Despite weather, BOOM! draws repeat fans
Cape Coral’s Red, White & Boom! had a new sponsor on Sunday, but the same old excitement of celebrating the Fourth of July.
RE/MAX Realty Team signed on to sponsor the event for the next three years after the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce became nervous that the 2010 fireworks extravaganza might have to be cancelled.
Some of the major changes to this year’s Red, White & Boom! included a relocation of the main stage -this year’s Roger Dean Chevrolet Stage – to Cape Coral Parkway, the elimination of a $1 entrance fee, the addition of the RE/MAX Realty Team Village, and more balloons and advertisements promoting the main event sponsor.
The RE/MAX Realty Team Village consisted of 120 individual lots, each 10-by-10 feet, which attendees could rent for the night. One lot was $100 and two lots were $170, and complimentary food was included.
Lonnie Haley, CFO of RE/MAX Realty Team, said approximately 94 percent of the lots were sold by the opening of Red, White & Boom! He said the realty team wants to include the village concept over the next three years.
“It was very popular, and DeCicco’s Deli, I have to commend them,” he said. “They stepped up and provided all of the food.”
One hundred percent of the profits are benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network, he said.
“I have high hopes we will hit our goals,” said Haley.
Crystal Reyes, part owner of Real Title Solutions and corporate sponsor of RE/MAX Realty Team, said people were “ordering them (lots in the village) like crazy.” She explained that the lots had been individually surveyed over the last week and cordoned off.
Even with a fresh sponsor and look, the success of Red, White & Boom! hinges on how many people attend from 4-10 p.m. and ultimately the weather. Each year an estimated 20,000 people attend but the weather may have affected this year’s turnout.
Crowds were far less in the first few hours of the event before the showers subsided.
Reyes said she wasn’t worried in the least about how the weather may affect how many attendees showed up. Haley said he didn’t expect the crowd to get larger until later in the evening.
“By most standards the crowds don’t get big until 7 p.m.,” he said.
The fireworks were scheduled at approximately 9 p.m. and the event closed at 10 p.m.
Ismael Luis, a native of Miami, drove to Cape Coral with his family to attend Red, White & Boom! They stay in a local hotel and celebrate the Fourth of July in the city.
“We’d like to have better weather, but it’s not something we can control,” he said.
Attending Red, White & Boom! for most families has become tradition. Cape Coral resident Karen Baxter said she’s brought her children to the event every year since she moved to the city in 2006
“It has just become tradition,” she said.
When Baxter and her family first arrived the rain was dissipating. She said she wanted to wait and see what happens with the weather.
“I’m not sure what we’re going to do. We’re going to get some dinner and see what the weather is like,” said Baxter.
Trailer Choir, a national country music recording group, headlined Red, White & Boom! Two other local bands, Retro Light and The Mixx, also performed on Sunday. Hundreds of vendors also lined the closed off section of Cape Coral Parkway.