Go behind the scenes

MERIDIAN -- This Fourth of July most people are enjoying a day off, but for pyrotechnicians it's the busiest day of the year.

NewsChannel 7 got a behind the scenes look at the preparations for the big fireworks show at the Meridian Speedway tonight.

Work began on the big Fourth of July fireworks show back in January.

It’s a $10,000 show that takes a lot of patience to put together.

"These guys know what they are doing and I have had these same people now since 1989," said Ken Hamilton, Meridian Speedway promoter.

You really have to know what you are doing when you are dealing with this many wires and explosives.

Devery Davis calls this his hobby and has been setting up fireworks displays for 24 years.

"It’s more of an adrenaline rush," said Devery Davis, Fireworks of America in Idaho.

For the Fourth of July display in Meridian, Devery has put together a display that includes 650 shells to light the skies with color.

“Over here we have a finale rack, which its one que and they all go up, roughly about 250," said Davis.

And each one has a specific purpose

"We start out by picking out the music and put the shells to the music. Roughly it takes an hour per minute to choreograph a show. These are the control boxes we use and each she has a wire and goes into a specific spot on here, and these are all cabled onto a main board that they actually shoot the fireworks off of," said Davis.

The fireworks show begins at dusk.

They are expecting the grandstands to be packed with 4,500 people and they also expect about 20,000 people will crowd around the area to take in the show.

It’s a busy night in Meridian with a major race at the speedway before the fireworks show.

And at Meridian's Storey Park next to the speedway, there is a free family celebration that kicks off at 3 p.m. today.