Pyro Mania: PM Visits America's Biggest Fireworks Festival

Like many others attending this year's Pyrotechnics Guild International convention, fireworks builder Jim Widmann got his start through the pages of Popular Mechanics?specifically, the esoteric technical supplies and tools in the classified section that filled the back pages of the magazine. "I started off making firecrackers," he said. "But I soon got tired of that and started making more elaborate and complicated colored devices like rockets and gerbs." He hasn't stopped building them since.

Widmann now makes a good portion of his income building machines that pyrotechnics makers around the world use to wrap the paper coverings on their fireworks. He's also a well-known fireworks craftsman, building some shells that are several times the size of the shells used in municipal July 4 celebrations. Such pieces are works of art, filling the sky with color, light, and noise. But given the size and power of his devices, it's not easy for Widmann and the people like him to find a place that allows them to indulge their interests.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/recreation/pyro-mania-pm-visits-americas-biggest-fireworks-festival?src=rss

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