(SOUNDBITE OF BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE OF JOHN PHILIP SOUSA'S "THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. For NPR News, I'm Jeremy Goodwin in Boston. GOODWIN: In addition to folks watching on TV and the internet, about half a million people will line both sides of the Charles River tonight to find out in person. You'll see - you'll know it when you see it (laughter). MACKENZIE: I'm going to leave that part as a surprise. GOODWIN: MacKenzie won't say what's in store tonight. We can do all sorts of - we've done that in various other performances around the world. IAN MACKENZIE: It launches a single star, these very specially refined stars, out of a long mortar tube. But the guy who's overseeing the setup out here on the barges, Ian MacKenzie, says the newest equipment onboard nowadays creates a pinpoint level of control unheard of previously. The basic technology behind fireworks goes back to China as far as 2,000 years ago. He spent hours working with Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart to plan out a song list, then designed a fireworks display that will boom, crackle and explode in sync with the tunes. When the time comes, he'll be running the controls inside a metal box on one of the barges. GOODWIN: Her father, Phil, is the creative maestro behind the fireworks show. So it all needs to be numbered so that it's clear. Whether watching Fireworks in Boston at the Hatch Shell & along the Charles River Esplanade, or in one of the many historic towns nearby - you are sure to find a display to fit your schedule and your location. It's all choreographed to music, so they need to know, you know, each one of these are going to go off at a very specific time. The Boston area is full of history and one of the best and most patriotic places to celebrate the 4th of July viewing fireworks. LAUREN GRUCCI: I'm labeling each one so that everybody knows which shell to put in which spot. She's writing with a black marker on strips of masking tape and carefully sticking them onto the wooden racks of mortars. ![]() Lauren Grucci is the sixth generation of her family in the business. Fireworks by Grucci is the company that pulls off the show. ![]() No one else is allowed within a thousand feet. When night falls, state troopers will be stationed on the barges to keep watch. That's where the firework shells are loaded in. They're sawing planks of wood and hammering together racks for empty mortars, or metal tubes. JEREMY GOODWIN, BYLINE: A crew of about a dozen workers is on three barges setting up for the big night. As part of our Backstage Pass series, WBUR's Jeremy Goodwin went on board the barge to preview how it will all work. A huge audience will be watching in person, on TV and streaming online. Boston fireworks royalty-free images 475 boston fireworks stock photos, vectors, and illustrations are available royalty-free. Then an intricate fireworks show will launch from barges in the middle of the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge. (SOUNDBITE OF BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "1812 OVERTURE") ![]() Tonight, as it has for years, the Boston Pops will play Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture".
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