GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas — In Galveston, you could say this year’s Fourth of July celebration is soaring to new heights.
“We really wanted to come up with something new and something different to offer the people who come to the island for the Fourth," said Michael Woody, the chief tourism officer of Galveston Island.
So rather than a traditional fireworks show, Moody says, “We came up with this idea of a drone show."
200 drones from Dallas-based Sky Elements Drones will lift off near 37th St. and Seawall lighting up the Galveston coast. The show will be visible from a three-mile radius and climb just as high as traditional fireworks.
"It was a way, again, that we could still have this amazing celebration but show people that we can do things differently and have a fun time doing it," said Woody.
In addition to being safe, the drones won't leave debris in the water like fireworks or have loud "pops" and "bangs." And visually, these drones can do just about anything.
“From an American flag to custom logos… we’ve even done QR codes that work in the sky. So you can do a lot of creative things you just can’t get with fireworks," says Preston Ward, the chief pilot and general counsel for Sky Elements Drones.
Ward has a decade of experience with pyrotechnics. He said his company has 1500 custom drones in their fleet and drone shows might be the way of the future for cities big and small.
"They want that extra impact and that extra safety they can get with drones that they can't get with fireworks," says Ward.
And for Galveston this Fourth of July, the sky’s the limit.
“We like to do things differently here on the island," says Woody.
Galveston expects to get 500,000 visitors over the July 4 weekend.
There will be two drone shows on Monday, both lasting 12 to 13 minutes. One will be at 9 P.M. and the other at 10:30 P.M. It's recommended people get there by 8 if they're just going for the drones. But it's recommended that visitors get there at 5 P.M. if they want the full experience of the parade, which starts at 6 P.M.
More information can be found on Galveston's tourism website.