The battery-operated drones that fly like birds over Pompano Beach’s ocean to create a customized show will be back this year, with an extra presentation, more lights, and numerous changes to help ease traffic tie-ups.
This year, there will be a free city shuttle service to try to eliminate the gridlock the city had last year when people were stuck in their car for hours and missed it, and two identical presentations to cater to more people, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Nov. 11.
Michigan-based Firefly Drone Shows, which bills its shows as a quiet alternative to fireworks, will be the vendor again, at a cost of $75,000. City spokeswoman Sandra King isn’t going to reveal the images and pictures that will move and pop over the water. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” she said, but count on red, white and blue and “nautical surprises.”
But it won’t be a repeat from last year: “We wanted a brand new, fresh show,” she said.
Actually, the city wants a lot to go differently from 2023.
Last year’s initial efforts didn’t go so well.
Plans were first set in place for their first show last spring. It was canceled at the last minute because of the weather, with wind and driving rain that was blowing sideways, flying debris and lightning.
Organizers said waterlogged phones shut them off from updating the public on social media.
It took months to get a new date in place because the vendor had other bookings, and the first show finally happened on Veterans Day weekend.
But while the show was declared a success, hundreds of people never got to see it. They were stuck in their cars, in gridlock while trying to head east toward the beach.
So now changes are underway to pull it all off, this time without a hitch.
Again, it will on Veterans Day, and now intended to be an annual celebration. November is perfect since it’s out of the season for both sea turtles and least terns, the beloved seabirds, both of whom need priority on the crowded beaches, King said. It’s also at the tail-end of hurricane season.
This year, there will be two 15-minute free shows, not just one, in hopes more people can catch at least one of them.
And parking and traffic will be newly designed to assist with the flow. Among those changes:
- There will be shuttle service to and from the beach from the Citi Centre mall and Community Park, both on Federal Highway.
- Instead of having people pay parking fees at the public beach garage off A1A based on how long they stayed, to speed things up, everyone will pay $20 a car as they enter. The gates will be open for cars to leave at the end of the night.
- The Sheriff’s Office will create new traffic patterns.
- Bridges will be locked down before and after the show. “People couldn’t get over the bridge that was opening every 15 minutes,” King said. Keeping the bridges closed will also help with pedestrian traffic. “There were hundreds of people that never got to the show, never even got near the show because of the traffic.”
What won’t change: Viewers will need to find a spot south of the fishing pier. The drones will be set up north of the pier, facing south.
Weather permitting, the show is expected to be seen along the shoreline for up to 5 miles. The drones will be 3,400 lumens each, a measurement of brightness. By comparison, a birthday candle is one lumen.
With drones, there can be moving pictures in the sky, QR codes, and scrolling text. And there will be more to work with. Instead of 200 drones last year, the shows this time will have 300 drones.
“We’re upping our game,” King said.
The last thing on the city’s to-do list: Pray for good weather.
The drones can’t fly in 25 mph winds or higher. “We’ll work with the National Weather Service, we’re in contact with them weeks prior to the event and continually up to the event, all the way up to minutes before the show to make sure the drones and the public are safe,” King said.
Drone shows are catching on in popularity.
Reuters reported this summer that some cities across the country were seeking alternatives to traditional fireworks shows to mitigate environmental issues, including Salt Lake City, which had a Fourth of July drone show due to wildfire and air-quality concerns.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash