Fireworks sales boom in lead up to July Fourth

In the weeks leading up to Independence Day, dozens of pop-up stands around the Flathead Valley are meeting the area’s explosive demand for fireworks.

With names such as “Widowmaker,” “American Dream,” and “Redneck Revenge,” the wares on display at roadside repositories promise patriotic pyros will have a blast this July Fourth.

Brooke Volkman manages the Black Widow Fireworks just south of Whitefish, and has loved fireworks since she was a child.

She remembers her family always taking part in fiery festivities to mark the July 4 holiday growing up, and she even worked at the Whitefish Black Widow Fireworks stand as a teen, stocking the shelves.

Fourteen summers later, Volkman manages 12 employees at the stand during the nearly two-week period leading up to the holiday when fireworks are sold. Volkman returns to the shop year after year because of the festive experience that she can provide kids and families.

A child care professional during the rest of the year, Volkman takes a few weeks off to run the company’s flagship 9-window stand off of U.S. 93.

During peak days before the holiday, the stand is open for at least 12 hours a day until 10 p.m., but may stay open even later to sling bottle rockets, firecrackers, mortars and more if demand keeps up.

The money she earns during these few weeks funds her annual travel to pow wows in Washington. For her employees, the boon can represent their gift budget for the upcoming Christmas.

The stand’s offerings vary widely, from $40 kid-oriented mixed bags with sparklers and cherry bombs to several hundred dollar 500-gram repeaters that provide a whole pyrotechnics show from one fuse.

She said customers will often spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on fireworks this time of year.

Heather Aney manages the competing Hong Kong Harry’s location in the Army-Navy Surplus parking lot in Evergreen. The company has 19 locations in Flathead County, and over 60 statewide, according to its website.

Aney grew up in the Flathead Valley and has traveled back with her husband and two children from Washington to manage the stand for a couple of weeks.

For Aney, it’s a homecoming, as well as an opportunity to spend time with her family and make good money from fireworks sales commissions.

She also remembers fireworks shows from her childhood as a major part of celebrating the holiday, which she says brings her “complete joy every year.”

The colorful displays in the night sky make the celebrations impossible to forget.

“I’m a visual person,” she said. “The fourth is the one holiday that I look forward to every year because of the visuals. It gives me pleasure knowing that people are enjoying what I do here.”

She personally enjoys fountain-style fireworks, and has her eye on some called “True King” that she plans on taking back home with her to use later.

Her average customer spends around $500, but a few have dropped over $4,000 to set their celebrations off with a bang.

Aney said that the stand she is managing took in over $100,000 in revenue last summer, and they’re well on their way to matching it this season.

Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish have restrictions on selling and setting off fireworks within city limits, but enthusiasts can have a blast in most parts of the valley’s vast unincorporated lands.

Although Volkman will be too busy selling pyrotechnics to celebrate with everybody else on the Fourth of July, she said she’ll find time to celebrate with her family — and her own fireworks — in the days after. She’s looking forward to setting off a firework known as “Blood, Sweat, and Tears,” which features a three-stage scream finale.

She said even driving home at night after a long day in the stand brings her joy when she sees explosions overhead, and can often recognize the shapes and sounds of individual products that she has come to know and love.

“When an Excalibur goes off, I know that sound,” she said with a smile.

Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com.

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