By Stephen Nelson
There will be fireworks displays again this year in Kankakee for both the Juneteenth celebration at Pioneer Park on Saturday, June 22, as well as for the Fourth of July, after the Kankakee City Council approved contracts with Mad Bomber Fireworks of Kingsbury, Indiana, for both displays at their Monday, March 18, meeting. Again this year, the cost of the presentations is going up. Last year, Kankakee paid $8,000 for the Juneteenth display and will pay $9,500 this year. The July Fourth show, which happens at the end of a day-long event at Kankakee Community College, will go from the $40,000 paid last year to $42,000.
Also during the meeting, a street closure of Eighth Avenue, from West Water Street to West Charles Street, was approved for the Kankakee Historical Society for their Rhubarb Festival to be held on Sunday, May 19, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the grounds of the Kankakee County Museum. The Merchant Street Art Gallery of Artists with Autism received council permission to hold their “Run for Autism” on Sunday, June 16, from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., at Cobb Park.