It takes a lot of green to put the red, white and blue into Poulsbo’s pre-Independence Day celebration but organizers of the annual Fireworks on the Fjord might be stuck with a dud this July. Losing its title sponsor, the event will be hard pressed to raise $11,000 in the next month to ensure the show does indeed go on above Liberty Bay.

The fireworks display brings thousands of visitors to the community and has been one of Poulsbo’s best attended annual events for several years. It had humble beginnings, and we remember the days when former organizer Mary Graves ran frenetically around town for donations before finally landing corporate sponsorship — something which allowed her to finally and truly enjoy the event she worked so hard to produce.

Now she’s gone and so are the big bucks.

Third of July just won’t be the same without the big booms but it isn’t the only event in North Kitsap that has faced such a prospect. Kingston’s Fourth of July fund raising comes down to the wire annually and Poulsbo’s Viking Fest has come up short on fireworks money the past few years. Given the latter of the two shows is relatively next to the mix, but it is an indication that the public isn’t always going to get what it wants of its celebrations.

That is unless it is willing to pay for it.

Whether or not it is has yet to be determined. But as the community struggles to fund its fireworks shows, it is also faced with the unwelcome prospect that less big booms will translate into thousands more little ones. Many families in North Kitsap substitute buying fireworks with attending professional shows in early July. It’s less expensive, of course, but more importantly, it’s safer.

A no show on the third will likely raise the number of calls the Poulsbo police and fire departments receive — ultimately replacing the sound of professional fireworks and the awesome sight of bright fireworks over Liberty Bay with sirens and flashing lights all over the city.