THE END OF SUMMER

           Labor Day Weekend is one of my favorite holidays, for 1 very specific reason, it is the weekend that since 1977 the WEBN Fireworks has taken place on the Ohio River.  

                                                    Joe Simon For The Enquirer

In some ways, Cincinnati has a very unique personality.  It was the first city west of the Alleghenies.  It is home to the first major league baseball team.  It also hosts, since 1977, the Midwest largest fireworks display…..not for Fourth of July (oh no, that would be far too obvious), but rather for Labor Day Weekend, celebrating the end of summer. 

I remember the August 30, 1977 first Riverfest celebration very well.  I had returned to my home just a year prior from my wanderings between Alaska and Guam.  I was working at the University of Cincinnati.  WEBN was the hard rock radio station that was no doubt the most popular in the city.  WEBN wanted to celebrate its 10^th anniversary so came up with the idea of a fireworks display that would be huge, and boy, did they deliver. 

The display was put on by Rozzi Fireworks and was the largest and loudest that I had every witnessed.  Fewer than 70,000 people attended that first year, but we all got a spectacular fireworks display.  On both sides of the river people were going nuts. 

The one image that stands out most clearly in my memory was at the end, as we were all leaving.  I passed a group of people who were circled around a dog who had collapsed, obviously in distress from the very loud, prolonged finale of the display.  I walked pass, wondering how stupid could someone be to bring their dog to an overly crowded, excessively loud display.  I often wondered if the animal survived. These days there are rules 2 ….no alcohol…..no pets.

 Joe Simon For The Enquirer 

Over the years the event has become even more massive, 2025 estimate being 500,000.  That means parking is a chore.  In the past I have ridden down to the river on the back of a boyfriend’s motorcycle, which made parking super simple.  I’ve taken the bus down (then had to walk back up to Clifton, as the bus was too crowded to ride).  I’ve attended on both the Ohio side and Kentucky sides of the Ohio River.  Pete and I partied at a friend’s house from 13 blocks south of the river where we had an ideal view of the display (parking was still a chore).  I’ve been invited to a party in a high rise directly on the river with a river facing view so we were literally in the middle of the display.  Over the years it’s been a real adventure.

In recent years though, Pete and I have reverted to watching the display on TV.  No, it is not nearly the same experience.  You don’t feel the explosions on your chest.  You don’t smell the fumes of the explosions.  You don’t have people screaming in your ears.  And you don’t have to worry about how long it will take to get out of the traffic jam of 500,000 people leaving at the same time. 

Instead, after 45 minutes you turn off the TV, head for the bedroom and call it a night. 

It’s a great way to end summer.