Thousands of fireworks will light up the sky over the Ottawa River on Saturday night, but the work behind the spectacle begins days before the first one is launched. Crews were busy Friday preparing for the fourth night of Les Grands Feux du Casino Lac-Leamy, transforming a series of barges on the river into a massive floating launch pad. “You’re seeing the behind the scenes of the magic,” said Julie Moffatt, president and CEO of Les Grands Feux. “The barge that we install every year is composed of six large barges and 26 docks.” The site is home to 12 pyrotechnicians during the festival, with roughly 28,000 pyrotechnic pieces used to create each show. Once one performance ends, crews have little time to turn the site around for the next. David Hamon, technical director for Les Grands Feux, says crews begin cleaning the barges the morning after a show and then immediately start construction on the next performance. The process typically takes between two-and-a-half to three days. While the finished product lasts about 25 minutes, putting thousands of effects into the sky at exactly the right moment requires plenty of precision. Hamon says the fireworks are launched electronically and controlled by computer. With roughly 2,300 individual cues programmed into a performance, launching the show manually would be nearly impossible. Saturday’s performance will put Brazil in the spotlight. The Brazilian team is preparing a show called Emotion in Every Moment, with crews spending Friday loading the remaining shells and setting up positions on the pontoons. For Hamon, welcoming teams from around the world is also an opportunity for pyrotechnicians to learn from one another. “Each country’s got its own tradition, its own knowledge about fireworks,” Hamon said. “So, you can learn small tricks that you will use after.” There is also plenty of anticipation building for the festival’s grand finale on Aug. 15. Quebec-based Royal Pyrotechnie will present We All Have a Hero, the same performance that just captured the prestigious Gold Jupiter at Montreal’s L’International des Feux Loto-Quebec. The Gold Jupiter is the competition’s top honour, awarded to the best overall performance at one of the world’s leading international fireworks competitions. Moffatt says Royal Pyrotechnie oversees the technical operations at Les Grands Feux and traditionally takes control of the festival’s finale. According to Hamon, spectators in Ottawa-Gatineau can expect something they haven’t seen before. “It’s going to be a huge one with a big surprise in the middle,” Hamon said. “So, I will let you discover the surprise.” Before that surprise is revealed, Brazil will takes its turn over the Ottawa River Saturday night. China will follow with its performance next Wednesday before Royal Pyrotechnie closes out this year’s Les Grands Feux with the grand finale Aug. 15.
