BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The biggest day of the year for a Western New York fireworks company is on the horizon.
Skylighters Fireworks, the group behind many of the popular fireworks displays including this weekend's displays at Highmark Stadium, Hyde Park, Chautauqua Lake, and several town-run shows, will be running several fireworks shows this weekend.
"Fourth of July is our biggest time of the year but we stay busy throughout the whole entire year," Matt Shaw, owner of Skylighters Fireworks, said. "We stay pretty busy right through New Year's. We get into all the carnivals, weddings, and private parties."
They expect to run roughly 300 shows in total.
Planning for the shows happen, in many instances, at least a year in advance. The company works with their client to organize how fireworks will shoot in coordination with the music playing.
"A lot of our displays are computerized," Shaw said. "We do a lot of complex displays like big city shows, like Highmark Stadium this year...But we do some hand-lighting still for some of the smaller-budget shows to keep it affordable for the customer."
Shaw has owned the company for the last ten years and still gets excited to orchestrate the shows.
"I love fireworks and can't get enough fireworks," he said. "There's no event that's too small that I don't enjoy. They're unique in its own way. We're in the entertainment business. These events, everyone is happy to be there and we're adding another element that not everybody gets. Out of all the displays we've done, I still get excited for everyone one of those fireworks display."
