Port Gardner Fireworks - What to Expect

This article describes the business end of a display from a fireworks company's point of view.

There is a saying that "you shall reap what you sow." The rewards of the hard work and persistence also apply to the fireworks business - the behind the scenes, hard work and planing in putting on a fireworks show - where paperwork can be just as difficult as working "in the trenches" setting the fireworks display.

Contact the event and sponsor

The first step in planning a display is contacting the sponsors and chairpersons of an event, whether by telephone, fax, mail or face-to-face contact. You need to know what their needs are.

When a sponsor requests a bid for a fireworks show, a lot of planning goes into putting together a proposal that will provide a safe and spectacular display to fit the customers budget.

Honesty, integrity, and quality are important business practices and sometimes the competition can be tough - you might be bidding against 5 or six other companies. If the bid sponsor does not accept your bid, you learn how to do it better next year.

Contact authorities and experts

The second phase after the sponsor chooses your company is to contact local authorities like the fire marshall, police, etc.

Selecting a lead pyrotechnicians for a display is based on experience and his or her record. The pyrotechnicians is representing your company and is responsible for presenting a safe and spectacular display.

Plan the display

The next phase is packing the show. Some customers request certain types of pyrotechnics and each show is different.

When selecting different types if fireworks for a show, the use of computers, pictures, illustrations, music and personal observations are used to determine which pyrotechnics to use.

Next, the equipment which goes with the fireworks is organized such as tubes, racks,ingintion supplies. The right equipment for the job is equally important as personnel and firework. In the fireworks business there is no room for cutting corners.

Prepare the site

Site preparation may take a week or a day depending on the size of the display. There is always a lot of digging, lifting, moving sand and equipment into position.

Many pyrotechnicians got their start when someone handed then a shovel. It all starts in the trenches. The day of the display placing shells in mortars, hooking up wires and fuses to the pyrotechnicians, making sure everything is just right.

At the zero hour

As time draws near to show time, you can feel the excitement in the are as the viewing audience starts to gather, Butterflies begin to form in your stomach, and you check everything over one more time. You check your watch , then it's zero hour and a bombardment of bombs and colors fill the sky - a 20-minute space in time that one has to experience because it is undescribable.

As the grand finale ends, the display with a barrage of star shells, there are handshakes and pats on back for a job well done, along with the applause for the spectators. As hundreds and thousands of people go home with smiles in their faces, there appears real sense of accomplishment and pride for the men and women in the trenches.