A booming business | Maine's fireworks companies gear up for the Fourth of July
When July 4 fireworks explode into a cascade of color, fireworks companies are celebrating their denouement. Ed Murphy, co-owner of Blue Hill Pyrotechnics in Hampden, says the night easily accounts for half his annual business, and Steven Marson, president of Central Maine Pyrotechnics in Hallowell, has 48 shows booked for July 4, and fewer than 100 the rest of the year.
For two to three months leading up to the crammed night, Murphy and half a dozen employees work 15- to 18-hour days. He hires 170 extras on Independence Day to explode the gerbs, squibs and preloaded smoke pots, while Marson adds at least 130 workers to his full-time staff of two.
Murphy’s minimum package starts at $4,000 for July 4, and includes 10 minutes or so of fireworks. His upper limit is endless, although he says it’s tough to convince partygoers to crane their necks for longer than 30 minutes. Marson says his cheapest show starts at $2,000, but the average display costs $5,000 and includes fireworks popping off for 20 to 22 minutes.
The most expensive show Marson’s offered in his 21-year history is a $25,000 show that lasts for 30 minutes and comes with a “sky filled with fireworks,” he says.
This year, Murphy says people aren’t splashing out on over-the-top displays, and he sounds glum for someone in the business of razzle-dazzle. “The economy is not going to allow us to do a whole lot,” he says. “Everything we do is for entertainment purposes, and entertainment is low on the list for people right now.”
But Marson has a different outlook after picking up 20 new clients this year. “My feeling on it is no matter how hard times can get, we can have at least one day for a celebration,” he says, “when you can close out the rest of the world and just have a day to enjoy.”
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