Brittani Farmer

Since 1965, the city of Kennesaw has been entertaining crowds with a spectacular fireworks display for Independence Day, according to Special Events Coordinator Brittani Farmer. But the annual celebration — the only one in north Cobb when it started — always has been on July 3, giving the locals a chance to attend two fireworks shows each year. Now, the event draws 5,000 to 10,000 people to the downtown area.

We asked Brittani a few questions to give us a peek behind the scenes of this popular event.

Planning begins in November/December. Requirements that have to be met include approval from the fire marshal for the event and the fireworks, as well as road closures from mayor and council. Planning this event requires communication and tasks completed by many city departments, including parks and recreation, building maintenance, police, 911 communications, public works, communication and engagement, city manager, mayor and council, and more. Planning also includes booking the fireworks company and sound production company, seeking sponsors and vendors, finding performers, reserving equipment for rent (restrooms, ATMs, light towers, generators, tables and chairs and trash receptacles), creating a layout, notifying local businesses and residents who might be impacted by closures, writing announcements, creating signage and marketing the event, and more.

The fireworks company that we hire shoots off the fireworks. They typically have two or three staff members to set up, execute and clean up. When it is time to launch, one of the parks and rec staff members, with the fireworks company, calls the mayor, who is on the Depot Stage to coordinate the countdown.

The show will last around 15 minutes. There will be around 500-600 fireworks shot, with almost half being in the grand finale. The cost that we set and the sizes of the shells shot determine the length of the show.

They are shot off electronically.

Duds and misfires are not common, but they are a risk.

We mainly use 3-inch shells, with some 2½-inch shells to supplement and a few 4-inch shells for the “wow” factor.

They are not that different from the others shot during the show. It is just a bunch of them in a smaller time frame.