Small towns get burned by fireworks bills

As the nation prepares for its 250th birthday, small towns across America are discovering that the cost of celebrating isn't accessible to everyone. According to Axios, communities are getting priced out of Independence Day fireworks shows as larger cities compete for bigger, more impressive displays. Hinesburg, Vermont, budgeted thirteen thousand five hundred dollars for fireworks this year—only to learn that they'd need at least twenty thousand dollars to get a show at all. The economics are stark: fireworks displays typically cost between one thousand and fifteen hundred dollars per minute. With demand surging and crews limited, professional companies are turning away smaller budgets to prioritize the highest bidders. The problem runs deeper than just pricing. Licensed pyrotechnicians, many of them seasonal workers, are stretched thin across the country. One Detroit-based display company is handling fifteen shows on July Fourth alone and has turned down roughly fifty requests for the entire season. Some towns have explored drone shows as an alternative, but they cost just as much—and communities have made clear their preference: they want traditional fireworks. The result: everyone wants the boom, but not everyone can afford it.

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