know the status of the campaign and as of midnight last night(Sunday) we have not raised the necessary funds,” explains Bergauer.
In 2009, One Reel experienced it’s first problem raising funds for the tradition over Lake Union. KIRO’s Dave Ross and chef Tom Douglas spearheaded a fundraising effort to save the show.
According to Bergauer, if a corporation wanted to sponsor the event, like their “pre-2009 model,” then the Family 4th could go on.
There have so far been no indications that a sponsor of that nature is going to step up to help produce the show.
