BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Thousands of people are anxiously awaiting the spectacular fireworks display on the Burlington Waterfront that ABC 22 will be airing live tonight!
The man who puts it on each year is back for his 13th year, Michael Boisjoli with Atlas Advanced Pyrotechnics. We want to show you a behind the scenes look at how he puts the show together.
"This year's count is 6,819 rounds that we'll put in the air," Boisjoli exclaimed. He has been a part of the Burlington fireworks production for 13 years. He says this year will be bigger and better than ever.
As he pointed to a trailer carrying hundreds of fireworks, he said, "That trailer is black beauty, she holds 400 pipes and she's the pride and joy of our outfit." But before black beauty can blow, the Atlas crew must meticulously put each wire into place.
"Now you can see as they drop the shell, how precarious it is, there's no mistakes involved, you literally have to have nerves of steel to put it into steel," Boisjoli added.
Once the wiring is complete, no one will actually be out on the barge for safety reasons, but a handful of the crew members will be sitting out on the breakwater wall and manually pushing buttons to make the spectacular show.
"There will be no open flame, it will be a total electronic show," Boisjoli said.
Boisjoli is a Winooski native, so the fireworks show that attracts thousands to the Burlington Waterfront is personal for him. His is a team of artists... painters if you will. "Our canvas is the sky and we're going to put our artwork into the air tonight," Boisjoli said.
In case you can't make it to the waterfront, ABC 22 is putting the fireworks show right inside your living room, allowing even more people to appreciate the artistry and explosive creativity of Independence Day.
"It's a pinnacle of my career, up to this point to be able to be on live TV, so it makes it that much more important," Boisjoli said.
Our special live show will start at 9pm. Tune in!
