Fireworks behind the Governor’s Palace in Colonial Williamsburg (Photo courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
As residents throughout the Historic Triangle celebrate the nation’s independence under the sights and sounds of fireworks, they are tapping into a spectacular tradition spanning centuries.
But the fireworks that lit up a colonial sky would have been different from what Americans “ooh” and “ah” over today.
When word of the Declaration of Independence reached Williamsburg on July 20, 1776, colonists marked the occasion with a patriotic display of gunfire. Just a year later, the Virginia Gazette reported on Fourth of July celebrations in Philadelphia that included fireworks.
“The evening was closed with the ringing of bells, and at night there was a grant exhibition of fireworks, which began and concluded with thirteen rockets on the commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated,” the July 18, 1777 edition said.
Fireworks – which date back to 12th-century China – were a commonplace component in 18th-century celebrations, said Jim Bradley, communications manager with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He said they brought jubilation to the king’s birthday festivities and military ceremonies of the day.
The Gazette records fireworks in Williamsburg before the Revolution took hold. As early as 1752 “several beautiful Fireworks were exhibited in Palace Street” following a ball in honor of “his Majesty’s” birthday, and in 1774, fireworks marked the arrive of Lady Dunmore, wife of the appointed governor of Virginia.
As sentiments on nationhood changed, so did the appearance of evening light shows.
In the 18th century, fireworks did not travel nearly as high in the sky as they do today. Bradley said the low-level lights of that era are now known as “groundworks.” Colonial Williamsburg’s Grand Illumination holds true to the shorter display but the Fourth of July show has a more aerial approach.
The wheel of colors available have expanded, as well. Victor Laurenza — regional sales manager for Pyrotecnico, the company that has provided Colonial Williamsburg’s fireworks for more than 20 years and also works with Busch Gardens — said builders of fireworks have had the chance to play with the specific blend of chemicals that produces the dazzling hues.
Not only are more colors available beyond a primary few, but more shades are possible within any color division. Laurenza said rather than just blue, which has “always been the toughest color to manufacture because the chemicals used for whatever reason,” fireworks can be created in aqua, teal, or gradients of the shade.
Today many fireworks go by names of flowers – chrysanthemums are round and full, while peonies have a different color burst in the center. In 1772, the Gazette described some fireworks as “sun flowers,” and other names included “caterine wheels,” “Italian candles” and “sea fountains.”
Laurenza noted the role of salutes, all bang but no color, which often go off by the hundred at the end of a modern show. Salutes add muster to the natural sound when a fireworks shell breaks, exploding the black powder that propels the materials that bring color to the sky.
Today, Pyrotecnico has 10,000 types of fireworks to choose from in all.
“Variety is the key to a good firework show,” Laurenza said, “so we try to use as many varieties as we can so [viewers] don’t see the same show twice.”
The biggest change in patriotic light shows comes in the way they are propelled into the air. As safety regulations increase, fireworks technicians no longer handle explosives during the show — loading steel pipes and lighting them as they went — but preload the material.
Laurenza said it is still safe to light the preloaded fireworks by hand, but many companies have moved to an electronic system where a program sends a charge to the end of each at a set moment. Whether by human or machine, it makes no difference to the viewer.
“If you’re just watching a show you probably wouldn’t know if it’s hand fired or electronically fired,” Laurenza said.
Computers do allow fireworks to be timed precisely to music, with colors or designs exploding on cue to match song lyrics or to add a booming element to an overture. It also eliminates the possibility of human error in the firing process. Colonial Williamsburg has a traditional show without a tight script; the Busch Gardens display is highly choreographed to music.
While Pyrotecnico provides the fireworks for both events, each organization has input on the shows the company crafts.
Tim Sutphin is director of Colonial Williamsburg’s Revolutionary City and has been involved with fireworks as part of his special events leadership since the early 1990s. He looks for a show that reaches high into the sky and also satisfies guests looking for a lengthy program. Except for small changes if a new design of firework comes out, he said the show has stayed much the same in his tenure.
Sutphin said Colonial Williamsburg’s Fourth of July show costs between $20,000 and $30,000 each year.
In York County, where fireworks are launched from a barge in the York River, Brian Fuller with Parks and Recreation considers bids to the county and looks at the number of fireworks launched during the beginning, middle and end of a proposed show.
“We evaluate the amount of bang for your buck,” Fuller said.
Since 2005, the county has contracted with Dominion Fireworks, a company based in Petersburg. Fuller said the show costs $25,000 to produce, adding prices can range widely by the size and scope of show.
“You can spend as much as you want,” he said.
York County’s show used to be run by a volunteer committee when it got its start 35 years ago. Fuller said the event got to be too large to pull off using only volunteers — between coordinating with the Virginia Department of Transportation and local entities — and the county became gradually more involved until it took over the festivities entirely in 2009.
A few years ago the fireworks shifted to a barge on the river — the area around it safely patrolled and free of wandering boats — and the show is visible all along the waterfront.
Colonial Williamsburg’s show has migrated a bit throughout the historic area, fired in previous years from the pasture near the DeWitt Wallace museum. Sutphin said moving the Governor’s Palace allowed them to use larger fireworks and provide the ambiance of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra before the show started.
“We wanted to have the fireworks behind the symphony, so that folks that are enjoying the symphony don’t have to turn around or crane their necks,” he said. “They can just look up a little bit and enjoy the fireworks.”
When they do, they are enchanted by the same square of sky the nation’s forefathers may have seen fireworks years before.
The fireworks are set to begin at 9:15 p.m. in Yorktown and at 9:20 p.m. in Colonial Williamsburg. For more information about July 4 events, click here.