Original Post: A number of people wrote this morning to ask about a fireworks display late Saturday night on the city's north side. The display occurred around 11 p.m. and woke a number of people up.
We put the question out to our Twitter followers, and here's what we found:
The fireworks were set off from the end of Michigan Boulevard to celebrate a wedding. The celebrants apparently had a permit from the city for the display.
"Whoever it was spent a lot of money," one reader writes. "They were launching 4 to 6 inch shells every few seconds for 12 minutes. I guess each shell is $50-$100. It was quite a show and the bums woke me up!"
Here's another reader:
"It seemed to be near the north side of Racine and a professional display versus some backyard hooligans. It woke up most of us in the area but nobody seems to know who was responsible for it. That hour of the night was unreasonable and someone should be taken to task for it."
We'll have to wait until tomorrow (offices are closed today) to find out how someone acquires a permit to launch fireworks. More as we know it ...
Get more Post! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Want to advertise? Learn how!
All the fools who launched the shells accomplished was waking up irate people who'll organize to rid Racine of the pyro plague.
ReplyDeleteI loved it, and it was a terrific display. Thanks neighbor!
ReplyDeleteWonderful show! Who's asleep then anyway?
ReplyDeleteIt was great - Just wish we had some warning, we would have kept the kids up to watch!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was quite an impressive display of fireworks! It's just too bad that people feel the need to complain. It was a SATURDAY with Monday as a Holiday!!! Come on! Congrats to the newly married couple!!
ReplyDeleteIt was irresponsible to cause such a disturbance at that time of night, permit or not. I live 2 miles from that show and didn't care one bit for being jolted out of a sound sleep at 11:00pm. Who is asleep at that hour you ask, people with jobs, family, and a life. Sounds like rich arrogant people just showing off and pissing off the rest of us. I hope there is an ordinance against doing it that late, I'll be happy to sign the complaint.
ReplyDeleteI saw Bartolotta fireworks loading up 2 barges full of shells at the boat launch Saturday afternoon and was wondering what the heck fireworks would be firing off for as there were no events on that day, guess I know now.
ReplyDeleteMissed the fireworks show in Racine but I ran into a nice 20 minute show in Zion last night, labor day celebration I guess.
Anon 3:45 said, "... Sounds like rich ... people just showing off and pissing off the rest of us."
ReplyDeleteOr rich people giving us a free show. I don't think "the rest of us" are pissed off at all, thank you very much.
I loved it - had a perfect view right from my apartment! With notice I would have invited friends over to watch. On a normal night it might have felt a little late to me, but a Saturday night of a 3 day weekend? Come on. Who doesn't love a good fireworks display? If it had been a few random bottle rockets that's one thing, but this was a good show.
ReplyDeleteIt was an impressive show. No cheap fireworks from the I-94 stores. These were professional. They were launching them along the lake shore in the 3100 block of Michigan Boulevard.
ReplyDeleteWhen Average Joe Racine launches some fireworks, he gets a ticket from the police for being a nuisance. Is the city now selling permits? The JT reported recently that the city doesn't give out permits.
If they had one, it should have stated a time for operation. They could have moved it up to 9:00 pm instead of 11:00 pm. It would have been nice to move it further out in the lake. My windows shook from the shells for almost 15 minutes.
Anon 3:45 - what a sour puss...maybe your glass should be half full.
ReplyDeleteAs a city resident a little closer than 2 miles it was a good display. Saturday night of a holiday weekend... did it disturb your beer drinkin' on the front porch?
Maybe I should sue the railroads everytime they blow horns at night and wake me up ?
Congrats to the newlyweds!!!! Hope you have a wonderful life together and ignore all the negativity that has surrounded the celebration of your life together! Laugh, love, and be happy!
ReplyDeleteWah! The fireworks forced me to acknowledge that other people exist, and that's just too difficult of a reality for me to face!
ReplyDeleteIt's Obama Hussein the Muslim's fault!
Obama Hussein and the Muslims probably would approve; sharia law permits fireworks at weddings, and, of course, we all know John Adams also was in favor of such displays for important events. We should all thank our neighbor for providing this universal symbol of goodwill and celebration, marking their family's good fortune.
ReplyDelete11.54pm - tru dat!
