At just 17 minutes, the show in Washington, DC is one of the shortest fireworks displays on our list, but it's one of America's best. For pure patriotic fervor, the setting can't be beat: An eight-man crew launches the shells right on the National Mall, equidistant between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Pyro Shows of LaFollette, Tennessee choreographs nothing but high-altitude shells; each is designed to break higher than the Washington Monument's 555-foot peak. New this year: An Olympic-themed shell, which breaks into five interlocking rings.
The explosions in this 27-minute show occur "from the ground up," according to Stephen Vitale, president of display firm Pyrotecnico. They incorporate both low- and high-altitude mortars, which they launch along a 1200-foot stretch of the Scioto River in downtown Columbus from as many as nine different positions, all of them synchronized. Called Red, White & Boom, the event traditionally attracts 500,000 people.
"If a trip can be planned to take in cathedrals, or antique shops, or famous restaurants, just as lively a reason…would be to sit out on the hotel balcony to enjoy a fine display of fireworks," the late George Plimpton, unofficial "official fireworks commissioner" of New York (and Paris Review co-founder), wrote in his book, Fireworks. Many of the 3,000,000 who turn up to the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks display clearly agree. More than 40,000 shells are synchronized among six barges anchored in the East River in two locations: between 10th and 24th streets and by South Street Seaport. The 30-minute show is the second biggest fireworks display of the year; the first, Thunder Over Louisville, kicks off the Kentucky Derby Festival.
Launched over the city's back bays, this show co-hosted by casino hotels Borgata and Harrah's promises to spare no expense. The firm Fireworks by Grucci, which has created shows for the Olympics and six consecutive presidential inaugurations, will launch a 25-minute display. The July 3 event is open to the public and is best viewed between the two properties, right next to The Water Club, Borgata's newly opened 800-room hotel.
It takes pyrotechnicians two weeks just to load and wire the tens of thousands of mortars launched during this 23-minute show. And each blast is painstakingly synchronized to a soundtrack played live by the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra. It's no wonder that every year, some 500,000 spectators turn up to the banks of the Charles River for this landmark show.
The 20-minute show held on Water Ski Lake at this theme park exemplifies the adage that good things come in small packages. No aerial shell explodes higher than 250 feet. And the ground effects, such as gerbs (which release a jet of sparks) and saxons (which produce sparks as they spin), can ignite as close as 15 feet from the crowd. The whole experience, says general manager Lloyd Sponenburgh, is more intense. Even the pyrotechnicians "can hear the cheers of the crowd through the din of the fireworks."
If it feels like a lot of work to get to the fireworks here—it can be a three-mile hike to the base of the monument—just imagine what it takes to launch them. For two full days, pyrotechnicians and National Park employees rope-lift thousands of aerial shells up the monument's 500-foot granite facade. At precisely 9:15 p.m. on July 3, the explosions burst from the heads of George, Thomas, Abe and Teddy. Zambelli Internationale has created this stirring show for more than a decade.
Pyrotechnicans' favorite stage? "Water," says Dr. John Conkling, professor of chemistry at Washington College in Maryland. "The reflections enhance the overall visual effect." Lake Tahoe is the 10th-deepest lake in the world and also one of the clearest and most beautiful. And the annual "Lights on the Lake" show on the South Shore—produced by Pyro Spectaculars and shot from barges 1500 feet off shore—bills itself as the "largest synchronized fireworks display west of the Mississippi." With around 5,000 effects, the arsenal is significantly smaller than others on our list. But for scenic splendor, this show has everyone beat.
July is the driest—and most beautiful—month in Seattle. No surprise, then, that more than 50,000 locals flock to Lake Union for the annual WaMu Family 4th. Produced by Pyro Spectaculars, the 21-minute show includes 2,300 shells and approximately 10,000 effects.
Disney theme parks are renowned for the complexity and precision of their fireworks shows. And this year marks the introduction of a brand new 13-minute show at the Magic Kingdom: "Disney's Celebrate America!—A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky." Launched from 24 different locations, including from the clock tower of Cinderella's Castle, the fireworks literally surround spectators on Main Street.