Golden Gate fireworks in Evanston lost much of their impact on Saturday evening when a thick blanket of fog rolled over the display. The weather hit the city’s 4th of July festivities after daytime events had already avoided the worst of it.
The evening shift in conditions was the sharpest break in the day. Bill Smith noted that the fireworks were cloaked in fog, and the result was a visibility problem rather than a total cancellation, leaving spectators with a weaker show than the schedule had promised.
Arrington Lagoon and the band
The Palatine Concert Band’s performance at the Arrington Lagoon was canceled because dampness from lingering showers made the setup untenable. That left the evening program without one of its live components, while the fireworks display still went ahead under poor viewing conditions.
By contrast, the 4th of July Association’s daytime events managed to avoid the weather woes. That split outcome is what makes Saturday’s holiday schedule worth separating into two parts: one that proceeded cleanly, and one that lost both music and sightlines once the evening weather settled in.
Fog over Evanston
The fog changed the value of the fireworks without changing the fact that people gathered for them. For spectators, the practical effect was simple: the display became harder to follow from the ground, even though the holiday program was still underway.
For Evanston, the night reads as a weather problem rather than an event failure. The daytime portion held up, the band did not, and the fireworks were still visible only in fragments through the fog. How many spectators could see them clearly is the unanswered part left on the table.