ReplyDeleteIt was great, I sat and watched them from my deck. Give us more!
ReplyDeleteDear Sir, When arrogant airheads like the rich trash responsible for Saturday night's cacophony awaken you at 3:00 AM, you'll sing a different tune. Any way you look at them, fireworks are pricey, perilous and passe. The sooner we ban fireworks, the better!
ReplyDeleteDuring a depression, reducing thousands of dollars to stinking smoke is criminal.
ReplyDeleteThose damnable shells woke an elderly neighbor and kept the local dogs barking for nearly an hour. Since John Adams thought that fireworks were so great, somebody should see that his soul is subjected to them in hell. Meanwhile, let's have no more fireworks in Racine!
ReplyDeleteHey it looks like Ms. Angry or Mr. Angry are back. The fireworks were outstanding. can't think of a better way to spend a few thousand dollars. At least some of us should enjoy ourselves - instead of wallowing in self pity.
ReplyDeleteTo those neighbors who were annoyed or inconvenienced...we are truly sorry. We did notify all of our immediate neighbors the week before. And we did have a permit.
ReplyDeleteTo those of you who enjoyed...we're happy you did!
To those of you sending best wishes and congratulations to our daughter and her new husband, Thank You.
To those wanting more...sorry, but we're done!
Sincerely, Mother of the Bride
Dickert must have been pulling a Charlie Sykes with his "special" lady friend.
ReplyDeleteMother of the Bride - well said. Thanks
ReplyDeleteMother of the Bride,
ReplyDeleteI'm a reasonably close neighbor, but while we knew of the wedding, we didn't know of the fireworks. Don't worry about it, though. It made a very nice surprise, actually, as if you were sharing your celebration with everyone.
Best wishes to the newlyweds and everyone in the family.
Dear Sir, If you truly think that blowing big bucks on fireworks is wise or ethically-justifiable during a depression, you've got problems galore. A trip to HALO or the Food Bank would show you where discretionary dollars ought to go. (Nota Bene: Marie Antoinette and the rest of the royal rotters at Versailles were passionately obsessed with pyrotechnical displays. I don't need to tell you what her victims eventually did to that vicious vapid vamp.)
ReplyDeleteAh yes, given the deathly pall cast by the recession, all should be married at Town Hall. Or perhaps, all marriages ought to be postponed until post-economic recovery.
ReplyDeleteMany responders seem to be too acutely focused on the price of the fireworks as opposed to the merriment and happiness that their display chimes in. If an occasion allows for celebration in an otherwise bleak time, why berate it and subject it to a cost analysis. Two people, madly in love, are married!
Additionally, there is no doubt in my mind that cries of outrage against the lavish display of fireworks were sent via iPhone. We each have our own perspective of what is worthy of a monetary investment. Some choose alcohol, cigarettes, or food while others choose a celebration of love and marriage. No matter where we put our money, there is always a repercussion or influence we are unaware of. My advice: stop being so judgmental and blinded by jealousy and self-righteousness; you will be much happier for it (might inevitably live longer, incur more medical bills, and be a bigger drain on the healthcare system, however).
CONGRATULATIONS to the couple!
Dear Celebrate, During a depression, a ban on lavish galas would be wise. If the privileged classes wish to survive the current economic crisis with some of their loot intact, maintaining a low, non-provocative profile would be prudent. Pricey parties and pyrotechnical displays merely call the paupers' attention to the oligarchy's obscene wealth and the misuse thereof. The poor already possess plenty of reasons to resent and execrate the rich. Adding fuel to the fire of the paupers' ire is sheer folly.
ReplyDeleteDear Mother of the Bride,
ReplyDeleteWe live just down the street and did not recieve any notice of fireworks. I think 9 or 10 would have been a far more reasonable time of night for them. We have a 3 year old daughter, I did have to work the next morning and with a street with lots of doctors and surgeons, I think it would have been good to have an earlier display. It gets dark plenty early to have held them at 9. People from across the city got were startled by them.
This display was just a few houses away from our home, and it woke everyone in our house up at 11pm. My wife had to work in the morning, and it was my 3 year old daughters birthday the next day, and she needs a good nights sleep at that age to have a good day, not to mention she is terrified of loud noises. This display literally shook the windows of our house. There is no reason this couldn't have been done after dusk, it gets dark plenty early now. This is a residential area! Instead you felt the need to wake people for 20 blocks around you. SELFISH!
