Selissen: No Fireworks In Tewksbury This July 4

Jerry Selissen, president of the Friends of the Patriotic Activities Committee, announced on Friday that there would be no fireworks display in Tewksbury on the Fourth of July.

"The money's just not there," said Selissen, who said the group's board voted not to fund the fireworks at their meeting Thursday, March 8. "We're down about $16,000 this year."

The FOTPAC is a non-profit group, which has raised money to fund the , and the

Selissen said corporate and individual contributions have both dropped significantly and the recent "Big Bang Bash" only brought in around $2,000.

Selissen said the group would continue to fund the Memorial Day Parade and Veterans Day celebration.

"We're absolutely committed to those events," he said. "The botom line is we just haven't been able to generate the revenue and something had to give."

The FOTPAC has funded the events through private donations and fundraisers for the past five years. They took over that effort after the Patriotic Activities Committee had its funding from the town eliminated.