Local fireworks retailers prepare for Fourth of July celebrations

From sparklers and fountains to artillery shells and massive aerial displays, Americans will spend roughly a billion dollars on fireworks this year and most of it will go up in smoke next Thursday night, the 4th of July.

According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, a whopping 268 million pounds of fireworks -- or roughly a pound for every man, woman and child in America -- will be bought (and burned) in the coming days.

Here in Southeast Missouri, fireworks stands and tents are either already open or will be opening later this week. Fireworks tents in Cape Girardeau and Jackson will open Thursday, one week before Independence Day. Some fireworks outlets at permanent locations, such as Boomland near Benton and Charleston, Missouri, and Hoffman Family Fireworks, sell fireworks year round, but say the days just before July Fourth are their peak selling season.

"The last couple of days before the Fourth of July are like Christmas Eve, with people doing a mad rush trying to find things," said Mary Ann Hoffman who, with her husband, Rick, owns Hoffman Family Fireworks. The Hoffmans have been in the pyrotechnics business since the mid-1980s either by appointment throughout the year or during their store hours leading up to and following Independence Day.

In addition to the permanent location along the outer road off Interstate 55 near exit 91, the Hoffmans will be opening tents this week in Cape Girardeau in the Town Plaza area facing Kingshighway and in Jackson along East Jackson Boulevard.

The Hoffmans' empty tent in Jackson was blown down Friday afternoon during the storm that swept through the area, but the tent was not stocked with merchandise and a Hoffman spokesperson told the Southeast Missourian on Saturday the tent will be replaced and will be ready for Thursday's opening.

The Hoffmans' son-in-law will also be opening fireworks tents this week in Marble Hill and Advance, Missouri.

Hoffman Family Fireworks sells more than 500 varieties of Class C (consumer grade) fireworks imported primarily from China, although Mary Ann Hoffman cautioned while some types of fireworks, such as bottle rockets and other fireworks attached to sticks, are available for purchase, their use may be prohibited in some municipalities. She said customers who live within city limits should check for any fireworks restrictions in their towns.

Hoffman said the biggest changes she has seen in fireworks over the years have been improvements in safety and reliability.

"And the displays are much more impressive and diversified than they used to be," she said.

The Hoffman Family Fireworks staff works with customers to "customize" fireworks displays based on budget and the types of pyrotechnics they enjoy.

"We have people who call in and say they have 'x' number of dollars to spend and they want all aerials and ask if we can put it together for them," Hoffman said. "We box it up for them and give them an itemized receipt. We have a number of people who do that."

At Boomland's Benton location just west of I-55 at the Benton exit, manager Keith Kyle said, "We have stuff for every price range. If you only want to spend 25 or 30 bucks, we have great stuff for that. If you want to spend two or three thousand, we have that, too!"

Kyle's "regular job" is director of bands at Kelly High School in Benton. A veteran of fireworks stands for several years, he has been a manager at Boomland since around 2002.

"This is my summer job," he said. "I managed a tent in Jackson in front of Town and Country for several years and I guess I've been in fireworks for quite a while. I've been in it long enough to see it change over the years."

The biggest change recently, Kyle said, has been in artillery shells and the use of recyclable plastic materials instead of paper with some pyrotechnic products.

"They've started making 'multiple shell' products that are less labor intensive in that you don't have to reload and light each shell," he said. "The other big thing I've noticed is that they (fireworks manufacturers) are getting away from paper and are starting to use 'blow molds' for some of their products."

Both Boomland and Hoffman Family Fireworks offer products made by several leading pyrotechnic companies, such as Black Cat, World Class, Brothers, Winda and others. As for his personal favorites, Kyle said, "I tend to go for the stuff that I know I can get value for my dollar."

Kyle said he is amazed every year by the distances people travel to purchase fireworks at Boomland.

"What blows me away are repeat customers. We have people who come down from Chicago regularly as well as customers from Memphis, Mississippi, Minnesota and elsewhere," he said. "We get a lot of truckers because we're next to the interstate and we have a couple who comes from Nova Scotia every year and one of their favorite things to do is buy fireworks here when they come through."

Families often come and pick out fireworks for family celebrations "and we have a lot of people who come in as a group or they collected from people for a neighborhood display," he said.

A relatively new accessory for fireworks displays is an electronic control center that can trigger multiple fuses for a small or medium-size backyard fireworks show. There's even a smartphone app for it, Kyle said.

As for when Boomland will see its biggest sales of the season, Kyle said it will start kicking into gear the weekend before the Fourth of July and will stay busy through the holiday.

Kyle and Hoffman both noted while fireworks have become more reliable and dazzling, they're still only as safe as the people who use them and they remind fireworks customers children should never handle fireworks without adult supervision.

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