Fireworks highlight Great Tecumseh Campout

By MICKEY ALVARADO

While this year’s attendance at the annual fireworks was lower than the past few years with the Pow Wow being relocated to Adrian, those who kicked back at the Great Tecumseh Campout at Cal Zorn Recreation Center on Saturday, June 26, were treated to a wonderful array of exploding colors.

The Great Tecumseh Campout brought in seven RVs and 21 tent campsites were rented for the two-day event, according to Shelley Lim, the Tecumseh Parks and Recreation Department Director.

“We had about 120 folks camp out,” said Lim. “We thought it went wonderful for our first year.”

The two-day event featured free face painting and a pie eating contest that Lim said was a blast watching. Visitors to Cal Zorn created a 20-foot mural painting during the weekend and the kids absolutely loved being able to leave their mark on it.

After the fireworks display on Saturday, the great Tecumseh campfire was lit and a special guest told stories and entertained the crowd. Lim was unsure if the campfire would go over as well as the other events, having a lot of youth camping over the weekend, but said, “Everybody brought their blankets and chairs and were excited about it.”

A s’mores station was set up that went over extremely well with the visitors, as did a Pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. Mayor Harvey Schmidt and Tecumseh City Manager, Kevin Welch, were on hand and helped with the flipping of pancakes, donated by the local Kiwanis Club.

After many of the planned events for Saturday took place, the Parks and Recreation opened the gates to Cal Zorn free of charge.

“We thought, why not have open admission and give everybody a nice chance to find a good spot for the fireworks,” said Lim.

The fireworks display cost $6,000 dollars. In previous years, the fireworks display ran approximately $5,000 with the event coordinators having a personal contact that worked at reduced rates. 

The event was made possible through many generous donations. Busch’s offered hot dogs, chips and water for a donation with the proceeds going towards next year’s campout. All of the money raised from campsites and gate charges will also go towards next year’s Great Tecumseh Campout.