When the final firework disappears from the sky over Bolivar Saturday night, the work behind Sparks of Giving won’t be finished.
In many ways, that’s when its purpose becomes most apparent.
Kyle Quillen and his wife, Samantha, have watched Sparks of Giving grow from an idea centered around bringing people together into a major community event at Wilkshire Golf Course. But Kyle Quillen said the crowds, nationally known musical acts and elaborate fireworks production have always served a larger mission: creating opportunities to give back.
“This is a community-driven day of giving,” Quillen told Jordan Miller News.
The event benefits the ZoarView Foundation, which uses proceeds and community support generated through Sparks of Giving to invest in organizations, programs and needs throughout the area.
That charitable work has included support for local schools and Christmas programs, along with a significant contribution to Akron Children’s Hospital for behavioral and mental health efforts.
For Quillen, those examples are ultimately a better measure of Sparks of Giving’s success than the size of the crowd gathered at Wilkshire.
Big entertainment with a bigger purpose
The concept has continued to evolve as the event has grown. Local businesses and sponsors have become involved, vendors help generate money and the event’s VIP experience and charity auction create additional fundraising opportunities.
This year’s event will feature a lineup headlined by country artists Avery Anna and Love and Theft, along with Ian Harrison.
Anna has emerged as a rising name in country music, while Love and Theft has been a fixture in the genre for years. Harrison, an Ohio native who won Season 22 of NBC’s “The Voice,” adds another connection to the region.
The musical performances are just one piece of a day that will also include food, vendors, children’s activities and an elaborate fireworks and lighting production.
The entertainment helps bring people through the gates, but the Quillens’ goal is for the impact of those crowds to extend far beyond Wilkshire.
It creates something of a cycle: People come to Bolivar for an experience, businesses and organizations get involved, and the support generated by the event can ultimately be directed back into the communities those same people call home.
Giving without feeling like a fundraiser
Sparks of Giving gives families a way to participate in that mission without necessarily spending their Saturday at what feels like a traditional fundraiser.
Instead, the foundation has built an experience around music, entertainment and family activities while using the event as a vehicle to generate support for its charitable work.
The VIP experience is also designed with families in mind rather than being simply an adults-only premium area. It includes activities for children in addition to premium fireworks viewing, food, drinks and other amenities.
That family emphasis ties into what the Quillens have tried to build around Sparks: an event capable of creating memories Saturday while generating resources that can do good well beyond the weekend.
And this year, that effort begins before the first concert.
The new Sparks Scramble will bring golfers to Wilkshire Saturday morning while raising money for Tusky Valley youth wrestling and football, providing another direct connection between the event and organizations serving local children.
What happens after the fireworks
By Saturday night, attention will inevitably turn toward the sky.
Sparks of Giving has become known for its large-scale fireworks production, which combines pyrotechnics with music, lighting and other effects to create a choreographed finale.
For the ZoarView Foundation, however, the more important legacy is what happens afterward.
Money raised can be reinvested. Organizations can be supported. Children and families can benefit. And an event built around entertainment can become a vehicle for something larger.
That’s the idea at the center of Sparks of Giving: Give people a reason to gather for a night they won’t soon forget and use that gathering to make an impact that lasts much longer.
The 2026 Sparks of Giving event is Saturday, Aug. 29, at Wilkshire Golf Course in Bolivar.
Tickets, including general admission and VIP options, can be purchased at sparksofgiving.com.
