Before long, the sky over the National Mall will be filled with one of the world’s most famous fireworks displays.
The man who has orchestrated the D.C. fireworks show for the past 10 years gave News4 a behind-the-scenes look at how it all happens.
Large boxes that line the Reflecting Pool contain the mortar shells. Buttons on a firing panel that looks like a briefcase will set them off.
Thursday, July 4, will be the 11th year in a row that Chris Santore of Garden State Fireworks will have the honor of pressing the button to start the show. That moment, coming this year at 9:09 p.m., never gets old, he said.
“I can tell you that standing on the edge of the Reflecting Pool on July Fourth with the Washington Monument in the background, it’s just – your hair stands up. It’s just such an epic moment,” he said.
This year’s fireworks show will be bigger and more colorful than last year’s, Santore said.
There’s a chance of rain, but the fireworks can be set off in rain anyway.
“We’re currently covered in plastic. We can fire right through the plastic. It doesn’t inhibit the production in any way,” Santore said.
Designing and putting together the fireworks show is a year-round job. But once the mortars start firing, Santore enjoys the display like the rest of us.
“There’s definitely a moment where we’re just like the crowd. We’re as excited, we’re cheering, we’re jumping up and down, we’re high-fiving, we’re hugging. Maybe a few tears, if I’m honest,” Santore said.
A family history in the fireworks business
Santore’s family business has created commercial fireworks displays for 130 years. He’s the fourth generation to be in the business, and the fifth generation isn’t far behind.
Santore is preparing his 20-year-old daughter, Madison, to take over. She was at the fireworks firing panel this week for a show in Vienna, Virginia.
“She did an excellent job. It makes dad and grandpa proud that she’s willing to take the torch when we pass it,” Santore said.
The cost of the fireworks show is about $278,000, a spokesperson for the National Park Service said.
