Fireworks pros plan to light up LaPorte sky for 4 nights

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Fireworks go off on the river at Bicentennial Park for Joliet's Fourth of July celebration. | Sun-Times Media file photo

Updated: March 25, 2012 8:05AM

A special visit is going to light up the skies with color and brighten up Northwest Indiana’s tourism picture.

The Pyrotechnics Guild International is bringing its Fire in the Sky convention to the LaPorte County Fairgrounds Aug. 11-17, meaning there will be four nights of impressive fireworks to complement the everyday business of the group that describes itself as an “independent worldwide nonprofit organization of amateur and professional fireworks enthusiasts.” Fireworks are set for Aug. 12, 14, 15 and 17.

The Michigan City LaPorte Convention and Visitors Bureau is reveling in the coup, which landed a major convention that graced West Fargo, N.D., last year.

“This is definitely going to be a big boost to the economies of LaPorte, Michigan City and LaPorte County,” Gene Shurte, a Convention and Visitors Bureau board member, said in a press release. “It’s going to draw a major number of people who will provide an economic shot in the arm.”

Shurte said he and other colleagues worked for about five years to get the annual convention to the LaPorte area.

There also is going to be a concerted effort to bring it back, said Shurte, who also serves as LaPorte County Fair manager.

Shurte said he believes the four nights of fireworks will draw a total of about 75,000 attendees who pay to see the visual feast.

The location of the LaPorte County Fairgrounds was a key factor in landing the conference that literally delivers a bang.

“We talked with the PGI people, and they agreed with the demographics we have here,” Shurte said. “We’re close to the Chicagoland area, the South Bend area. We’re not far from Indianapolis, Grand Rapids (Mich.). We have easy access to the (Indiana) Toll Road and I-94 and U.S. 30.”

Aaron Enzer, president of Pyrotechnics Guild International, expects guild members and their families to account for a turnout of about 3,000 to 4,000 people at the convention, which is taking place at a fairgrounds location near LaPorte.

“We’ve looked for a site within the Midwest for quite some time,” said Enzer, a Michigan resident. “We have a very unique set of needs to be able to hold one of our events. We need to be fairly close to a city that can accommodate about 3,000 of our members. So we need lots of hotels that are not too far from a great big huge open field where we shoot lots of fireworks ... and then have a bunch of buildings for us to hold our seminars and trade shows and various other things.”

Although convention activities are closed to the public, the four nights of complementary fireworks promise to impress those not allowed into other aspects of the convention.