Havelock's 50th fireworks display will be one to remember

Chris Moncourtois might not know how to carry a tune, but he can sure turn the night sky into a symphony.

“Doing a good fireworks display is just about as close to being a rock star as you can get without knowing how to sing,” the veteran fireworks specialist said.

Moncourtois is leading this year’s July 4^th fireworks display for the sixth year and the show is promised to be the biggest in eastern North Carolina.

To celebrate this year’s observance of Havelock’s 50^th anniversary, the city is going all out to finance the largest July 4^th fireworks display in eastern North Carolina.

According to Dave Smith, director of Havelock Parks and Recreation, the city is spending $20,000, up from the usual $12,000 for the annual show.

“They’ve increased the budget and that allows me to shoot more shells,” said Chris Moncourtois, owner of Class A Fireworks, of Stella.

Moncourtois said that the 30-minute show will include between 4,500 and 5,000 exploding shells for Saturday’s event.

“Havelock’s my baby.  I enjoy doing the display every year.  They’ve treated me well every year.  It’s just my favorite place to go,” he said.

For this special event, Moncourtois said there will be a two-tiered display at differing heights over the Havelock city park.

“Instead of your typical fireworks display we‘re going to have a continuous show,” the pyrotechnic expert said.

The largest shells will be six inches in diameter and will be fired out of mortars to a height of 550 to 600 feet.

“That’s typically when you get a lot of you oos and aas from the crowd,” he said.

Underneath the big shells will be a foundation of special effects from sets of smaller shells called “cakes.” Each cake will have 100 to 150 shots and will explode skyward at a height of 150 to 200 feet.

“We won’t shoot anything smaller than a 4 inch shell in the body of the show.” Moncourtois said.

“That’s what really makes for a really different display,” said Moncourtois, who is 45 years old and has more than 20 years of experience in fireworks.

“I’ve got every thing from blue, red, purple, orange, peach, yellow and silver.  Just about anything you can think of we’ve got it,” he said.

Most of the fireworks effects are named after flowers like Peonies and Chrysanthemums.

Then there are the palm tree shells, the double hearts and double rings and the timed rain.

Moncourtois’ favorite is the willow shell, a familiar pattern that leaves the sky streaked with elongated trails of light reminiscent of a willow tree.

Moncourtois said the show will be a mix of electronic and manual discharges, all pre-loaded prior to the show.

“Pre-loading every show in its mortar before the show gets you a more consistent display,” he said. “Timing is critical in a fireworks display.”

“In Havelock, I’ve got to have 3 or 4 different electronic firing systems. I had to buy extras just for increased demand,” Moncourtois said. “We’re allocating a fair amount of firing equipment just for Havelock.”

“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into it,” he said. “There are a lot of logistics on the front end of these shows.”

Moncourtois will have four assistants helping to put on the show but he’ll be involved.

“I’ve got earplugs on and I’ll be paying attention to what’s going,” he said.

He wouldn’t dare miss the show.

“I always have had a love of fireworks since I was a kid,” he said.

Saturday’s show is slated to begin at 9 p.m. The best viewing will be from the vicinity of the Harrier display adjacent to the Havelock City Hall complex.