DETROIT – Detroit’s riverfront will come alive Monday night for the 68th Ford Fireworks, one of the biggest fireworks displays in the United States.
Thousands of people will set up in Hart Plaza, as well as along the Riverfront, to check out the yearly event that serves as the official kickoff of summer.
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“It’s going to be, and I say this every year, but I really mean it: This show is going to bigger and better than we’ve ever done it,” Tony Michaels, the CEO and President of the Parade Company said on Thursday. “We do that every single year.”
“I start on the music almost the next day and when I get all of that done probably in January, February, hand it over to Patrick Perot, the choreographer with Zambelli, the fireworks company, that we confer and next thing you know we’ve got this massive show,” he said. “But we really like it to blend all in and we’re going to be piping the music right here into Hart Plaza.”
Michaels took time to thank the tile sponsor, Ford Motor Company, along with Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison and noted that while Hart Plaza will be where the main show is, people can set up shop all along the Riverfront, including on Belle Isle all the way down the river to Corktown.
“There are people who are going to have chairs light up down Michigan Avenue who can see it. They’re everywhere people are on rooftops,” he said. “It is one of those wonderful evenings and it’s so important that we have a great safe experience in our city.”
This is a big year for the Parade Company. Along with this year’s Ford Fireworks, this is also the centennial year for the annual America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“All of the great people in this city support us, so we’re looking forward to a huge event on Monday with the Ford Fireworks,” he said. “Then it is all systems go towards the 100th [Thanksgiving] Parade coming down Woodward Avenue.
The 68th Annual Ford Fireworks will be broadcast live on Local 4 and Local 4+.
Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. with pre-show events and the fireworks are expected to start around 10 p.m.