July 3 Fireworks Show a Bigger Blast in 2017

This year's First National Bank Independence Fireworks Show on July 3 will have something no other public show in the Omaha Metro will have: eight-inch mortal shells.
"There's not many shows in town that can shoot that big of a shell," says Ted Kallhoff, Regional Vice President of J&M Displays.

It will be the first time in Werner Park history shells that large have been used for a fireworks show. The eight inches is the measure of the diameter of the shell per Kallhoff.
"It's just a little smaller than a basketball," he describes.
As one would expect, a large shell equals a large "burst".
"Basically you figure 70 feet per inch of shell," he adds of the burst size. "Do the math. Seven times eight, yeah you've got 560 feet around when [the eight inch shell] explodes."
The First National Bank Independence Weekend Fireworks extravaganzas are always the largest of the season at Werner Park.
On a typical Hy-Vee Friday Fireworks show, approximately three to four hundred shells are launched. For the July 3 spectacular, that number skyrockets to close to four or four thousand, with the show lasting over twenty minutes.
Getting the whole show set up is no simple task, and the prepartion takes place much earlier than many would expect.
"We start normally in November or December and get ready for the entire season," Kallhoff says. "There's the matter of getting all of the music together, figuring out what shells we want to send up with what song to try to make sure everything matches up."
"The biggest thing is making sure colors are the same," he adds. "We try to make the shows different every year, of course, so we try and follow the music. If there's something about smiling faces we try to send up a shell that has a smiling face.
Once the show is planned out, then comes the actual setup and execution.
"We have to set up all of the mortars first and get everything lined up, then drop the shells and wire them in" he says. "Every shell is marked as far as where it goes and we have to make sure it gets in the right position and get it all tied together that way."
The months-long preparation finally culminates with the spectacle that is the post-game fireworks shows at Werner Park, including extravagant First National Bank Independece Weekend Fireworks.
Tickets for July 2 and 3, which include "The Biggest Fireworks Shows in the Omaha Metro" are still available and can be purchased by clicking here.