The Berry Patch to hold fireworks show for Independence Day
Apr. 21—ELLERBE — The Berry Patch will again host what is currently the only large-scale Fourth of July fireworks show planned for Richmond County following the City of Hamlet choosing not to hold their celebration for the second year in a row due to financial concerns.
Lee Berry, former mayor of Ellerbe and owner of The Berry Patch, confirmed that his homemade ice cream and fresh produce stop along U.S. 220 North will host the community for fireworks. Berry is still working with fire department officials to determine which day the fireworks will be set off, whether Saturday, July 3 or Sunday the 4th.
"We just want everybody to come out and have a good time," Berry said.
He added that there will be 15% more fireworks this year than last year. The event will be free to the public.
The fireworks can be viewed anywhere within a mile from The Berry Patch, located at 351 Cargo Rd. in Ellerbe, according to Berry. The fireworks will be fired from a plot of land Berry rented about 200 yards away.
Berry said last year that the best spots to watch the fireworks will be from Green Lake Road, McIntyre Road, or the Mineral Springs Elementary School parking lot.
He plans to have a local fire department cook hamburgers and hot dogs, as well as live music.
The Berry Patch was the only venue in Richmond County to hold a major fireworks show following the mass COVID-19 shutdowns. The Ellerbe Lions Club cancelled their event last year after more than 40 years of putting on a fireworks display for Independence Day. The uncertainty stemming from the pandemic and their ability to enforce social distancing caused them to miss the deadline to order fireworks.
The Hamlet City Council voted unanimously last week not to hold their annual fireworks show because they were concerned over the continued financial strain they're under caused by the county's change to an ad valorem sales tax distribution method.
The fireworks would cost the city $12,000, according to City Manager Matthew Christian, and there would be other costs for employee overtime to provide extra law enforcement, sanitation and traffic management. Councilman Eddie Martin also noted at the meeting that the city would likely still be responsible for enforcing COVID-19 regulations.
Christian said that until something changes with the sales tax distribution issue, the city is going to be in similar situations on every financial expenditure. The city is losing about $600,000 annually due to the change to ad valorem, according to their audit report from December 2020.
Martin, who was the most outspoken against holding a fireworks show, argued that any money for this kind of celebration should instead be given to city employees who lost out on their bonuses last year due to the losses the city sustained.
"How can we find the money to do this when we didn't have the money to do it last year?" Martin said. "To me it'd be a slap in the face to our city employees to do it and cut them out of their Christmas bonus they missed out on last year."
A spokesperson for the Rockingham Speedway did not rule out holding fireworks at their venue when reached for comment on Monday, but there is not an event currently planned for the holiday.
