On the beaten path

As a city resident, I know the situation with the taxes. They’re through the roof, and a fireworks display is expensive. Blah blah blah. But it seems to me that turning attention away from the Fourth and focusing it on the Mayor’s Cup, regardless of the sponsorship, is just wrong.

Years ago, as a young reporter, I used to cover the Mayor’s Cup when it was a sailboat race. Period. They then expanded the focus to include landlubber events and craft show at Trinity Park for the day of the race for those of us stuck on terra firma. It was fun, and it wasn’t a strain on the coffers, either. The day ended with the awarding of the cup. Period. And July Fourth was left to be celebrated as July Fourth.

Over the years, the Mayor’s Cup seems to have outshined July Fourth in its events, its contests, entertainment and redundant fireworks, sometimes coming only days after the July Fourth display. It got old. It got expensive. And now it got dumped, or at least strictly abbreviated.

But because they insisted on having fireworks for Mayor’s Cup on July 6, July Fourth gets short shrift. The was no parade, no acknowledgement of the reason for the holiday, not even a firecracker to commemorate the birth of a nation. Instead, sponsors turned their attention to the Mayor’s Cup and ponied up for a fireworks show on July 6. Sure, they can say it combines the Fourth of July and the Mayor’s Cup, but those of us who wanted to see fireworks on the day they’re supposed to be seen don’t buy it. It isn’t right, and don’t think I’m the only one who thinks so.

Plattsburgh isn’t the only municipality that has its calendar screwed up. Fireworks and “Fourth of July” celebrations are held on various days surrounding the actual holiday all over the North Country. But residents could always depend on fireworks in the city for the Fourth of July, whether they ignited the sky downtown or over the Oval on Plattsburgh Air Force Base.

The Mayor’s Cup can do without the fireworks; it can do without the parade. It’s a sailboat race. Bring back the Saturday landlubber events in Trinity Park if you must, but keep the focus where it’s supposed to be. And give us back our Fourth of July. It’s supposed to be a birthday party, after all, and what’s a birthday without some (Roman) candles?