Council clears Ox Roast permits, fireworks and drone agreements for August festival

DeWitt City Council on May 26, 2026 unanimously approved special-event applications and related public-safety agreements for the annual Ox Roast festival scheduled for mid-August. Councilmember Whitman moved to approve the festival events, road closures and authorized the consumption of alcohol under city ordinance; Councilmember Kellogg seconded and the council passed the motion contingent on proof of insurance naming the City of DeWitt as an additional insured.

Council also approved a Risk Transfer Agreement with Great Lakes Fireworks LLC to provide fireworks for the Ox Roast and authorized the mayor and deputy city clerk to sign the agreement on the city's behalf. The council approved a fireworks display permit for Great Lakes Fireworks LLC with an alternate date in case of inclement weather. The transcript lists the permit date as August 14, 2025 with an August 16 rain date; the meeting is dated May 26, 2026, and the intent expressed in the meeting was to permit the fireworks for the 2026 Ox Roast festival (corrected here to the 2026 festival date based on meeting context).

The council also approved a Risk Transfer Agreement with Fire Fly Drone Shows for a drone show and authorized city signatures on that agreement. All votes on Ox Roast-related items were unanimous in the meeting record. Several approvals were contingent upon standard conditions such as proof of insurance naming the city as an additional insured; the transcript does not include the insurance certificates or the full text of the vendor agreements.