Mall fireworks still on schedule

Alexander Cain
The Union-Recorder

July 02, 2008 10:17 pm

— A fireworks display scheduled for Saturday evening at Milledgeville Mall will go on as planned, according to officials with Augusta-based Hull Storey Retail Group, current owners of Milledgeville Mall.
John Gibson, president of Hull Storey-Gibson, a retail business that owns 17 malls across the United States, most based in the Southeastern region of the country, said Wednesday that Hull Storey and the Milledgeville Mall had never considered the idea of stopping what has become a traditional Fourth of July celebration for the Milledgeville and Baldwin County community each year.
“The community support for this event has always been tremendous. If the mall puts something on by itself, you reach a smaller group, but if the mall partners with the local community, that group increases by a substantial number. This is not a mall event. This is a community event,” Gibson said.
Late last month there had been rumors in the Milledgeville community of the mall facing possible financial difficulties for the traditional fireworks display, which is usually held on a Saturday to allow for larger crowds and better access to mall activities that conclude with an evening fireworks show.
But those difficulties never existed — instead, Gibson insisted, it was simply a matter of reaching into the heart of Milledgeville and trying to reach sponsors, some of who may have been facing financial difficulties not seen in previous years due to the fluctuating American economy.
“People get together and they want to be with other people. I’m interested in doing what is good for the community. If it’s good for the community then it’s good for the mall,” Gibson said. “People in Milledgeville know their mall, and they know where their mall is located. The fireworks are still going ahead. We will have the fireworks at the mall with the help of these community organizations and local
businesses.”
And there have been plenty of sponsors to step up to provide what many will be looking skyward for Saturday evening.
Toyota Scion of Milledgeville, Roc’s Cork Shoppe, Exchange Bank, Dyer Construction and Georgia Military College are only a small sample of the many community organizations and businesses that will be working with the mall in one form or another to ensure a safe and enjoyable time on Saturday, according to Milledgeville Mall Manager Maggie Stalnaker.
“There will be a wall climb, a bouncy house and many other events that will be available to the community,” Stalnaker said. “The fireworks are still going ahead and we look forward to seeing the community come out and enjoy a day at the mall. All of our retailers will be available for shopping, and we are planning a great show for the evening.”
Milledgeville resident Wendale Kight will work with Atlanta-based Atlanta Pyrotechnics as a subcontractor Saturday to help ensure everything goes on as scheduled and an estimated crowd of 15,000 to 20,000 is not disappointed.
“It’s going to be a good show, and a little bit bigger than last year. There will be more color in the air, and the weather really looks good,” Kight said. “Right now the show is planned for about 15 minutes, because after that people tend to become bored. They want to see something different and don’t want to see the same thing over and over again.”
The Milledgeville Mall fireworks display is tentatively scheduled to occur between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday evening, but could begin as late as 10 p.m., according to Kight.
The mall will have events available throughout the day, including a tentatively scheduled watermelon eating contest, which saw more than one face covered in watermelon seeds at last year’s event.
For information on the Milledgeville Mall, Saturday’s fireworks display or any other questions about the mall call Maggie Stalnaker at (478) 452-2562, Ext. 200.