GALVESTON, Texas — Galveston's Fourth of July celebration kicked off with a traditional parade and ended with a very cool and contemporary light show.
The drone show was delayed for an hour by technical issues, but the people who waited were treated to colorful sea creatures, a patriotic eagle and American and Texas flags flying high over the seawall.
Judging by the comments on our Facebook page, the show got mixed reviews. Some weren't impressed and left disappointed, but others loved it.
Organizers decided it was time to shake things up a little in 2022.
“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.
The show included 200 drones from Dallas-based Sky Elements Drones, Woody said.
"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," Woody explained.
Photos: 4th of July drones
The drones were supposed to be visible for a three-mile radius, but some people complained they couldn't see them from half a mile away.
Because of the late start, there was only one drone show instead of the double feature they had planned to do.
In addition to being safe, the drones don't leave debris in the water like fireworks and they don't have loud "pops" and "bangs."
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 1,500 custom drones in their fleet and drone shows might be the wave 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.
“We like to do things differently here on the island," Woody said.
Some of the complainers want the fireworks back next year. No word yet on whether the drones will be back.
Galveston expected about half a million visitors over the July 4 weekend.