DETROIT (WXYZ) — With the sun beaming down bright, families sat out chairs in hopes of landing the very best view for the 2024 Ford Fireworks.
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"My sister just told me, did you bring an umbrella? I said no I didn't bring an umbrella but I got a wide hat on and that's the best I can do," laughed Detroiter Matthew Payne as he sat in line next to other families at Hart Plaza.
Payne was one of a handful of people staking out in front of the park Monday afternoon before gates opened for the fireworks show.
"It's always worth the wait. That's what I'll tell anybody about the Detroit fireworks. If you get down here, you get your spot right in front of the river, those things are going off right over your head. It's a blast," said Payne.
Felicia Marshall and her family also sat outside of the gate hoping to land a good seat.
"Ever since I was a little girl this is where we come," said Marshall. "We love it! Everything with the police officers being down here, keeping everyone safe and I love it! Everyone is just cool, chilling."
This year marks the 66th edition of the show. This year's presentation will last 24 minutes. Organizers say this year's fireworks presentation will be 15-20% bigger than last year's show.
Twins Nina Chisholm and Nickie Avery have seen every single Detroit fireworks show since they were born. That's 53 years in the show's 66-year history.
"There are no words to describe it. They're that good," said Chisholm as she described the show in years past.
As the show continues to get bigger and better, it's a tradition the twins say they're excited to pass down to the next generations.
"It started with our mom. As children, we grew up never missed a year. We sat out here last year in all that rain and waited," said Nickie Avery as she sat under an umbrella next to her sister, Nina. "Once we started having children, our children have brought their children and it has just been going on ever since."
This year the two say their kids and grandkids will be watching from Belle Isle.
"It's a twin thing, it's a sister thing, it's just me and her. We're fine with that because this is how we grew up so if nobody else came, we're fine with that just as long as it's Nickie and Nina," said Avery.
The first fireworks are set to pop around 10:07.
