Fundraising for Lawrence's Annual Fireworks in Full Swing

Excited for this year's fireworks concert and show? 

Fund raising for the July 5 is in full swing and residents now have two new ways to support the effort: 

• On Sunday, May 19, from 8 to 10 a.m., Applebees will host a Flapjack Fundraiser Breakfast at the restaurant located at 3330 Brunswick Pike
• On Saturday, June 8, bring the (attached) flyer to Captain Paul's Firehouse Dogs, 2230 Princeton Pike between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. and 20 percent of your purchase will go towards the fireworks show. 

This year, the township’s traditional concert and fireworks display will be held at Rider University on Friday, July 5, with the following day set aside as the rain date, Lawrence Township Recreation Superintendent Steve Groeger said.

Local band Kindred Spirit is scheduled to play at 7 p.m., followed by fireworks at about 9:45 p.m., Groeger said.

There’s about $24,000 in the fund so far thanks, in part, to the sale of glow sticks and donations collected during last year’s fireworks show; the entry fees paid by participants in the annual Red, White and Bang Kids Triathlon on Labor Day; and the donations by Mayor Jim Kownacki of the $100 fee normally paid to him as mayor for each wedding ceremony he performs.

"No amount is too small or too large," Groeger said of the concert fund raising efforts.

Last year's show, the biggest yet, cost about $15,000. Groeger hopes to raise more than $30,000 this year, of which $20,000 would be used for the show on July 5, and the rest would be used to kickstart the fund for 2014. 

Independence Day fireworks have been a Lawrence Township tradition for the past 30 years or so. In 2010, the fireworks show was cancelled when funding was cut to help balance the municipal budget. Realizing that municipal funding was not going to be available for the fireworks again in 2011 either, the recreation department started a fundraising campaign.

Thanks to those efforts, the township’s Independence Day celebrations in 2011 and 2012 were funded entirely by donations.

Donations for the fireworks can be delivered in person to the recreation department in the municipal building or mailed to the recreation department at 2207 Lawrence Rd., Lawrence Township, N.J. 08648.

Checks should be made payable to Lawrence Township, with “Fireworks” noted in the check memo field.