Two Northeast Ohio communities are giving Fourth of July fireworks a pass in 2025, one for financial reasons, the other because of a lack of a suitable location.
North Canton announced it was cancelling its celebration due to a lack of resources.
North Canton Director of Administration Catherine Farina-Molnar said, for decades, the city had relied on the Hoover Company, which stopped hosting the show when it shut down operations in the city in 2007. The North Canton Jaycees took over sponsoring the fireworks until 2023. The North Canton Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored the fireworks in 2024 but said they could not do so again due to the cost.
“You are dealing with something decades long that the community has enjoyed and it’s hard,” said Farina-Molnar on making the cancellation.
Farina-Molnar said she and her staff understand the chamber’s decision to drop its sponsorship. At the same time, she said she appreciated the North Canton Jaycees and the YMCA for their continued support for other Fourth of July events including the annual parade and race.
“So sadly, the third part of Fourth July here in North Canton was… people did the race, they did the parade probably went home,” Farina-Molnar said. “And later that night they sat in lawn chairs looked up at the sky and sat and enjoyed fireworks so that the only part that is different. We still have the race and parade. We just won’t have the fireworks.”
East Palestine also had to cancel its fireworks due to a lack of a safe site to hold the show. Previously, the village held its fireworks at East Palestine Park, but this year it’s undergoing improvements.
Brian Rutledge with the East Palestine Firefighters Association, which puts on the display each year, said as part of the village’s settlement with Norfolk Southern over the 2023 train derailment, the park is being redone. “As far as fireworks are concerned you are required to have so much space from where they are being shot at and the specters,” Rutledge said. “As a logistics thing there’s nowhere local to put the show on the community is used to seeing.”
Both North Canton and East Palestine plan to move forward with fireworks shows in 2026.
Farina-Molnar hopes the frustration and disappointment in North Canton over this year’s cancellation will motivate others to step forward and ensure there are fireworks next year for America’s 250 birthday celebration.
