The Fourth of July has always been a day full of celebrations, but this year there will be fewer events in Ames due to a lack of funding.

Claire Bills, Ames public relations officer, said this year’s celebration will only consist of fireworks and an Ames Municipal Band concert.

“We used to have the all-day-long festival a few years ago, but I think the Jaycees don’t have enough funding to run it this year,” she said.

The Jaycees is a service group that sponsors community events.

Jeri Derner, president of the Ames Jaycees, said although there has been a shortage of Jaycees funds recently, the group has managed to cover the expenses for the fireworks display.

She said in the past, the Jaycees raised money for their Fourth of July events by standing between lanes of traffic and carrying buckets for drivers to throw money into. However, they stopped doing this because of increasing traffic.

“There’s no way we can do it anymore because it takes more people, time and energy,” she said.

Derner said they had planned to do the Spark the Spirit Festival as they have done for the past five years, but a shortage of funding and volunteers prevented the event.

“This year we don’t have enough people to run both the fireworks and the festival,” she said.

The festival, usually held in Brookside Park, included children’s games, food vendors, pony rides, music and acting performances, she said.

Derner said her team prefers to focus their energy on running the fireworks.

“We really had to choose between the park activities and the fireworks, and we chose fireworks because we want to focus on doing the thing that has always been good,” she said.

The fireworks display has always attracted many spectators, Bills said.

She said many people picnic with their friends and families during the day and watch the fireworks in the evening.

“People usually park their vehicles at Hilton Coliseum or the closest parking spot to the fireworks area to watch it,” she said.

Derner said approximately $10,000 is needed to finance the fireworks. Half of this money comes from the city and the Jaycees collect the remainder from fund-raising activities.

“The business organizations and individuals are very supportive of our activities,” she said.

It takes half a day of planning the day before the performance to ensure that the fireworks display runs smoothly, Derner said.

“The fireworks should be a good attraction,” she said.

Before the fireworks, the Ames Municipal Band, under the direction of Homer Gartz, will be performing a Fourth of July concert at Reiman Gardens.

It will begin at 7 p.m. and will be followed by the fireworks display at Stuart Smith Park at 9:30 p.m.