THE BALLOON MAN

Fireworks at Meadow Event Park?

Under a proposal by Commonwealth Fairs & Events, laser light shows and fireworks at Meadow Event Park in Doswell would still require special-use permits to be granted by Caroline County. /

AP photo

from: fredericksburg.com

BY ROBYN SIDERSKY / THE FREE LANCE–STAR

April 20, 2014

The owners of Caroline County’s Meadow Event Park are seeking permission from the county to change proffers and existing uses on the property to allow fireworks and laser light shows for special events, though there are currently no plans for those special effects.

Commonwealth Fairs & Events, the owner of the property where the state fair is held each year, wants to change proffers and existing uses permitted for the site.

But Jeff Dillon, president of the company, stressed Friday that there aren’t plans to do these things right away, but they wanted to be able to if a situation arose in the future. “We have no plans to have fireworks at the fair or other events, but we can’t predict 10 years from now what someone would want to do,” he said.

Dillon said if fireworks are used, it would be no more than two times per year.

He said lots of entertainment venues are having laser shows, which are beamed against a building or another structure at night for a festive appearance. It would be different than lights projected into the sky.

These uses would still require special-use permits from the county.

Dillon said that instead of getting the proffers changed every time they want to do something, getting these changes now would create some flexibility.

He also asked that the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office be used for security for events, rather than the Virginia State Police.

Another change would be the ability to have more than one stage at an event.

A larger change would be the ability to have a campground for specific events at the park, such as for groups like the Boy Scouts. It would not become an RV park or a KOA campground, he said.

A more technical change that was requested was to change the name of the owner in the proffers, from “The Fair” to “Commonwealth Fairs & Events,” to reflect the change in ownership of the site.

These changes were brought to the Caroline County Planning Commission this week. The panel held a public hearing for each and two people spoke in opposition.

The planners deferred action until their May 7 work session.