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Perhaps nothing triggers the sense memory of summertime faster than the colorful pop of fireworks in the sky, the whizzing streamers framing the muggy nights. Every Tuesday, hundreds of visitors and locals line the harbor around Shelter Cove to dine on the patios, tip a few cold beverages and watch the night sky light up during HarbourFest, and the collective “oohs” and “ahhs” come thanks to Sean Swilpa, who has been loading the tubes and lighting the fuses at Shelter Cove for four years. Swilpa, now the owner of his own company, South East Pyrotechnics in Ridgeland, told us how choreographing fireworks displays became a dance of joy for him.
Q. How do you design the fireworks?
A. It takes a little pre-planning. This year, our shows are going to be more choreographed. We didn’t do that in past; we just loaded the shells. My shooter has been doing that show for 10 years now and had a specific pattern that he ran each week. But the shows at Shelter Cove this year will have no repeat effects. Each will be unique.
Q. How big of a crew do you need?
A. Two to three people, all day, to load shells into the guns. The reason we don’t need too many people for a weekly show is that the equipment is already out on that barge all summer long.
Q. Ever have anything go wrong?
A. Fireworks safety has gotten better over the past 10-15 years. It’s all electrically shot; we’re all at least 100 feet away, if not further. And when you’re doing this, you wear a helmet and glasses, long-sleeve cotton shirts and long pants. It’s better now; back in the old days, we used to have to reload the tubes ourselves. We never had enough tubes to shoot off all the fireworks.
Q. How do you start a career in fireworks?
A. When I was 18 or 19, there was a fireworks show out at a local amusement park. It was a daily show. Everybody loves fireworks as a kid, so I just went up to the office and asked if they needed help. It went on from there. I always wanted to start my own company – though the expense there is tremendous. I just fell in love.
Q. People in South Carolina seem to love them too.
A. South Carolina is the biggest state for fireworks in the country. No other state comes close. The I-95 corridor is filled with them from top to bottom. When I lived in New York, this was the place you came to get your fireworks.
Q: After years of doing this, what’s your favorite kind of firework?
A. Palm trees are real nice. We have a lot of nice palm tree shells that are quality made. It’s a very pretty firework. It lasts forever. We’ll actually shoot two other fireworks and that thing will still be coming down.
