For the past three years, Lawrence’s Parks and Recreation Department held a fireworks show for the public on the Fourth of July by the Kaw River. However, when it was moved to the fairgrounds last year, many community members were worried about the proximity to the Lawrence Humane Society.
Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Arts and Culture Porter Arneill explained that this was a concern for them as well, and that they worked to explore other options. Based on the city’s strategic plan and efforts to be respectful to Lawrence citizens, they decided to experiment with a drone show this year. Arneill worked with Lightyear Drones, a company based in Fort Lauderdale, and 200 drones were programmed to perform a light show.
“We went with 200 drones so you can see the image a little more clearly,” Arneill said. “[The company] actually came up with imagery that was relevant to Lawrence, which was kind of fun, and [we] found a local company that did the music score for the drone show.”
With a significant amount of rain on July 2, the original launch site was soaked and could no longer be used. To combat the rain, the event was moved closer to the fairgrounds.
On July 3, the City of Lawrence’s Parks and Recreation Arts and Culture Department held Summerfest 24, an open event celebrating Independence Day. Starting at 3 p.m., the Douglas County fairgrounds were filled with live music, food trucks, a kids playscape and a crafts fair.
“It’s [been] a tradition to come here with our family and I’m continuing it with my daughter today,” parent Cait Losson said. “She enjoyed the playscape area, we had some food from the taco truck, checked out the vendor show and she got a cool 3D printed dragon.”
That evening, community members gathered to watch the show. As anticipation built, the connection to the internet and the GPS satellite system stopped working. After over an hour of trial and error, a storm came through, ultimately ending the night.
“The drone show getting canceled was really disappointing. My family and I waited around for an hour before we decided to go home,” junior Landry Koester said.
Despite failure, there are plans to have a drone show next year. The City of Lawrence received a $30K credit from Lightyear Drones for next year’s show.
“My intention would be to do the drone show next year to redeem ourselves and get back in good integrity with our community,” Arneill said. “We’re all going to take a look at this carefully. [The] highest on our list of objectives is to get the best testing possible and make sure that whatever connections to the Internet that are necessary are going to be there.”
