By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
The fireworks are back on.
“With the Governor’s announcement last Thursday morning, the Friends of AMOS, DDA, School District, Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office met once again to discuss the potential of hosting the fireworks,” said Courtney McClerren, Ortonville DDA president. “At this time, all signs say yes.”
Previously, the fireworks were canceled due to the uncertainty of the state and county COVID-19 restrictions. That decision was made before the new reopening plan was announced on May 20.
“Things have been changing almost daily, so if COVID restrictions from the state or county cause interference to the July 2021 show, our goal will be to use the funds collected for a fireworks show at a later date,” said McClerren. “Normally our committee and volunteers have between two and three months to raise funds for our community Fireworks and Food Trucks Festival. The fee for the fireworks display alone is $12,000.”
Due to the uncertainty, the DDA and Friends of AMOS have been unable to do normal fundraising activities, and they are asking the community for help. There won’t be any food trucks this year as an attempt to mitigate crowds, so they are just trying to raise the funds for the fireworks.

There are three ways to donate. There is a GoFundMe titled 2021 Ortonville Fireworks, the PayPal for the Ortonville DDA 2021 fireworks, or cash/check donations made payable to Friends of AMOS, which can be sent to P.O. Box 84, Ortonville, MI 48442, or dropped off at the Ortonville Village offices. Links for online payments will be available at thecitizenonline.com in this story.
“Please spread the word and help us raise funds for the 2021 show by donating and asking your friends to donate as well,” she said. “Once again, without your help this year, we might have the green light from the state but we won’t have the funds necessary to put on a show to celebrate our freedom.”
The fireworks show will be on July 2 as long as state and county restrictions don’t change. If they do change the show will be postponed to a later date. The fireworks will be launched from the Brandon Middle School as usual, but there will be no food trucks of carnival.