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Not sure how this effects the 2021 season for display companies

G

goneshootin

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Jun 2019
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BIDEN: "If we do our part... by July 4, there's a good chance you, your families, and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day... Small groups will be able to get together"


Between July 1st and the 4th I'm already scheduled to do 2 shows in NJ, 1 in MD and 1 in PA.

I'll refrain from saying what I really feel about this statement to avoid triggering anyone. I will say another cancelled 4th of July season will devastating for many smaller and mid sized display companies.
 
Of the displays I've ever worked, only one venue - unfortunately, the one with the greatest attendance and the biggest display - really puts the audience into close contact. All the others had enough space so that family groups could maintain social distancing from other groups.

I'm more wondering how the funding will work out. On one hand, people are eager to return to life as "normal". On the other hand, when the towns and villages in my region have laid off employees, deferred road maintenance, etc., will they resume funding fireworks this year? In my city, Rotary conducts a fundraising drive for the fireworks. Right now, all fundraising is directed to food pantries etc. which are being used by 5-10X as many people as usual.
 
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My guess is display companies in the USA will have a great season for July 4th. At the rate the American population is being vaccinated combined with the immunity in those people who have had covid whether they knew it or not (asymtomatic) the pandemic is likely to end in your country very soon. Here in Canada where the government did not do a good job of getting Vaccines I also think it will be a good July 1st but it will be a rush of late orders. My take on what your president said is He was trying to give some good news about recovery from the pandemic but he was trying to balance the message so it did not come across as it's over there is no more need to control transmission. I think there will be large gatherings just like before Covid by the 4th of July in the USA.
 
I'm cautiously optimistic although we have already had one good sized show cancel (which now has another one close to it scared because everyone who normally goes to that one might flock to this one type of thing). It's going to boil down to your area of the country I think. Shows will be full bore in most of the country with the exception of areas like the greater DC area (MD, Northern VA, & the District of Columbia). I think in my area we will see the smaller community shows go off but all the large venue (10K plus people) will be cancelled again. I'll refrain from giving the reason I believe this is how it will play out and I hope I'm wrong, but that's just how I see it playing out.
 
I hope you get enough consumer product in to have another good year selling that. Clever of you to be in both branches of the industry.

And what are you doing up and posting at 4 am? :)
 
wrtiii said:
I hope you get enough consumer product in to have another good year selling that. Clever of you to be in both branches of the industry.

And what are you doing up and posting at 4 am? :)
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Would be nice if we could have a good season selling consumer and do enough shows lol. Haven't you heard, I don't sleep....at least that's the rumor I hear ;-)
 
We currently have a number of places planning to do show on July 2nd to the 5th, I think many may happen, but some are already insure. But our big show planned for Memorial Day weekend that had said they would go just postponed again to next year, and there are still many places not yet decided, so our schedule is a complete disaster, and we cannot decide what shows to plan for and which not.... Last year we did have some small shows come in at the last second when they found they could do one on the fourth, and some want to repeat, but its near impossible to plan for.

As a note, I see one alarming article about fireworks

03/16/2021 | In ‘Bold Undertaking,’ Drone Shows To Replace Weekly Fireworks In Ocean City | News Ocean City MD

Perhaps companies could start telling communitiers that if they only want a show on the fourth, then they are out of luck. But right now, most will take anything that they can get. We have already lost one local display company that could not weather 2020.
 
Shows are coming in and at least 1 company that has me scheduled to do shows in NJ and MD July 1- 3 is now turning down shows. However the 2 NJ shows have said they are covid dependent.

The Sixers and the Flyers are starting allow a limited number of fans. I get to do my first Flyers game next week.
 
Our shows have been scheduling this year. Last year we did about 30% of our shows, this year we are already contracted for more than 60% of them and we are getting requests daily for new shows so getting scheduled isn't a problem. Everyone wants the shows. We just need the Governor/AHJ/Health Departments to be on the same page. I truly hope to see all the display companies get back on track this year.
 
We seem to be getting shows lined up, not sure if all will happen or not, but looks promising. Our challenge with some shows is that the state does not want to permit shows on state property until the state has allowed large gatherings, which they say should happen by July, but since they won't start the process now, many cities cannot get permits or reservations for their normal spaces, many of which are in large parks or on State land. So they are stuck, as by the time they can get approval, there will not be enough time to setup the show and get ready.

The other big question we have is baseball shows and how they will do, but I think they will be late enough to allow some crowds, even if they start small. Just not sure how many people will come. I hope a lot.
 
Our governor just said outdoor events can now allow up to 200 people. If that holds I expect at least 1 or 2 cancellations.

Bob,
Philadelphia pro sports (Flyers and Sixers) are allowing 25% capacity. Last season the Eagles shot rooftop pyro with no fans. I haven't heard anything about the local minor league teams having fans and or pyro.

We are starting see a trend in NE Pa. where some towns are ignoring the governor's overreach and holding fireworks shows.
 
Ohio Governor just removed the capacity restriction for outdoor events. We still have to follow the mask, distancing, and sanitation guidelines, but that means our baseball, fairs & festivals, and city events can start to move forward again!
 
Just an update: My city has officially cancelled for this year. The July 4 show is sponsored by the local Rotary chapter, meaning they fund-raise for it, and with many small businesses struggling to re-open or ramp back up, that just wasn't going to work this year. I also assume that the city is reluctant to spend the police and other overtime dollars that it usually provides for crowd control, ambulance service, etc. (in NYS, if you're expecting 5K or more people, you need to provide stand-by emergency services).

The nearby town where I was supposed to work shows on the 3rd and the 4th cancelled the one on the 3rd due to financial considerations.
 
I've lost about 1/2 my regular shows this season.

The reasons given were many, insurance increases with Covid coverage, "planning" needed to have been started months back, the surrounding cities all canceled so we'd be overrun, but mostly I think it came down to CYA. I mean, in the litigious world we live in, now filled with more "kooks" then any time in the past ;), what municipal employee wants to stick-their-neck-out?

Lots of talk about "Maybe we could do something in the Fall?" ~ we'll see....
 
I just found out today that both my 3rd and 4th shows have had a product cut of about 30% each! I am just glad I am not an owner this year, that would be brutal to explain to a host/sponsor.
 
We did our first show a few days ago, a small one, which went well. The show I had planned to do on the 2nd is now cancelled, but I am booked for 2 shows on the 3rd still, breaking up my crew for those. We also have three other shows on the 2nd from this area, but I was already scheduled for one, so they all went to other crews. We are pretty busy on the 3rd, being a Saturday, but had one show cancel late for the 4th, otherwise we are all pretty busy then. But nothing on the 5th, as we had hoped. So I would say that we have about 60-70% of the normal shows, Some years we have had 3, 4, or 5 shows in a row, this year most of our crews have 2 or 3 shows at best, some only one show.

Hope everyone has as good season, we all need it.
 
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th wall to wall shows. Supposed to do a big pyromusical today but we got rained out. I have small show Saturday at a winery and a larger show on the 4th at a popular amusement park.

After the 4th I'm on the schedule for 15 more shows through the end of the year.
 
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