Community Newspaper for Blaine, Birch Bay and Semiahmoo, Washington

Fireworks need donations

The Blaine chamber of commerce is hosting a community-wide garage sale this weekend to raise money for the Fourth of July fireworks. The sale, which will be at the Blaine middle school gym on the corner of H Street and Mitchell Avenue, goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The chamber has lost half of its funding for fireworks this year and is looking to replace the funds lost when the Blaine Tourism Activities Council (BTAC) opted to move funds away from events to capital projects and tourism development. Last year’s fireworks display cost the chamber $10,000. BTAC will pony up $5,000 for this year’s show instead of the full amount requested and now the chamber needs to raise the remainder. The garage sale is one of the ways to make the show happen.

“This garage sale is very important if we want to have fireworks. We need to come up with quite a bit of money,” Annie Magner of the chamber, who is organizing the garage sale, said. “So this is a big deal.”

Magner is hoping the community will pull together to make the fireworks happen. Donations will be accepted from 3 – 7 p.m. Friday at the gym. In addition to donations, Magner is looking for volunteers to help her on Saturday and Sunday at the sale. For more information, contact Magner at 371-3492.