COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 39th year of Red, White & Boom is coming to downtown Columbus this week.
Fireworks site manager Earl Burke said every year, they try to think of ways to be different and even more unique. He said this isn't just a show, it's a production.
He said they have two semi trucks full of fireworks and 12 men and women working together to get everything set up for Wednesday.
He said it takes nine months to put the full production together. The soundtrack has been done, the script is downloaded and the fireworks are the last, yet most important, part.
On the day of the show, Burke said, they will run the computers all day to make sure the music is synced with each shell. He said the time-codes have to be perfected in order for it all to run smoothly.
"We will actually download it into the computer, we'll see it on the computer — we can play the show — we know exactly what it's going to look like so it gives us an idea of what we're going to do," Burke said.
He said they get fireworks from Spain, Italy, China, Vietnam and manufacture some here in the United States.
This year, they will be adding a special piece to the 25-minute show honoring first responders.