Independence Day is just days away and with it comes one of the biggest fireworks shows in the country. Crews are preparing for days on the National Mall to deliver a thrilling 17-minute show.
“They ask me where I’m going to be on Fourth of July, I tell them I’ll be at the Washington Monument, at the reflecting pool, and I get goose bumps every time,” said Chris Santore with Garden State Fireworks.
The display will include everything from smaller, 3-inch gauge shells to massive, 10-inch shells that reach up to 2,000 feet up.
“That’s what’s giving us that massive sky footprint throughout the 17 and a half minutes. I’ve been told that it kind of feels like a finale throughout the whole display,” Santore said about those massive shells. “A normal large show would have two or three. We’re into the dozens.”
Just like every year, the fantastic display will include new, unique shapes that Garden State Fireworks manufactures.
“There’s an effect called ‘Planet,’ and it has a core break to it, and then there’s kind of what would be like Saturn rings around it, but in two directions, so it’s coming this way and that way,” Santore said.
There’s also a bracelet effect, which similarly illuminates in multiple rings and is a band of effects that chase each other.
“You’ll know it when you see it, kind of crazy effects,” Santore said.
The massive display will be able to be seen for miles as long as there are clear skies, which the forecast is calling for.
“If you can’t get down here on the mall and you’re out on the outskirts, you’re still going to see a great show,” Santore said.
That display is set to start at 9:09 p.m. Friday.
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