Severe weather damages Wicked City Roller Derby's biggest fundraiser
Storm damage hit Wicked City Roller Derby’s biggest fundraiser in Derby, ruining fireworks stock and forcing volunteers to haul 45 bags of mulch to keep sales going.
Severe weather hit Wicked City Roller Derby’s biggest fundraiser in Derby, Kansas, and left the Wichita league scrambling to protect fireworks stock, keep the tent passable and absorb extra costs. Shauna Holloway said volunteers had to move inventory off flooded tarps, haul it from the top of a hill to the bottom and spread about 45 bags of mulch just to keep customers out of the mud.
The damage landed on the league’s fireworks sales tent at 1300 N Nelson Dr., near Derby Plaza Theaters, where the operation was scheduled to stay open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Thursday, then from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Holloway said some fireworks were destroyed, calling the loss “a punch to the gut,” while strong winds kept crews watching the tents closely through the storm.
“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Holloway said. The tent helps pay for the league’s tournaments and other year-round functions, which makes the weather hit more than a nuisance. For a skater-run nonprofit, damaged product means money that was supposed to support the rest of the season now has to cover replacement stock and cleanup instead.
Wicked City Roller Derby describes itself as Wichita’s flat track roller derby league and a skater-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliated with the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. By March 2025, the league had grown to more than 40 skaters and was fielding two home teams, the Delano Devils and the Riverside Riot, for the first time in more than 15 years after being founded in 2006 as ICT Roller Girls.
That growth is part of why the fundraiser matters so much. The league has expanded, but the fireworks tent remains a main source of operating support, and the storm turned a routine sales push into a repair bill. Even with the setback, regular customers kept showing up. Jacob Helms said he has bought fireworks there for years and has childhood memories tied to the tradition, a reminder that the tent is not just a fundraiser but a local fixture now carrying the burden of a rough weather week.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
