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Loch Raven's fireworks will fly high with $10K donation from Walmart

Marks says contribution will pay for annual Fourth of July display

By Jon Meoli, jmeoli@tribune.com

5:50 PM EDT, April 10, 2012

A $10,000 donation from Walmart that will "more than pay for" expenses associated with this year's edition of the Loch Raven fireworks was made this week, according to 5th District County Councilman David Marks.

"The Loch Raven fireworks have been a tradition in the Towson and Loch Raven communities for many years, but they are very expensive and require financial support," said Marks said in a press release on April 10 announcing the donation. "I thank corporate sponsors like Walmart for their help."

Marks said he had initiated the dialogue between Walmart and the community. he said he and Gretchen Sarkin, president of the Associates of Loch Raven Village, picked up the donation Tuesday.

"We thank Walmart very much for this generous contribution for our community fireworks, which are attended by thousands of families every Fourth of July," Sarkin said in the statement.

In November of last year, Sarkin had told the Towson Times that a January deadline was looming to determine if the fireworks would survive into 2012.

She noted that the fireworks have become a community tradition that bound together many aspects of Loch Raven and adjacent areas.

"The July 4 fireworks are near and dear to the hearts of many in the area," she said in November. "You get to see people you don't normally see. It brings us all together."

The community fireworks were initially held on Luskins Hill, with the Loch Raven Business Association and the Loch Raven Kiwanis picking up the tab — about $3,000 or $4,000.

After Luskins closed, the fireworks moved to what is now Loch Raven Academy, and since 2004 the associates have paid the bill and insurance, adding up to the $10,000 expense.

With the donation in hand, this year's edition of the Loch Raven fireworks will be held at sundown at Loch Raven Academy this Fourth of July.

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