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Fireworks fizzle as costs skyrocket

By Whitney Stewart (Contact) | Thursday, July 3, 2008

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Abington, Mass., knows how to celebrate the Fourth of July - a day early. Since 1976, a band has played, people have danced, families have reunited with picnic blankets in hand, and the children have paraded through town on July 3. And they've always closed out the night with the largest fireworks show south of Boston.

But this year, rockets won't be glaring red. The party is shelved.

"The last time we pulled the plug, you could hear a pin drop that day," said resident Bob Baker, who heads the Abington Night Before the 4th Celebration. "It was a ghost town."

For only the second time since 1976, funds have come up short against rising costs of fireworks, but Abington isn't the only town missing a big bang this year. Backlogged orders from Chinese fireworks manufacturers and the spike in costs of imported fireworks are putting the squeeze on fireworks companies across the country, and some towns have canceled their displays because fireworks simply are too expensive.

Video:With prices up, fireworks sales may fizzle

Some of the bigger companies say they have enough stockpiles for the weekend, in spite of the 10 percent to 15 percent of Chinese fireworks still undelivered, though shows scheduled for later in the year are uncertain. The extra expense is proving too much for smaller communities, especially those that fund fireworks shows with private money.

Mr. Baker said the cost for a fireworks show has nearly doubled since he started fundraising for the yearly celebration in 1987 and would have jumped more than 25 percent this year alone.

In Billings, Mont., where the Yellowstone County Tavern Association has raised the private donations sponsoring July Fourth fireworks for the past decade, the cost of a show has quadrupled. This year, the association donated the money toward community charities.

"If we could do the same show that we did, if the cost wasn't so terribly high, it wouldn't be such a burden," said Cam Schieno, the association's vice president and owner of Montana Chad's bar. "We are always proactive in the community. We've just decided to spend our money on a way that is more beneficial to the community."

But skyrocketing costs and shortages of imported fireworks are giving a July Fourth boom to small American fireworks manufacturers.