International Fireworks Competition—Montreal

I am a fireworks fan. I love to watch them, hear them, and thoroughly enjoy straining, trying to look up and see everything. I have also had the good fortune to see several world-famous fireworks. One of the most memorable was sitting on a blanket, on the Mall, in Washington, DC, on a July 4th. They did a great show there.

I had the good fortune years ago to be on a flight that was scheduled to land in Dayton, Ohio on July 4th. We arrived and were on approach just at dark and the city (I assume) started their big fireworks. Our pilot got permission to circle the airport a couple of times so we could enjoy the fireworks from up above—a fascinating sight.

 In preparation for our trip to Newfoundland (read about this trip above), our group of friends agreed to meet in Montreal. The reason… we had the chance to see one night of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition.

As the name implies, this is an "international competition" comprised (in 2011) of eight countries presenting their display over eight Saturday nights starting late June. Each display is judged and ultimately winners are announced.

But I was just there to see some outstanding fireworks. I really didn't know anything about the competition and wasn't interested from a competitive aspect. I wanted a great show.

And I got it! We had tickets for the first display (first night) of the competition and China was the country. I admit, if someone had asked me what country in the world I thought might lead the way for fireworks, I would have said China. What was interesting was that after the summer and competition was over, China didn't even place among the winners. Italy was the big winner!

However, I was not disappointed and all of our group was simply astounded at the display. It is inconceivable to try to describe it here—sorry. These few pictures will help. What I can say is that while many, many towns in the USA will offer 20–30 minutes of fireworks, you have probably seen them as one or two or three "boomers" going off, just enough to keep you interested, and ending with maybe one minute of multiple shots for the heart-thumping end.

This was not like that at all. What we had was 30 minutes of constant fireworks, boomers, some low (literally on the water and shot from small barges), some with just a bit of height (about 30° off the horizon), and the rest about 45–90°—almost straight up—all going off simultaneously and constantly, and set to music. My guess is that there were never less than 20–50 individual fireworks going off at any one moment! It was a 30-minute constant barrage of light and noise that overwhelmed you and your senses.

Simply, it was wonderful. I'm ready to do it again.

I recommend you do it, too.

To do this, you will have to make your reservations (buy your tickets) as early as possible. Sorry, but I can't offer much help with this as one of our group is from Montreal. They were already up there and got the tickets for us. Keep and eye on this site… Montreal International Fireworks Competition as this seems to be the "official" site for tickets. However, start checking early February for the first June show.