Rhythm and Booms
Encyclopedia
Rhythm and Booms is an annual Independence Day fireworks show in Madison, Wisconsin
at Warner Park
on the city's northeast side. The show, which began in 1993, is held on the Saturday before Independence Day
. Madison claims it is the largest fireworks presentation in the Midwest. The event is primarily sponsored by the Madison Oldies
radio station
, 94.9 WOLX and draws an annual attendance of around 300,000 people.
The show is operated by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Madison Fireworks Fund, that exists only to produce the event. Proceeds from the event go to area children's charities.
fashion to music broadcast over the radio
. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own radios to listen. During the day of the fireworks show, the park is host to musical stages featuring a variety of musical styles from oldies to marching bands. A carnival
is also set up in the park, and a Madison Mallards
baseball game is played in the afternoon. The show is preceded by a Wisconsin Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter
landing, and a Wisconsin Air National Guard
F-16 jet fighter fly-over. Music from a variety of genres accompanies the fireworks when they begin at around 9:30PM.
Radios are required mostly because it is easier to synchronize the musical rhythm with the booms going on in the sky, since radio waves travel at the speed of light. There is also the practical consideration of getting enough speakers, amplifiers and wires for a traditional sound system for 300,000 people. In the actual shows, speakers are not used at all.
.
Starting in the late '90s, howitzers from the nearby Wisconsin Army National Guard have been used in the finale, which features Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
. The howitzers fire blanks along with the recording, filling in the cannon shots called for in the score. Although the howitzers make a different sound than the exploding fireworks, it can be difficult to hear them due to the continuous noise of fireworks overhead throughout the finale.
The fireworks' mortars are fired by computer, ensuring synchronization of the fireworks and music.
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
at Warner Park
Warner Park
Warner Park is a community park on the northeast side of Madison, Wisconsin near Lake Mendota. It is the annual home for the largest fireworks show in the Midwest, Rhythm and Booms....
on the city's northeast side. The show, which began in 1993, is held on the Saturday before Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
. Madison claims it is the largest fireworks presentation in the Midwest. The event is primarily sponsored by the Madison Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, 94.9 WOLX and draws an annual attendance of around 300,000 people.
The show is operated by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Madison Fireworks Fund, that exists only to produce the event. Proceeds from the event go to area children's charities.
Rhythm
The fireworks are launched in choreographedChoreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
fashion to music broadcast over the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own radios to listen. During the day of the fireworks show, the park is host to musical stages featuring a variety of musical styles from oldies to marching bands. A carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
is also set up in the park, and a Madison Mallards
Madison Mallards
The Madison Mallards are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Madison, Wisconsin that plays in the Northwoods League. Warner Park on Madison’s North side is the team's home field. The 2010 season marks the Mallards' 10th anniversary season....
baseball game is played in the afternoon. The show is preceded by a Wisconsin Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
landing, and a Wisconsin Air National Guard
Wisconsin Air National Guard
The Wisconsin Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is, along with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, an element of the Wisconsin National Guard...
F-16 jet fighter fly-over. Music from a variety of genres accompanies the fireworks when they begin at around 9:30PM.
Radios are required mostly because it is easier to synchronize the musical rhythm with the booms going on in the sky, since radio waves travel at the speed of light. There is also the practical consideration of getting enough speakers, amplifiers and wires for a traditional sound system for 300,000 people. In the actual shows, speakers are not used at all.
Booms
The fireworks last for around 35 minutes and feature over 15,000 fireworks shellsShell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
.
Starting in the late '90s, howitzers from the nearby Wisconsin Army National Guard have been used in the finale, which features Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...
. The howitzers fire blanks along with the recording, filling in the cannon shots called for in the score. Although the howitzers make a different sound than the exploding fireworks, it can be difficult to hear them due to the continuous noise of fireworks overhead throughout the finale.
The fireworks' mortars are fired by computer, ensuring synchronization of the fireworks and music.