The Casino du Lac-Leamy fireworks competition is back

Fireworks competition gets underway CTV’s Dave Charbonneau with a behind-the-scenes look at the Casino du Lac Leamy’s world-class fireworks competition.

Tonight marks the start of the 25th anniversary of the Casino du Lac-Leamy fireworks show, one of the biggest summer attractions in the capital.

And at the Canadian Musuem of History, they’re getting ready to put on an amazing show of light and music.

“We’re happy to be back to the international competition that we know. So we’ll be welcoming four countries in the next few days,” says Marc-Antoine Massicotte, Les Grands Feux Du Casino Lac-Leamy CEO.

Teams from France, Canada, Mexico and the United States will light up the sky over the next few weeks. It takes a lot of work and time to get it right and safe.

Royal Pyrotechnie President Yankick Roy is orchestrating Wednesday’s opening show as well as helping the competing countries set up.

“Setup takes around three days for a show like this. So it’s pretty long for a 20-minute show,” says Roy.

Roy uses two separate controllers for the show to be sure. If something happens with one line, they have a backup line.

The fireworks launch from a barge in the water between the Parliament buildings and the Museum of History.

Nearly 5,000 fireworks and a wide variety of styles of pyrotechnics all combine into an epic show timed to music.

One new attraction this year is and area called The Incandescent, where guests can enjoy drinks and some of the best local food on unique wood fire barbecues.

“Yeah, it’s nice to have a self-refueller,” says Le Cellier chef Alexndre Gonnot, “and I think it’s going to be really nice to have different heat zones.”

Back on the barge, each canister sits ready to launch colourful explosions into the sky. Roy explains how it all works.

“This will blow, it’s black powder, and the shell will go into the sky up to five or six hundred feet,” says Roy. “And when they arrive in the sky, just before they go down, they will blow.”

The competition starts this weekend. It continues each Wednesday and Saturday with the finale set for Aug. 20.

“We’ve been thinking about this and working on this for a couple years,” says Massicotte. “And now to see all of our new ideas and innovations come to life is just such a great feeling.”

Tickets must be purchased online to get into the main site by the museum.