COLUMBIA, S.C. — People all over the world are getting ready to ring in the New Year. The Capital City Fireworks show will start at midnight in Columbia with a 15-minute display. Despite lasting minutes, this show takes hours to set up.
"At New Year's, this is, like, the perfect time for fireworks," Columbia resident Peter Kelly said.
Standing beside Naomi Stienstra, Kelly said they hope to see the city's fireworks show kick off 2024 with a bang.
"I love it because fireworks is, for me at least, a New Year's thing because we don't, back home where I'm from, we don't have Fourth of July," said Stienstra, who's from Australia. "New Year's is the only time we do fireworks."
"They're just exciting," Donna Adams, who's visiting Columbia from Georgia, said, smiling. "I love all the pretty colors, and you get to pick your favorite one, but they're all great."
Adams said her mom told her about Capital City Fireworks.
"I'm excited to see everything for New Year's," Adams said. "We have a wedding to go to and it's going to top it off after we come back from the wedding with a firework."
Irmo resident Reina Floyd said she's considering taking her kids to the fireworks after her evening church service.
"For the most part, you're watching things on TV of what's happening around the world, around the country. And everybody looks, you know, for New Year's at New York City and the Ball Drop," Floyd said. "So, it's kind of cool that they were like, 'We have stuff going on too in Columbia.' That's kind of cool."
It's a show that residents can expect to have "lots of different colors, lots of different effects," according to Guy Bouknight, the show's lead shooter.
"Timing is definitely the hardest part of a great firework show," Bouknight, a commercial outdoor pyrotechnic operator for Munnerlyn Pyrotechnics, said. "So, just getting everything timed and synced in and layering."
Bouknight said a lot of time and thought goes into preparing for the show, from the colors to the heights of the explosions to the timing.
"We have these mortar tubes that are in racks, all of the racks get stabilized, make sure there's no debris in any of the tubes. And then once everything is stabilized together, then we start dropping the pyro," Bouknight said regarding the four to five-hour set-up process. "And then, once the pyro is dropped, then we electronically match everything to a module. And then, once everything's plugged into that module, then we Bluetooth or radio frequency everything together, sync everything up, and then it's ready to go."
Bouknight said his company does shows in different states across the region in all different locations. When it comes to urban areas like downtown Columbia, he said there are a few other considerations.
"In an urban environment, of course, we try not to angle any of the effects and having them going different directions," Bouknight said. "We kind of shoot everything straight up in the air. And, of course, just make sure that there's no overhead power lines or anything like that."
Bouknight said his favorite part of the show is seeing reactions from people like Floyd, who said this might be the perfect start to 2024.
"I don't think I've looked forward to a New Year like this in a really long time," Floyd said, smiling. "I'm looking forward to like lightness and joy and contentment and, given the state of things all around the world, I'm just really looking forward to peace and calm."
The city said the best place to see the fireworks will be on the north side of the State House at Gervais and Main Streets.