The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts doesn't have the funds to produce the annual Inner Harbor fireworks display due to a lack of donations, officials said.
Bill Gilmore, executive director of the nonprofit, told The Daily Record of Baltimore that the group needs $75,000 to $100,000 to “blow the doors off” with pyrotechnics, but they've only raised $27,500. The event draws 100,000 people to the harbor and could have a $6.9 million economic impact, officials said.
Ports America Chesapeake has underwritten the New Year's Eve and Fourth of July fireworks displays for the past three years, but now only subsidizes the summer show. Gilmore said it has been hard to find other sponsors in a rough economy, but he's confident more donations will come through.
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