The City of Gustine will continue its decades-long partnership with Rialto-based Pyro Spectaculars after council members approved a contract agreement for its annual Fourth of July fireworks show last Tuesday.
The city will pay the fireworks company $26,950.00, a $2,700 increase from last year. Despite the increased cost, this year’s show will use less materials with 722 shells, 92 less from the year before, according to the staff report.
The staff report also mentioned that city staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to explore and consider competitive offers. Due to the other vendors' unavailability, city staff suggested continuing work with Pyro Spectaculars. City staff held ongoing discussions with the Rialto-based company on improvements for this year’s show, including "enhancements to the overall presentation.”
In an effort to address budget concerns, staff members will work with Gustine Chamber of Commerce for possible donors and sponsorships. Additionally, staff from the city’s recreation department will later begin a community outreach event that will focus on promoting the event through flyers and on social media, while handling funding efforts.
In the past two years, the city has seen a decrease in donations received. According to the city’s fiscal year 2025-26 adopted budget, Gustine received $17,806.01 and $5,973.00 in fireworks donations in FY 24 and FY 25, respectively.
The decrease in donations led to Mayor Patrick Nagy voicing his frustrations about the situation during a March 4, 2025 meeting. He later proposed the idea of working with Gustine’s neighboring-city in Newman, which is a five-minute drive from one another, in hosting the pyrotechnic display in one city for a year and in the other city the year after to split the cost in hosting the event.
“I know there [are] a lot of people from Newman that come over here for our fireworks show. I see them every year.” He said in the March 2025 meeting. “Maybe we work with the City of Newman and have a fireworks [show] in Newman one year and [in] Gustine the next.”
As the nation celebrates its 250th birthday in July, fireworks distributors will have to deal with increased costs due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs through China, the world’s largest fireworks supplier.
In an effort to stop the flow of fentanyl, Trump imposed tariffs to three countries, including China at 20% in March 2025, according to the Associated Press. Eight months later, the White House announced in a statement that the United States would decrease its imposed tariffs to China by 10%.
