The 4th of July Kurten Fireworks Show has a new host
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A local community member and business owner has stepped up and is taking on the role of hosting the 4th of July staple.
After 20 years The Brazos County District 2 Volunteer Fire Department is no longer hosting the annual 4th of July Fireworks Show in Kurten.
When Shane Savage, the owner and operator of Savage Outdoor & Defense, heard that The Brazos County VFD 2 would no longer host the Kurten Fireworks Show, he was shocked.
“For me it was just always a staple, I never thought it would disappear, I never thought it would go away, so it was just shocking,” said Savage.
But the VFD was looking for someone to carry the mantle.
“I saw that they were looking for someone to kind of pass the torch onto, so I did some research into it. I talked to some people that I know in the Fire Department that are some really good friends of mine, that are really upstanding guys and we talked about it and we figured out that we’d be able to do it,” said Savage.
Savage wanted to save it for the community he loves.
“If I had a way to give back to the community that supports me, that supports my business, I want to be able to do it. I wouldn’t be who I am without the people in this community and if I can do something to give back to them, I’m gonna do my best,” said Savage. “It’s important to me because it is important to the community, the community are people I care about, people that I love, people that I have grown up with and I just want to make them proud. I want to give them the show that they’ve come to expect, I want to give them the event that they’ve come to expect, and I want the event to live up to the bar the fire department has set. I want to make everyone proud that this event is going to continue.”
Travis Rollins, the Public Information Officer for VFD 2, said it was a tough decision for the VFD to make but they had to prioritize keeping their community safe during emergencies.
“It just got to the point where it no longer made financial sense, sense of what we need to do with our volunteer hours that our members put in. The cost of things are going up and we just really wanted to focus more of our time and energy on emergency response, fire suppression, and just taking care of the community in that way,” said Rollins.
But Rollins says they couldn’t be more excited Shane Savage with Savage Outdoor & Defense is continuing the tradition.
“He understands what it means to the community and we’re just excited to help him in a fire and EMS role at the event on 4th of July,” said Rollins. “We are glad that he is willing to step up and carry that tradition, so hopefully people will step up to support him because he is very genuine, excited, and he already has a detailed plan in place.”
Savage says he is still looking for community support and sponsors for the event.
“If anyone is interested in being a sponsor, being a vendor, or has a food truck they’d like to bring out, they can reach out to us via email or through our website. That email address is info@savageoutdoordefense.com. We still have tons of room for sponsors,” said Savage. “We want to make this event as big if not bigger than it has been in the past.”
This event will still be a community fundraiser. All proceeds raised in excess of operating costs will be donated to The National Wild Turkey Federation, the Brazos County First Responders Association, and the Brazos County District 2 VFD.
