By SABRINA SIMMS

VIDALIA — For years the Miss-Lou has “oohed and ahhed” at the annual Fourth of July fireworks display over the Mississippi River.

This year, the Vidalia Beautification Committee has volunteered their services to see that tradition continue.

Committee president and Vidalia alderman Sabrina Doré said the committee has been expanding its efforts, from planting flowers to hosting holiday celebrations, to make the Vidalia community welcoming to both visitors and residents.

She and the 10 members of the Vidalia Beautification Committee strive to do what their tagline says, to “create unity in the community,” Doré said.

“Our goal in this is to utilize some of the beauty that we already have in the town — to utilize the riverfront and the amphitheater,” she said, “creating unity in the community.”

Doré said the committee became most active in the previous year during the Christmas holiday season when they decorated the courthouse square and sold their signature Christmas tree ornaments.

She said the funds help the committee replace the town’s decorations, help with the neighborhood watch program and back-to-school projects and many other community events without using taxpayer money.

Since its creation, Doré said the committee has celebrated even more holidays by sponsoring the Krewe of Vidal Mardi Gras parade and now the second annual Fourth of July festival.

“We’re just trying to join hands with all of the groups,” she said. “Every group that has a function, we try to join in and help them make it as successful as possible.”

Doré said the previous years Fourth of July Festival on the Vidalia Riverfront was a huge success, and the committee decided to make it even bigger in conjunction with the annual firework show on the Mississippi River.

This year, the festival is extending its hours to from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., making it an all-day Independence Day celebration. Doré said the festival also is adding food vendors, children’s activities and adoptable dogs to the free community event.

Doré said the Fourth of July festival would not be the same without the fireworks. She said the show over the river is both beautiful and safe for nearby businesses, but also costs more — a 20-minute presentation would cost an estimated $20,000.

René Adams, a former volunteer with the 95 Country radio station, took on the fundraising role in the past, using radio advertisements to request Fourth of July firework donations.

“René and I spoke two months ago,” Doré said. “She told me in order for the tradition to continue, someone had to take on that responsibility.”

Adams said her career has taken her away from the community, allowing her to pass on the torch to light the fireworks.

“This is probably the best community event that we have,” Adams said. “The fireworks bring everyone together, and I want everyone to support it.”

Adams said soliciting funds from businesses is best done as a community effort rather than an individual one.

“My employment roles have changed,” she said. “I had to raise the money as an individual and it was just too much responsibility for one individual to take on.”

Doré said when she heard this, her hand shot into the air.

“Pick me,” Doré said.

The Vidalia Beautification Committee is now partnering with 107.1 The River and 104.7 The Gator to solicit the funds for this year’s show, she said, — a last-minute undertaking that began May 24 and has already accumulated 54 percent of the desired $20,000.

“It has been phenomenal to me that, even given the short notice,  … the businesses of everyone in the Miss-Lou, are very supportive,” Doré said. “People are coming on board left and right and are excited to do so.”

She said contributors will be featured on social media and print ads and will be announced at the festival. Those who wish to donate must have a signed pledge with the dollar amount they are comfortable with by June 15.

For more information, call 318-336-9625.