Pulse

Sky Lights

by Marguerite Marsh

KYLE ROBERTSON PHOTO

Earl Burke, fireworks site manager of Red, White & Boom, and Mark Wilson of Pyrotecnico set up three-inch salutes for the grand finale of last year's displa

Finding the perfect place to see the Red, White & Boom fireworks may be the most important task for the Independence Day reveler. And while the search may be frustrating— people in front of you, trees overhead—it's nice that someone else does the really hard work.

Thanks to the folks at Pyrotechnico, all we have to do is jockey for position. So what's involved with setting up a show like Red, White & Boom?

"It takes a crew of at least a dozen people, with a tractor-trailer full of equipment, four or five days to set it up in Columbus," says Chris Mele, Pyrotechnico general manager. "Red, White & Boom is a spectacular venue—and one of our favorite shows. It's a big area, so we can cover more of the sky and shoot different-sized shells."

The show comes together with the local Red, White & Blue committee, which then sends the soundtrack to Pyrotechnico, headquartered in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

"We download it to a computer. Then we put our cues in the music—hit the space bar when we want a shell fired and tell it what the shell should be. Then the computer prints a report and the plant employees pull the shells accordingly," Mele explains.

But who decides what shells should be fired and when?

"Oh, that's the choreographer's job," continues Mele. "He knows what each firework does—he listens to the soundtrack and decides what gets fired when, based on the color, size and type of shell... Our choreographer has a lot of experience. He's been doing it for 12 years."

In Columbus, the pyrotechnician uses the report telling him how to lay out the mortars and load them with the correct shells. The computer then fires them according to the script.

"Of course there is a pyrotechnician there running the board," adds Mele, "and once the show is over, it takes us about a day to tear down."

Red, White & Boomers can look forward to seeing new and old fireworks this year, as the inventory changes annually.

"The red, white and blue colors are always favorites, along with green and purple," says Mele. "But this year we have a new pastel line—look for aqua, lime and lemon colors."

With seven offices across the U.S., Pyrotechinco will be busy for Independence Day—doing about 600 shows next week with fireworks from the U.S., China, Spain and Japan.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the pyrotechnics illuminating the Columbus skyline—once you find the best viewing spot.

June 28th, 2007