One of North Star Firework Entertainment's test drone productions at First Image Gila River Resort in Phoenix, Ariz.Handout
The Quebec town of Wakefield will end Canada Day celebrations with a bang, but not literally.
The community, located along the shores of the Gatineau River, traditionally held a large fireworks display that would attract thousands from La Pêche region. But this year, they’ve traded it in for a drone light show – a well-timed decision as the area faces a fire ban and threats of wildfire have cancelled pyrotechnic displays across the country.
It isn’t the only Canadian town to make the switch – and this year could mark a more permanent transition. In a future of hot summers plagued by dangerously dry conditions, drone light shows – which also promise to be more entertaining, better for the environment and kinder to pets and wildlife – could become a staple of the July 1 weekend, and a symbol of the adaptation required in a climate-changed world.
Wakefield opted for drones because they have less of an impact on the community over all, said Wakefield Canada Day co-ordinator Carly Wood.
“Every year after any fireworks are set off there is a plethora of social-media posts about animals being lost. People’s pets are one thing, but then you start thinking about nature and everything living in the surrounding woods and how these big bangs and wows and pows are scaring everything, from deer to bears to wolves to foxes.”
Drone light displays are created by a “swarm” that can range in number from 35 to 3,000. They form images in the sky of animals, people – and pretty much anything else – that can move in perfect time with music. They’ve featured in some of the biggest celebrations of the past five years: the opening ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, BTS concerts and the 2022 New Year’s Eve tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth over London’s River Thames. Unlike fireworks, they are quiet, leave no residue and are not a fire risk.
The industry, valued at US$1.3-billion in 2021, is projected to reach US$2.2-billion by 2031.
See examples of drone light shows by North Star Entertainment.
In Winnipeg, organizers for the Forks opted for drones this weekend partly for environmental reasons: The community has a net-zero carbon goal. As well, fireworks were disturbing newborns in a hospital across from the launching ground.
But organizers were also drawn to the storytelling potential. This year’s Canada Day festival will close with 100 drones in a light show inspired by the traditional teachings of Opaskwayak Cree Nation elder Wilfred Buck.
Clare MacKay, chief communications officer with the Forks North Portage Partnership, calls it a pairing of “ancient celestial teachings with this cutting-edge technology.”
North Star, Canada’s largest firework and drone show company, is putting on the presentation. Jeff Clarmo, founder and chief executive officer, says that in normal years, about 60 per cent of the business comes from fireworks and 40 per cent from drones – but so far in 2023 fireworks are down by half, and drones are making up the loss.
“This year, we’re just going insane,” he said.
Mr. Clarmo says the switch is partly driven by the wildfires and other environmental considerations. Drone shows are touted as more sustainable over all. Studies have found that firework displays cause light and noise disturbance, which can affect the migratory patterns and reproduction of wildlife. They also contribute to residue chemical pollution of soil, water and air.
However, Mr. Clarmo thinks the recent success has more to do with the entertainment factor.
“The reason it’s so popular is because it’s new, it’s different, it’s modern,” he said. “We can replicate imagery perfect in the sky.”
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Waterloo, Ont., is another client of North Star capitalizing on drones’ storytelling capacity this July 1. One hundred drones will celebrate the city’s nature and wildlife, nodding to its title as a “bee city of Canada.”
But for many Canadian communities wanting to make the switch, drones are outside the budget – at least for now.
Calgary considered a drone light show, but decided that funding a display on the scale of their fireworks presentation wasn’t possible.
“It was too cost-prohibitive,” said Benjamin Brackett, the city’s team lead for festival and event planning. “We are waiting for the industry to develop.”
Fort St. John in B.C., which faced the warmest May on record this year, cancelled its Canada Day fireworks display. Concerned about dry conditions moving forward, the city considered a drone show, but likewise decided it was too expensive.
According to Drone Light Show Canada, a North Star competitor, costs are comparable with fireworks. Wakefield, one of its customers, confirmed that the cost of its show matched the quotes provided by fireworks companies. (Waterloo’s drone show is costing $35,000; other communities refused to disclose.)
But that might be the case only for smaller-scale presentations. According to Mr. Brackett, the prices start to diverge as the shows get bigger – and size matters to large municipalities that have hundreds of thousands show up to July 1 celebrations.
Ottawa, which puts on the country’s biggest Canada Day party, will be going ahead with their fireworks near LeBreton Flats. But Canadian Heritage (the organization that arranges the capital’s fireworks display) is open to alternatives and “is continuously exploring options to improve format, programming and event delivery,” spokesperson David Larose said.
In Wakefield, Ms. Wood is hoping the crowd is wowed by the new offering.
“Fingers crossed it’s really good.”