Does Duluth have Upper Midwest's biggest fireworks display?

Fireworks fill night sky with moon over harbor — Fireworks explode in the skies above the Duluth Harbor during the grand finale on July 8, 2022. The display was rescheduled from July 4 due to the inclement weather.

By Jay Gabler

June 29, 2023 at 5:30 AM

DULUTH — This city goes big for Independence Day. The annual Fourth Fest features what's been variously described as "the largest fireworks display in the Upper Midwest," "the largest fireworks display in Minnesota" and "one of the largest firework displays in the Midwest."

From left: Pyrotechnicians Dillon Nichols, Nik Chester and Cody Mix, who work for Pyrotechnic Display, wire up shells as they ready the fireworks show for Duluth Tuesday afternoon. Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com — Pyrotechnicians Dillon Nichols, from left, Nik Chester and Cody Mix as they ready the fireworks show for Duluth in 2018.

Is there any way to verify that claim? Not easily, I learned, in what I will admit was a fairly brief investigation. Still, what I discovered does shed some light (so to speak) on the matter.

This year's budget line for Fourth Fest fireworks is $70,000 (from Duluth's tourism tax fund), which is indeed well above the typical upper range for municipal Fourth of July fireworks displays. According to the News Times of Newport, Oregon (fireworks budget: $47,250), only a few cities spend upward of $100,000.

Duluth's fireworks contractor is J&M Displays, formerly known as Pyrotechnic Display. Mark Hanson, the J&M employee who designed Duluth's display, estimated this year's Fourth Fest attendees will see "over a couple thousand shells" explode, with shell sizes ranging from "2 ½ inch all the way up to 12 (inch)."

That number of shells puts the fireworks display in Duluth (pop. 86,000) around the size of those seen in Pittsburgh (pop. 300,000); Raleigh, North Carolina (pop. 469,000); and Houston (pop. 2,288,000). Not too shabby.

Elsewhere in Minnesota on July 4, neither Minneapolis nor St. Paul is hosting fireworks this year, but there are numerous displays in other metro municipalities. Hanson estimates the largest is in Coon Rapids: "They use smaller shells, but their budget is right up there."

Jennifer Anderson, communications and marketing manager for the city of Coon Rapids, confirmed that assessment. According to Anderson, the city's fireworks budget is $57,600 (drawn from local charitable gambling funds). Their largest shells, though, are only 4 inches.

Looking at the rest of the year, "the only one that's going to beat us in Minnesota is the Aquatennial," said Hanson. That Minneapolis celebration takes place in late July, with this year's fireworks scheduled for July 22. That display is advertised as "one of the top five largest fireworks show(s) in the country."

Large purple fireworks explode over the Minneapolis skyline and the Mississippi River at night. — The Minneapolis Aquatennial fireworks typically involve over 10,000 pounds of shells. The display, scheduled for July 22 this year, is the only one in the state that may be larger than Duluth's Fourth Fest fireworks.

Mark Remme, director of communications and research for the Minneapolis Downtown Council, was unable by press time to provide data on the quantity or size of shells to be used this year. The Aquatennial's "pyro-musical" display typically uses over 10,000 pounds of shells, its website attests.

Clearly, further research is required regarding this very important topic. Pending further data, it seems safe to say that Duluth does indeed have Minnesota's largest July 4 fireworks display, and one that's far larger than might normally be expected for a city of our size.

Whether Duluth indeed has the largest fireworks display of the entire year in Minnesota, let alone the Upper Midwest or the Midwest in general, is more difficult to verify. For now, let's just leave it at saying that if you're looking for a really big fireworks display and you're in Minnesota, Duluth is the place to be on Independence Day.

By Jay Gabler

Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He's a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he's also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance. You can reach him at jgabler@duluthnews.com or 218-279-5536.