Boulder introduces Fourth of July drone show in place of fireworks

Jun. 26—For the first time ever, Boulder will be introducing a new drone show for the Fourth of July in lieu of a fireworks display, but several other cities within Boulder County will still offer traditional fireworks presentations to celebrate the holiday.

After a three-year hiatus, Boulder will celebrate its time-honored Fourth of July event at Folsom Field, but with a slight twist. Folsom Field's Fourth of July Spectacular: A Night Sky Drone Show is a free event that in addition to choreographed drones, will feature live music by School of Rock, The Custom Shop-Band and Funkiphino. Gates open at 7 p.m. with the drone show starting at dark, usually around 9:35 p.m.

For more than twenty years, WK Real Estate has partnered with University of Colorado Boulder and the city of Boulder to provide the community with a fireworks display at Folsom Field. According to WK Real Estate broker and owner Dan Kingdom, the decision to transition from traditional fireworks to drones largely came down to the fact that fireworks have become harder to find.

"We couldn't find fireworks for last year and it was too late to find someone to for a drone show, so we had to sit another year out and the two years prior were because of the pandemic," Kingdom said. "But this year we were able to secure the drone show, which honestly proved to be easier than finding the fireworks."

Kingdom said that in addition to the convenience of drones, there are also a lot of "obvious benefits," including environmental friendliness and safety. Kingdom added that WK will assess how this first event goes before determining whether Boulder can expect drone shows to become the new Fourth of July tradition.

"We've never had this before so it's kind of a first for everyone," Kingdom said. "A lot of people are calling drone shows the wave of the future, so we're excited to bring it to Boulder and we're looking forward to seeing what it's all about."

Utah-based company Open Sky has been contracted to provide this year's entertainment and advertises itself as having "decades of experience in event entertainment," though CEO Nate Mortensen said the company only shifted focus specifically to drone light shows in 2021.

Mortensen said the musically choreographed show employs between 100 to 150 drones and can be expected to last roughly 12 minutes.

"A lot of people don't know what to expect with drone light shows, so I always like to say imagine staring up at the sky watching over 100 shooting stars all flying in formation," Mortensen said. "It really is kind of a magical moment you can't comprehend unless you've seen it. It's impossible to describe and videos just don't do it justice, it's 1,000 times more impactful and entertaining in person."

While Boulder is moving forward with drones, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville and Longmont will each continue with presenting traditional fireworks displays on or around July 4.

Meanwhile, Longmont Public Safety is offering free yard signs to residents as a way of raising awareness of the impact illegal fireworks have on residents in the community, according to Longmont Public Safety spokesperson Robin Ericson.

"In 2022, Longmont had 10 fire incidents whose source of ignition was illegal fireworks use, that's ten too many," Ericson said. "Primarily, the yard signs focus on the implications to veterans, animals, fire danger, and respect for their neighbors. However, there are many other reasons, including self-injury, that make accessing illegal fireworks a bad idea. We are very interested in our resident's well being and the wellbeing of our community in which we all belong."

Signs can be picked up on the second floor of the Safety and Justice Center in Longmont, 225 Kimbark St., and according to Ericson there are roughly 100 still available. Longmont asks that everyone who picks up a sign either keep them for reuse or return them to the Safety and Justice Center.

According to Colorado state law, fireworks that explode or leave the ground are illegal everywhere within the state. Possession of illegal fireworks is a Colorado petty offense with penalties including up to 10 days in jail and/or up to $300 in fines.