Organizers of Wrangell’s multi-day Fourth of July celebration, themed “Small Town, Big Heart” this year, are seeking volunteers and sponsors to ensure a full slate of events. Without volunteers to serve as chairperson, some events may not happen.

“As of right now, we need chair-people for the Red, White and Blue Fair and the Street Games,” said Tracey Martin, executive director of the chamber of commerce, which organizes the holiday event.

“It’s not a huge time commitment to chair the events,” Martin said in an interview. “I think the children and some visitors might be disappointed if we don’t have all the events this year.”

She explained that one benefit of chairing an event is the ability to personalize it.

“If someone volunteers, they aren’t stuck doing the event the same way it’s always been done,” she said. “It can be done differently, based on how the chair wants to do it.”

“I have binders for volunteers. They’re very thorough and they were put together by Kim Szczatko,” Martin said. “The schedule has to be worked around tides, the fireworks and the schedules of the volunteers. If someone is unhappy with the schedule, they should volunteer to help.”

Anyone interested in either sponsoring an event or volunteering to chair an event should contact Martin at 907-305-0685. She also encouraged people willing to donate prizes for the scrap fish derby to bring their donations to the chamber office in the Nolan Center.

She said more sponsors are needed to make sure that everything is funded.

“It’s a great way to get your name out there,” she said. “If you sponsor an event, your name will be out there in multiple locations. And you’ll know that you helped make everything happen.”

Martin said the celebration is “huge” and brings hundreds of people to the island each year.

“We have so many people who have family here, or lived here before and moved away, that all come here to celebrate the Fourth,” she remarked. “And we get visitors from other locations as well. It’s such a big deal for this community, because all of the businesses get more customers and people spend — on average — about $200 each day while they’re here.”

The festivities will unofficially kick off the weekend before July 4 with the Alaska Airlines golf tournament at Muskeg Meadows Golf Course. The bulk of the celebration’s events, games and activities are slated for July 2-4, with some possibility of events on July 1, according to organizer Martin.

Fundraising for the month-long celebration began May 31, with a community potluck. Sophia Martinsen, the royalty candidate working to raise funds, declared her intention to surpass the $98,556 raised by her sister, Emma Martinsen, in 2021.

The fundraising is the main source of revenue for the chamber’s Fourth of July efforts.