The skies will light up over Turtle Creek Stadium September 6-7 for the second International Fireworks Championship, and at least two fireworks professionals from across the globe say the Traverse City event is quickly becoming something special. This will be the second time for the event, which showcases imaginative displays synchronized to music.

Event organizers say this year’s iteration will be bigger and better than ever. Last year four teams competed for one night; this year there will be eight separate displays, four each on Friday and Saturday. They are designed by and representing six competing teams, an entry from last year’s champions (Germany’s ToF Feuerwerk) and one designed by the three judges adjudicating the competition.

Among those competing will be Azan Morani of Morani Fireworks of India. “I got into it in 2016,” Morani tells The Ticker from Turkey while on a layover on his way back home from a competition in Germany. While he’s been a fireworks professional for eight years, the family tradition dates back to 1937 when his grandfather began the business.

Now it’s Azan’s turn, and he embraces his profession. “I studied finance and psychology. Now I’m a certified pyrotechnician.”

He’s not the only one with a lengthy family connection: Robert Foti of Foti Fireworks of Australia says his family fireworks history goes back even further.

“Fireworks has been a tradition in the Foti family since 1793, starting in Italy before moving to Australia in the early 1950s,” he says. “I can’t remember a time growing up that didn’t involve spending weekends at a fireworks display. Our kids are now the eighth generation in the business, so the tradition lives on.”

Foti Fireworks is best known for producing Sydney’s epic annual New Year’s Eve fireworks, as well as fireworks for the Sydney Olympics. “Since representating Australia at our first competition in Sweden in 1993 (which we won!), we have participated in over 25 competitions,” says Foti.

Additional teams come from the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Finland, and the U.S. The teams are given a set of rules and constraints, which include length of time, the type and number of fireworks they can use, the angle they can be shot from and more. “We have to abide by the regulations and templates,” says Morani.

For the Traverse City competition, the teams design the program, which is then sent to Great Lakes Fireworks, which sets off the actual fireworks.

Each team will have up to 15 minutes to stage their performance, to be judged on design and synchronization to music, plus the overall show experience. Best of Show awards will be given on both nights based on a vote by the audience.

“Winning the crowd, you have to have fun music,” says Morani. “You have to keep people vibing, (to) groove with it.”

While fireworks competitions are a staple internationally, they’re virtually unknown in the U.S. So when Blast Events owner Bruce Tyree approached Traverse Tourism with the idea last year, he was met with some hesitation. “We are event promoters. Our focus is to produce events that have pyro/fireworks included in them,” he explains. “My first idea was an international championship.” As a championship, only those companies which have won a competition somewhere in the world are eligible to participate.

Tyree is well acquainted with producing fireworks shows in northern Michigan. Through his prior affiliation with Great Lakes Fireworks, he has done displays for the 4th of July and National Cherry Festival. After discussions with Traverse City Tourism, Great Lakes decided to sign-on to create the new event at the baseball stadium. Its sold-out success last year led to this year’s two-night display.

Tyree and Foti both say the Traverse City Fireworks Championship is already generating interest and enthusiasm abroad. “It’s the only one of its kind in the U.S. I now get emails from companies asking to be in it,” says Tyree.

“The International Fireworks Championship in Traverse City has already developed a reputation as a well-organized and important event and we can’t wait to see ours and all the other shows,” says Foti. “Fireworks is an international language that crosses all boundaries and brings people together.”

Two-day tickets are sold out, but individual night event tickets remain.