SHAMOKIN - The calendar says summer arrived nine days ago, but there may be no better indicator than the Shamokin area's annual fireworks.
Backyard barbecues are ignited in the daytime and come dusk, amateur pyrotechnicians in the city and Coal Township do a fine job sending blasts of color and sound into the evening sky leading up to the big show on the Glen Burn mountain.
As always, the fireworks display begins at 9:40 p.m. This year's display is a 20-minute showing provided once again by Fire Art Corp. and sponsored by Citizens for a Better Community (CBC).
The forecast six days out seems tame, with temperatures expected in the high 60s by showtime. There is a slight chance of rain.
Glen Knarr, of Fire Art Corp., said there will be new sequences and varieties of color, and the fireball finale will return.
Donations appreciated
The fireworks don't pay for themselves.
It's up to the community and visitors to chip in. Volunteers from CBC will be stationed on Route 61 by Pool World, at Sixth and Dewart streets by Len's Automotive and on Second Street by the playground to collect coins and dollar bills from passersby.
"We're going to be out doing the collections all day. Hopefully people are generous because that's next year's show. The more they give the better they get," CBC President Rich Jilinski said, explaining that donations on Saturday will be put toward the 2014 display.
Anyone interested in assisting at a collection location, even for one hour, can call Jilinski at 809-2848.
Other displays
Mount Carmel's display will also be held Saturday. That show is at 10:15 p.m., allowing enough time for anyone in the Shamokin-Coal Township area to drive down Route 61 to see more pyrotechnics.
The annual "Thunder Over Ashland" display is scheduled for dusk on Wednesday at the borough's Memorial Field.
Bloomsburg's will be set off at Town Park on Thursday, Independence Day, and Sunbury's is annually held on the second Saturday of July, which is July 13.
CBC will also host a car show Sunday, July 7. No judges. No fees. It's really just a chance to show off some great cars.
Anyone wishing to enter their car in the show need only show up at Spangenberg's Family Drive-In in Tharptown at 3:30 p.m. Cruisers are asked only to bring a canned good to be donated to Shamokin's Manna for the Many.
All cruisers will take a drive to Elysburg and then Natalie and Kulpmont before making their way to Independence Street, where the cars will be on display from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Any vendors interested in setting up in the downtown can do so at no cost, and can set up from 3:30 p.m. through the end of the show.
For more information, call Lisa Wengrenovich at 648-7019.