Children perch on their parents’ cars to watch the Moorhead Pride 5656OOH AAH fireworks display in 2020.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
Moorhead Business Association volunteers are thinking ‘red, white and blue’ in a big way, as they finalize plans for their big “Moorhead Proud 5656OOH AAH” Fourth of July extravaganza. And they could still use a little more help from the community.
The MBA stepped up to sponsor the annual fireworks display in 2016, when Minnesota State University Moorhead dropped its longstanding community tradition. This year marks the 48th in that history of family-thrilling summer highlights. It will be launched from Horizon Shores Park, as it was in 2020. The sizzle, sparkle and bang will be accompanied by a musical score broadcast by BOB95 FM radio.
As Independence Day draws near, the business organization is still looking for contributions to meet the final third of its goal of $75,000. Major sponsors include American Crystal, Sanford Health, BNSF, Kovash Marine and Altel Alternative Telecom. “We’ll be reaching out to businesses and individuals,” she notes, “with a booth at our third Moorhead Cruise Night July 1.”
She and assistant director Nick Lehr are also recruiting volunteers to help carry off the big night, keeping drivers and spectators out of the blast zone and helping clean up afterwards. “You get the best view of the biggest show in town,” Sheri promises, along with a free bright yellow T-shirt and a gift card to Murphy’s Pub. To sign up, go to mhdmba.org or call 218-284-4643 before July 1. Volunteers must by 18 or older.
The change last year from the campus to the newish neighborhood in east Moorhead marks the biggest change since then. Spurred by pandemic restrictions on gathering crowds, the MBA moved it Alex Nemzek Stadium, where generations had watched from the stands. The Horizon Shores development was chosen, says MBA director Sheri Larson, in collaboration with the Moorhead Fire and Police Departments.
The move required just one change. Instead of the ground displays that augmented overhead bursts in the past, that show concentrated exclusively on high-flying pyrotechnics designed and launched by Twin Cities specialist Res Pyro. “People told us last year they could see it all over town – as far away as Sabin,” Sheri says. Based on the overwhelmingly positive response, the MBA decided to remain there.
The advantages of the new location are twofold. Less heavily treed than older parts of the city, it offers unrestricted views from every angle. Too, the Horizons area offers a wealth of parking for watching the half-hour display from inside – or on top of – cars. While the park area itself is off-limits for safety reasons, both residential streets and commercial developments like Menard’s and Sanford Health offer plentiful unobstructed views.
In a new twist, VIP spots are being offered in the lots of Horizons Middle School and Dorothy Dodds Elementary School. According to organizer Brian Cole, spectators can bring a carload to watch from those premium locations for a donation of $10 per car. The funds raised are going to the Moorhead Schools Legacy Education Foundation, where it will be used to provide milk and snacks for students in need, fund scholarships for Moorhead High School students and underwrite innovative project through teacher impact grants. Parking spots can be ordered in advance from www.moorheadschools.org/tix. The parking lots will open at 7:30, with Northern Brain Freeze Shaved Ice available at the middle school lot.
St. Joseph’s Catholic School will also be offering VIP parking for $10 per carload at the Vista Center for Education, 2777 34th St. S. That lot opens at 7 p.m.
