MINNEAPOLIS — For the fourth Independence Day in a row, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is pushing pause on fireworks.
Parks officials are skipping the ‘Boom’ part of ‘Red, White and Boom.’
The event will be held on July 3rd this year and instead of fireworks, the board is opting for a laser show instead.
Minneapolis isn't the first city to make the switch from fireworks to lasers.
Last year a handful of U.S. cities, including Salt Lake City Utah and Flagstaff Arizona made the switch to lasers instead of fireworks.
"It's something new. We're trying something new this year,” Tom Godfrey says.
Godfrey is the Community Events Manager for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
He was asked by the board to come up with an alternative to fireworks this year and a laser show seemed like the best option.
"It is more affordable. The cost of fireworks has gone up over the last several years, whereas a laser light show at this point is still a little more reasonable. Depending on the company and things you go with I would say maybe about half the cost,” Godfrey says.
Parks officials say there were also security concerns with a large-scale fireworks show.
With an ongoing shortage of police officers, and the Taste of Minnesota happening at the same time, some parks officials were concerned that there wouldn’t be enough officers to police a large-scale fireworks show this year.
Godfrey says with a fireworks show Red, White and Boom would typically attract around 70,000 people, spread out across multiple parks and neighborhoods.
However, with lasers, Godfrey says the crowds will be confined to Boom Island Park and will likely be much smaller.
"With something like this, 4,000 or 5,000 people in Boom Island Park is something that is realistic,” Godfrey says.
Julie L. Heckman with the American Pyrotechnics Association was surprised to hear that Minneapolis is making the change from fireworks to lasers.
She says it’s true that some cities are moving to lasers and drones instead of fireworks, but it’s not exactly a widespread trend.
"There are a few cities, primarily in the Pacific West of the country that are going to drone shows for environmental reasons,” Heckman says.
However, most cities, she argues, are ramping up their fireworks shows instead of canceling them.
The pandemic is in the rear-view mirror and they're not dealing with the shortages we saw last year.
"This year is looking very good for the industry and I think it's going to be record-breaking,” Heckman says.
As for the lasers in Minneapolis, Godfrey says who knows if the idea will catch on.
They're looking forward to getting feedback from residents to see if they should bring the lasers back next year.
"We'll definitely listen to that feedback and maybe it's something we continue to do. Maybe we look for a new idea next year. We'll definitely keep that feedback in mind for sure," Godfrey says.
Besides the laser show, Red, White and Boom will also feature food trucks and live music starting at 8:00 p.m.
The laser show starts at 10:00 p.m. and parks officials say if you want to see the show you have to be at Boom Island Park.
The laser show won't go as high up as a fireworks show, so if you're used to watching Red, White and Boom at a different park, or at home, you're probably not going to see the lasers.
Meanwhile, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board says it's closing the Stone Arch Bridge every night from Friday, June 30th through the 4th of July holiday.
The bridge will close every night at 8:00 p.m. and re-open the next morning at 6:00 a.m.