Decades-long holiday tradition being put on hold in 2020

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A decades-old Fourth of July tradition will not be continuing this year in Bowling Green.

The Kiwanis Club of Bowling Green announced the annual Thunderfest has been canceled due to the coronavirus. The annual fireworks celebration takes place at the National Corvette Museum’s amphitheater and draws hundreds of people every year.

For the Kiwanis club, it’s also a major fundraiser and much of that money finds its way to other non-profit organizations that improve the lives of children.

Kiwanis president Janie Hurt says holding the event this year would be a risk that the club just can’t take.

Danette Idlett of Life’s Better Together, one of the beneficiaries of the Kiwanis Club’s fundraising efforts, says it means having to regroup and refocus fundraising efforts.

Hurt says the Kiwanis club has already started planning next year’s Thunderfest.