A crew with Great Lakes Fireworks preps for Monday's show
TRAVERSE CITY -- The upcoming holiday will have thousands looking up! Fireworks shows will be seen and heard throughout the area Monday, but preparations for the fun are already underway.
A crew with Great Lakes Fireworks was busy bayside in Traverse City Wednesday getting things ready for a colorful display. The fireworks will be shot off from a 24,000 pound barge in West Grand Traverse Bay. The barge was brought north by truck from a company in Indiana and was lifted into the water with the help of a Team Elmers crane.
The owner of Great Lakes Fireworks, Bruce Tyree, says the set up Wednesday took about six hours. The fireworks will be loaded up Monday morning and will take another eight hours to accomplish, but the time is well worth it for the thousands who will take in the show.
"Fireworks is a great tradition for a lot of the families. Most people I know look forward to the day when they all go down with their families, grab their blankets and their lawn chairs and sit and watch a Fourth of July fireworks display. It's a great family tradition," said Tyree.
More than 1,500 individual fireworks will be shot off the barge on Monday. The barge will be located about 1,500 feet off of the Open Space and will be in the same position for the fireworks display to wrap up the National Cherry Festival on July 9.
The July 4 fireworks display was close to not taking place due to funding problems but a local campaign raised enough to allow the $25,000 show to continue.
To see a list of fireworks displays happening through out northern Michigan click on THIS LINK.
