With 黑马磁力 Township switching back from a drone show to fireworks at next year's Canada Day event, it's worth looking at the pros and cons of the two types of displays.
The biggest concern with drones is their cost.
This year's event cost more than $50,000, while just $40,000 is budgeted for a fireworks display next year. This year's drone show was almost twice as expensive as last year's, after the council authorized some more money to beef it up.
On the plus side, drone shows can do things fireworks simply can't do 鈥� they can form coherent images in the sky, making multiple pre-programmed shapes, patterns, and movements. And this new aerial art form is still pretty new. Drones are getting cheaper and software is improving, and it's likely drone light shows will get better every year.
On the downside, we haven't reached a point 鈥� yet 鈥� where drones are both cheap and astonishing.
Lighted drone displays get a lot of attention online, but the shows that draw the most views are those that are held in major centres, and have six- or seven-figure budgets. But spending $100,000 or $200,000 to get a really great show isn't the best use of local taxpayers money.
Fireworks, on the other hand, can be spectacular at a lower price point.
Some people don't like fireworks, and some people love them. For those who love them, the entire package is part of the fun 鈥� the light, the noise, even the scent of explosives.
But those are all downsides as well. It's not uncommon for fireworks displays to be cancelled entirely due to high fire risk, as happened in 2022 with Maple Ridge's Celebrate the Night event. With increasingly dry summers, the odds that a planned fireworks show actually take place on July 1 is getting lower every year.
And there is the noise. It annoys some people, but it can panic animals. Many pet owners dread the fireworks holidays of Canada Day, Halloween, and New Year's, because their dogs or cats will spend hours shivering and cowering under furniture.
All in all, drones are the safer choice, even if you get less bang for your buck.
The other alternative, of course, is to put the money elsewhere entirely. Airborne displays are not mandatory for Canada Day.
