In past years, we have purchased an arsenal of land fireworks and set them off in the privacy (and safety) of our front yard and then watched the battleground of neighborhood fireworks go off all through the night, tossing and turning and cursing all things 4th as we try to fall asleep with Custer’s Last Stand going on outside our house.
But it turns out Rural Vermont does things a bit differently.
First off, there were no fireworks to be seen. No fireworks stands on every block. No towering display of explosives in every grocery store. There was one stand in Rutland, 30 minutes away, but other than that, absolutely nothing.
We were beginning to think civilians attempting to handle sticks of tnt with warnings that said “light and run”, in the middle of a forest, might in fact be frowned upon.
So we decided to try something new this year.
We went to an actual firework show.
We considered going to the display happening in the town closest to us, Bethel. They were supposed to do their show on the 3rd, but moved it due to two days straight of rain. But our other option was Woodstock, the adorable town a bit farther out but more populated. We opted for Woodstock, because being the fireworks snobs that we are, figured a town of a population of 3000 would give us a better show than one of population 1000 (if I’m being generous).
The first thing we noticed, with massive amounts of Covid hesitation, was just how many PEOPLE there were. There were cars from Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, even ALASKA waiting to watch the firework show in the dinky little adorable town of Woodstock, Vt. Of course, when I say there were a lot of people, we are talking school auditorium sized amounts. Which is unbelievably a lot in a small town especially after crowds have been scarce for a year. But it felt unnerving.
We masked up (we were the only ones but you never know if you are going to inadvertently pummel into someone in a crowd) and worked our way through people openings to an area of field with no one within a 20 foot distance. And we claimed our spot.
It turns out our claimed area happened to be front and center to the actual fireworks show. Now why everyone decided way out in backfield was the place to be for a show is beyond me. Maybe they all sat in the back thinking no one else would be there. Or maybe they just wanted a quick path to their cars so they could make a run for it at the (totally get that) Regardless, through paranoia alone, we had found ourselves the best seat in the house.
We spread out our blankets, ate scotcheroos, and played exploding kittens until it was dark and we could no longer see our cards.
And then the show started.
And what we saw was one of the best fireworks shows we have ever seen.
Tyler and I have been to some decent shows. We’ve seen countless Disney shows. Even watched their nightly show from our house every night until we were sick to death of it and were cursing it’s existence for waking our sleeping baby. We’ve also seen the show in Washington DC, from way in the back, behind some trees, with a guy next to us peeing in the road.
But this show was magical. We laid down on our blankets and the fireworks shot above us, so big and bright it felt like it took over the entire sky. There was of large variety of different explosives, of many different colors. Some colors I’ve never seen in any fireworks. It started out slow and worked it’s way up to the finale, aerials coming faster and faster until the end when a magical array of colorful fire filled the atmosphere above us. You had no choice but to clap and cheer, not out of politeness, but out of shear excitement building inside you. It was exhilarating.
We waited about 10 minutes for the crowd to clear and then it took about 15 minutes of waiting in the car before we could drive out. But it was worth it. And when we got home, it was silent. Maybe the occasional boom off in the distance, but no all night explosion fest and absolutely no nightly fireworks for weeks before and after the 4th. The celebration was limited to just the holiday. And that’s how it should be.
Side note, yes my skirt lights up. Tyler bought it for me a few years ago and I’ve never had a chance to wear it even though it’s completely awesome. This was the perfect opportunity. I even got several compliments and someone said I looked like a fairy. Which is awesome except I didn’t hear any of it because for some reason I was stuck listening to the thoughts in my own head and not what was going on around me. But Tyler kept telling me people were complimenting my perfect 4th of July skirt.
