It’s a big task holding the attention of 150,000 people for 30 minutes
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IDAHO FALLS — Preparations are underway for the biggest firework show west of the Mississippi River.
The 24th Melaleuca Freedom Celebration will kick off Monday, July 4th along the Idaho Falls Greenbelt. Some 17,550 firework shells will launch over the Snake River in a 31-minute production that is free to the public, according to Western Display Fireworks pyrotechnician Larry Nelson.
“It comes out to be around nine shells a second,” Nelson said. “It’s an incessant ball of fun.”
Logistics for the show require a six-day process for the Western Display Fireworks pyrotechnic team. The Oregon-based company uses its technology to synchronize each shell with patriotic music that is broadcast live on Classy 97 KLCE radio.
About 150,000 people are expected to watch the massive fireworks show. Event organizers said it will be the biggest Melaleuca Freedom Celebration ever and it’s meant to honor those who have served our country.
“Over a million men and women have given their lives and their families sacrificed growing up without a dad or a mom so that we could have this,” Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot said. “We spend 31 minutes to tell them thank you. We do it every year and it doesn’t seem like enough.”
The Melaleuca Freedom Celebration is the biggest fireworks show west of the Mississippi River. VanderSloot hopes those who participate in the festivities remember the price of freedom.
“We don’t know the stories of most of those who gave their lives,” VanderSloot said. “We’ll never read their names but whoever they are, wherever they are, we just want to say thank you.”
Click here for more information about the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration.