Following a weekend of severe rainstorms and flash floods, the Park District of Forest Park was forced to cancel its Fourth of July festivities and postpone them until a later date. The announcements were released in two social media posts, the initial post about the concert and then a post about the fireworks show.
A date to reschedule has not yet been set, said Jackie Iovinelli, park district executive director. But alternative dates are being considered, she said.
Fireworks displays are very expensive, said Iovinelli. So the park district was doing everything it could to save the event by working out logistics before Saturday.
The first post came a little after 1 p.m., alerting locals that the Blooze Brothers concert would have to be rescheduled.
Iovinelli said they were able to save that concert for a later date since the band was very cooperative. They said, as long as they had not begun their departure for the event, it could be rescheduled, Iovinelli said.
“While it’s never easy to predict the weather, this allows us to reschedule at no additional cost,” the social media post said.
After making the first post, Iovinelli said park officials began to work on assessing the weather conditions for the fireworks display.
According to Iovinelli, since the fireworks company had dealt with similar weather problems the day before, they were also able to work something out. The fireworks would be driven to the site, but as long as they were not assembled, they could be used again on a later day.
Emma Bradford is an intern for NEWSWELL CHICAGO through Report for America’s Local News Internship Program.