Firework Electronic Firing

Celebrating 25 years of fireworks

Canada Day is just around the corner, and with it the dazzling display of fireworks Lac du Bonnet has grown a reputation for.

This year, to commemorate the 25th year of fireworks, the display will be even more spectacular than usual. Themed, "Light up the Night", the show will be preceded by a boat parade.

There will be three divisions for the best lighting of a watercraft: commercial (any type), pontoon only, and all other boats.

The parade will start at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, from Brincheski Dock (by Watertown) and will pass by the town dock twice for viewing and judging. Prizes will be awarded to the best three boats in each division. Boats can be launched at Hwy 502 in Lac du Bonnet or the Winnipeg River Bridge Launch prior to the parade.

"If it turns out well this year, we might continue to do it in following years," Bob Lesko, fireworks coordinator said.

"We hope all the boats that participate will stay to watch the fireworks which will follow the boat parade," Mike Roi added. He is assisting Bob Lesko in preparations. "We estimate this event will be watched by 25,000 people in Lac du Bonnet on land and water."

The first fireworks in 1987 had 125 shots in their display at a cost of $1,700. Today approximately 6,100 shots are fired and the budget has increased to $30,000.

The Lions Club purchased an electronic firing system several years ago for safety reasons. The fireworks are now choreographed to music and can be heard on a speaker system in the town beach area.

The fireworks are purchased from Kelly Guille at Archangel Fireworks in Winnipeg. Archangel has won international fireworks competitions in 2007 and 2008 at the HSBC Celebration of Lights in Vancouver plus their award winning design team brought home top honors at the Grand Feux du Lac Loto, an international competition in Quebec City. The Archangel crew was also busy helping Vancouver with their fireworks at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Members of the Lac du Bonnet Fire Department are instrumental in the setup and ignition of the fireworks display, which takes approximately 6-8 hours to set up on the town dock.

Eight of the 23 members have taken the pyrotechnics course and are licenced to do the setup and firing.

The Lions Club does not pay for the fireworks, rather donations pay for the display. Money is collected from businesses, federal, municial and Town donations, gate collections and donation jars throughout the town.

Will Loyalty Rewards Be Gone with July 4 Fireworks Smoke?

Interchange fees, also known as swipe fees, help financial services companies fund fabulous credit card loyalty reward programs that are so popular with American consumers.

But Illinois senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, thinks the fees merchants pay to credit card companies when cards are used in a transaction are too high and wants to lower them. To the crusading lawmaker, the only loyalty that matters is his loyal opposition.

Durbin has successfully attached an amendment to the Senate Wall Street reform bill that he says will ensure debit interchange fees are reasonable and proportionate to processing costs. Durbin also says his amendment will prevent Visa and Mastercard from penalizing merchants who offer customers discounts for using cash, or who decline cards for small dollar purchases.

Durbin lately has been on a campaign to make sure his amendment survives in the compromise House-Senate Wall Street reform bill that’s expected to reach President Obama’s desk before July 4th. He targeted Visa and MasterCard in a May 25 letter to senators participating in the House-Senate conference committee that is charged with ironing out a single version of the legislation.

“My amendment would help reform a card industry that has been constructed by Visa and MasterCard to produce large benefits for the biggest banks at the expense of Main Street businesses and consumers,” Durbin said. “This amendment clarifies what was already true: the Wall Street reform bill is good for small businesses and good for consumers. I urge you to retain this amendment.”

Later in the week, according to Bloomberg News, Durbin warned Visa and Mastercard chief executives in a letter to stop using threats to pressure small banks into opposing his debit card interchange fee limits.

Banks are firing back. An organization called the Consumers Against Retail Discrimination placed online ads in major newspapers providing a form letter consumers can send to senators stating their opposition to the Durbin amendment.

Consumers Against Retail Discrimination characterizes the interchange fee amendment as a “sweetheart deal for retailers.” The group’s number one beef against the legislation is that it will “force you to pay higher fees and reduce your rewards on debit and credit cards.” It also charges that Durbin’s changes would harm lower income Americans who use debit cards for food stamps.

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