A Statement About the 4th of July Fireworks Festival
at the Ford Wyoming Center

In the spirit of full transparency, Ford Wyoming Center Management is sharing the reality behind this year’s decision to streamline its traditional Fourth of July event.

While the fireworks display will continue, the festival portion, including live music, vendors, and on-site activities, will not be part of this year’s celebration. This decision was not made lightly.

Key factors in forgoing this year’s festival include:

• Declining attendance in recent years.
• Declining revenues, including parking fees, vendor fees, and sponsorships, that are no longer able to offset the rising costs of staffing (including holiday pay), set-up/clean-up, equipment, entertainment, security, and amenities.
• Timing impacts attendance. History tells us that when the Fourth of July falls on a weekend, like it does this year on a Friday, attendance typically drops as many in the community travel, go camping, or head to the lake.
• A packed calendar of community events this year, including the carnival at the Fairgrounds, Speedway races, Spuds baseball, and more, means plenty of ways for Casper to celebrate. While that naturally spreads attendance, it’s a great sign of a vibrant, active community.

“Could we have moved forward with the full festival anyway? Absolutely,” said Jake Crumb, General Manager. “But it would have required us, and ultimately the taxpayers, to subsidize an event that simply doesn’t sustain itself anymore. We didn’t feel that was a responsible use of public funds.”

At the same time, the Ford Wyoming Center acknowledges that the fireworks display has become a beloved part of many other Fourth of July traditions throughout Casper. Whether residents watch from the fairgrounds, the speedway, neighborhood gatherings, or parks, the show continues to bring the community together in celebration. The fireworks display can be enjoyed by the entire community from essentially anywhere in town.

“The tradition lives on,” said Crumb. “We focused on the part of the event that matters most, the fireworks.”

The venue emphasized that this is not a permanent change. Planning conversations have already begun for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, with the goal of delivering something truly special for the community.

“We absolutely hear the disappointment. It means people care. And that’s a good thing,” added Crumb. “We’re looking forward to future conversations about what this event can look like moving forward, and how the community and local businesses might partner with us to help shape it.”

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