I have a fond memory of lying on the deck of a sailboat my dad chartered, anchored in calm harbor waters, and gazing up as fireworks burst to the rhythm of patriotic music. As a kid, I wondered how it was done. As a journalist, I decided it was about time I answered that question.
A call to Navy Pier was all it took to get me connected to the busy minds behind the complicated design. The result was the story in Wednesday’s Chicago Tribune.
The group of men were patient with my questions via phone calls during the busiest time of the year for them. One of them likened it to Christmas time at Wal-Mart, as they literally run around, getting organized, loading trucks and preparing for the few minutes this Thursday evening when 2,000 aerial bombs will explode in the sky.
Because of security concerns, I wasn’t able to visit Melrose Pyrotechnics in Kingsbury, Ind. But several of them described to me in detail the science behind the fireworks themselves and the steps involved in creating the 15-minute fireworks show. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like?
Whenever it’s impossible to physically be at a scene, journalists still can recreate it through the eyes of our sources, as they relay it to us.
And at 9:30 p.m. on the Fourth, all of Chicago can see and hear and feel what they created, as they launch the show off a barge near Navy Pier.
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