It was July 3, 1776, when John Adams predicted the new United States of America would celebrate its independence with “bonfires and illuminations” for generations to come.
On Friday, exactly 250 years later, Phil Grucci stood atop The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip, ready to carry on both a national tradition and his family’s legacy.
“He’s almost written it into the Constitution as well, that every Fourth of July, we will have fireworks in the sky,” Grucci said of Adams while showing off his company’s preparations for an eight-minute, synchronized display that will launch from 15 rooftops across the Las Vegas Valley at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Christopher Grucci, Phil Grucci’s son and Fireworks by Grucci’s logistics manager, said this year’s display will be even more patriotic than years past. He said the company had been looking ahead to the anniversary celebration for years.
“It’s all America all the way,” he said.
According to Phil Grucci, Fireworks by Grucci will participate in over 70 displays across the country. While over 400 pyrotechnicians from the company are working nationwide to usher in the holiday, Phil Grucci said that the show in Las Vegas will be their biggest in the nation.
He hoped that viewers will enjoy the show and revel in the celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
“They’re going to be watching something that’s free to them, and they’re going to be celebrating the freedom they have to do that,” Phil Grucci said. “The freedom to be out on the street and have a party. The freedom to be in the entertainment capital of the world to experience that.”
On the roof of The Venetian Resort on Friday, workers loaded firework shells into mortars connected by cables to a computerized firing system that will ignite pyrotechnic effects across the Strip.
Eric Amoquandoh, a pyrotechnician, emphasized the amount of work that goes into each show. He said that before he started working for Fireworks by Grucci, he thought firework set up would be easy. After a decade of working for the company, he now knows differently.
“There’s a lot involved,” Amoquandoh said. “You have to know what you’re doing, to be able to do it right. Otherwise, you’re going to mess it up.”
Phil Grucci represents the fifth generation of his family that is involved in pyrotechnics. The Gruccis started working with pyrotechnics in Bari, Italy, in 1850 before moving to the U.S. through Ellis Island.
Grucci said he is uniquely proud of his company’s history in Las Vegas.
“We’ve traveled all over the world — the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, the UAE,” Grucci said. “Whenever anyone asks about some of our biggest, best performances, they know it’s in Las Vegas.”
Contact Sophie Baker at sbaker@reviewjournal.com.
