SENSATIONAL AT 60
The 60th Annual Ford Fireworks Display lights up the Detroit skyline Monday night As Crowds gather to watch from Both sides of the Detroit River.
Nearly one million people from both sides of the border flocked to Windsor’s waterfront Monday for the 60th annual Ford Fireworks. Mary and Gary Newbold have stayed in the same Best Western hotel room three years in a row on fireworks night. They travel about 45 minutes from their home in White Lake, Michigan, to watch the show from Windsor, and book their room three months in advance.
“Everyone is so friendly here,” Mary said, adding that she feels safe in Windsor’s downtown, even on its most crowded night of the year. The event began modestly in 1958 as the Freedom Festival to celebrate Canada’s birthday and U.S. Independence.
Now, the fireworks display contains more than 11,000 pyrotechnic effects and lasts about 30 minutes. The show’s theme this year was “Come Alive in the D!” With two lawn chairs and a cooler, the Newbolds staked their claim over a patch of grass next to the riverfront trail, less than 20 metres north of the hotel’s front door at 4 p.m.
Before the fireworks began at 9:55 p.m., they headed for dinner at The Keg, leaving their possessions to hold the spot.
“We leave our chairs here, walk away, and when we come back everything’s the same,” said Gary, who trusts no one would steal his things fireworks night in Canada. Although Gary viewed the spectacle from a boat anchored near Belle Isle around 40 years ago, he and Mary have never watched from the Detroit side of the river. They don’t plan to, either, opting instead to return to the same spot and same hotel room every year to come. Peter and Maureen Anstett parked their RV on the corner lot at Riverside Drive and Janette Avenue at 9 a.m. Monday. Although they got permission from the landowner, Peter said it was necessary to snag the spot early. “There are more and more people every year,” said Peter. The LaSalle couple started coming to the fireworks in 1998, but brought their motorhome for the first time this year.
With them came friends John and Lindsay McClure from White Lake, Mich., who have crossed the border four times for the fireworks show.
“Every year keeps getting better,” said John.
Lindsay said their two small children get a better view from Windsor’s waterfront.
In Detroit, she explained, “adults would come sit in front of my little kids during the fireworks and they just didn’t care. People here will ask if we mind if they sit in front of us.
“Plus, from here, I get a great picture of the Detroit skyline.”