ST CHARLES, Mo. — Just hours before fireworks lit up St. Charles' skies Thursday night, the city announced it wouldn't be repeating its annual July Fourth celebration, "Riverfest," on Friday.
The annual event went off without a hitch Thursday night, with hundreds of people turning out to ride rides, support local food vendors and watch the annual fireworks show. Crowds, however, were pushed more inland than they usually would be due to a large amount of standing water near where the venue, Frontier Park, meets the Missouri River.
The water and recent rain overnight were enough for officials to think twice before holding the event on July 5.
"Due to recent rain and rising river levels the decision was made to cancel Riverfest for Friday," St. Charles officials said on the Discover St. Charles website.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Missouri River levels at St. Charles reached 30.09 feet Friday morning, activating a "moderate" flood stage, which indicates inundation of structures and roads near streams.
Volunteers worked into the early morning hours to pick up trash before the river took it.
"We were here until 2:30 in the morning last night picking up trash," Scout Troop 351 Volunteer Megan O'Daniell told 5 On your Side. "We stayed extra on our shifts to try and get it done so it didn't go in the river."
City of St. Charles Director of Special Events and Communications Beth Norviel told 5 On Your Side electrical safety was part of the reason for the late night clean up.
"We run electric through the park for events like this and that was a big concern of ours, because some of the electric sits right here along the bank. We made sure that we got everything packed up as best we could last night and got everybody out of the park so that it could be removed early this morning."
Beer vendor Tony Pellikaan understood the reason, but was still bummed about the cancellation.
"It was a little upsetting, because I took off two days of work and I deliver pizzas for Imo's up the street," Pellikaan said. "So it's a little bit of a loss of money for me, but it's a nice Friday off in a couple years."
Fellow vendor Jose Kimbrow was in the same boat, but understood why planners cancelled.
"We had vendors on that side, so with the rise they would have definitely been under, so for public safety I understand why," Kimbrow said.
Organizers told 5 On Your Side they are working with vendors on a possible refund.
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