ReplyDeleteI called the police department to complain, they said a permit was issue by our alerman for the display and there was nothing they could do. So call your alderman to compain, and vote him out next year! Clearly if you have money and influence in this town it gets you what ever you want. He may have vought one familys vote by approving this permit, but he he has motivated me to vote for anyone but him.
Yes, the display could be perceived (esp. by the economically disadvantaged) as an absurd waste of resources. However, this superficial view fails to recognize the symbolic value of the celebration. Fireworks are not a display of opulence in this situation, but rather a joyful celebration of a momentous occasion of a personal nature. How one chooses to celebrate and demonstrate love is not universal.
ReplyDeleteIt is most unfortunate that neighbors were disrupted by the explosive noises at such a late hour, and the Mother of the Bride has already made an apology for that. The disturbance caused by the fireworks certainly warrants discussion, whereas the appropriateness of the display ought to be left to the judgment of those individuals financing it.
8:39 - I've been at Halo and I've worked on food drives for the food bank, but that does not mean if you have the money you should not be able to spend it as you like and provide entertainment for yourself or others. Last I knew, we had freedom of choice, although Obama, Pelosi and Reed are trying to change that - they are trying to change the Constitution, but their time will be up soon.
ReplyDeleteI live three houses away from where the fireworks were set off and received no notice at all. I would have been thrilled to see the fireworks if they had been done at a reasonable hour, but getting jolted out of bed by them was not a good time.
ReplyDeleteThis is a neighborhood where a lot of doctors live, and doctors are always on call. Do you want your heart surgeon to be sleep deprived if you were having a heart attack?
This was extremely disrespectful of your neighbors. Either you don't care, or completely lack the common sense to realize people will be sleeping at 11:00pm.
11:35 - give me a break. Oh know, I'm having a heart attack and my Dr. was awaken for 15 minutes, what will I do - you are an idiot.
ReplyDeleteOh no - that is!
ReplyDeleteI'll pay for the permit anytime any neighbor wants to pay for the show. It was very, very well done.
ReplyDeleteI live a few houses away and these are some of the nicest people you could ever meet! Much nicer than the "pseudo-rich" neighbors who thought I was beneath them and repeatedly let their dog crap all over my lawn until I caught them and finally had to send the police to visit them. . .
ReplyDeleteWe are close neightbors. The fireworks woke us up and our dog went nuts, but hey, it looked like a great party. Congrats to the newlyweds!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV. Fireworks were fine with me.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, firewoks are dangerous outmoded playthings which ought to be banned. They came from medieval China and, if I had a time machine, they'd all be returned to their place of origin. The fact that John Adams liked them should be irrelevant to modern society: in addition to pyrotechnical displays, Adams enjoyed the minuet. Even so, today we no longer dance the minuet. Methinks that fireworks should join the minuet in well-deserved oblivion.
ReplyDelete2:32 - no one cares what you think.
ReplyDeleteIf the Fire Department inspected the site prior to giving the permit they must have used a boat. The launching of the display was offshore, in the lake, which makes it Racine County. The county did not issue any permits. The curfew for noise in Racine is 10:00pm for permited events. So, MOB, you didn't have the proper permit and violated the noise restrictions. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteDear Disast-Sir, Believe it or not, some people DO care what I think about certain subjects. (Given your elitism, you'd be horrified if I revealed their identities.) Snobbery aside, anyone is entitled to his own opinions as well as the civil voicing thereof. Seriously, fireworks are nasty relics of a long-gone era and vestiges of a putrid past best discarded by twenty-first century people. P.S. If you assume that I'm Mr. Angry or that unfortunate crippled she-scholar whom you've tormented on occasion, you're greatly in error.
ReplyDeleteYou are Mr. Angry 2 - I always said there are 2 of you out there. Oh, maybe it's Ms. Angry.Wow, I'm impressed that you need to keep the people's identites confidential. You must be very important and know very important people. Ha! - you are a loser and we elite will continue to enjoy life at any price!
ReplyDelete