Local Fireworks Sales Steady In Warsaw, Winona Lake
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Fireworks sales have been steady in Warsaw and Winona Lake as the community gears up for the July 4 holiday Saturday. Travis Fear and his fiance, Ashley Maple, both of Warsaw, shopped for fireworks Tuesday afternoon at Speed Rocket Fireworks, 1017 E. Winona Ave., Warsaw. They purchased whistling artillery shells that they will use during a fireworks party Saturday. “We like to shop here because they seem to have a lot of everything and it is reasonably priced,” Maple said. Bob Gonzalez, who is a neighbor adjacent to the fireworks shop, said he has shopped there for the past seven years. “I always buy the artillery shells that explode and make big booms. For the kids we also buy fireworks,” Gonzalez said. Justin Miller, the Speed Rocket Fireworks owner’s son, said the most popular fireworks are cakes that are pre-packaged. A cake firework is a series of Roman candles, small aerial shells or a combination of both, connected by a high-speed fuse. Speed Rocket Fireworks have been open since the second weekend in June and will stay open through Sunday. “Sales are going very well this year and we had a lot of people come out and show great support and are excited to come back and buy,” Miller said. This year they brought back the Fighting Rooster firework that is a 30 shot firework that has a low display with some crackles. They also have a Grave Digger firework that is done at a faster pace. The kaleidoscope firework has six rounds of four shots that collide over each other with different colors. They also have Excalibur shell fireworks and fireworks for children such as sparklers, firecracker grenades, black snakes, snappers and smoke balls. Vicki Brown, Big Boom Fireworks manager, said sales are going well at the store at 2112 E. Winona Ave. They have been open since June 13 and will be open until Tuesday. “Our most popular fireworks are the Quest fireworks that have a big boom because everyone wants the biggest boom,” Brown said. The fireworks have 24 canister shells and they are shot out of a tube and make sparks. The store also caters to children and has sparklers, frogs, pop snaps and snakes. Buddy O’Dell, manager of Franciscan Fireworks at 401 Kings Highway, said the shop has been open since the beginning of June and will close next week. “Our sales have been really well and we love to treat people with respect when they come in and have good fireworks,” O’Dell said. O’Dell said videos of how the fireworks operate are available so people can watch them before they make their purchases. “We spend all of the off-season researching what people like and we want to be able to market to every range and preference,” he said. He said they have novelty fireworks for kids and larger fireworks such as mortars and finale fireworks. Amber Enyeart shopped for fireworks at Franciscan Fireworks with her three children Tuesday afternoon. “We will shoot fireworks off Saturday and are getting smoke bombs, fountain fireworks and tank fireworks,” Enyeart said. Michaela Sandoval, Crazy Joe’s Fireworks manager, across from McDonald’s on Detroit Street, previously USA Muffler, said sales have been steady. They also have a store off of U.S. 30. Sales started June 18 and will go until Saturday. “Everything has been very steady so far and our most popular fireworks we sell are Excaliburs that have canister shells that do 24 different effects and has bright colors and is a good item when you have a party,” Sandoval said. “A lot of people have come in for party supplies and come in as groups so they can spend more.” They have swords that burn for children and the swords are reusable. Tim Richard, manager at 1535 N. Detroit St., next to The Bowling Alley, said the shop started selling fireworks June 18 and will sell until Sunday. “The most popular items are kids fireworks like sparklers, smoke ball fireworks, tanks and snappers,” Richard said. For adults the Excalibur shells are popular.
