Zambelli Fireworks returns to Pittsburgh’s Fourth of July celebration
We are just days away from the city of Pittsburgh's Fourth of July fireworks show!
And the big news, the New Castle-based company, Zambelli Fireworks, will be producing the show after taking a break for nearly a decade.
Fireworks will launch from three barges on the river. CEO George Zambelli Jr., says it will be an extra special celebration.
“I recently purchased the rest of the firework company and made it the number one priority to do Pittsburgh's Fourth of July display,” Zambelli said.
Zambelli took Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 behind the scenes of his company that he says started with a dream back in 1893.
“My grandfather, Antonio Zambelli, migrated from Italy to Western Pennsylvania, i.e. New Castle, and he brought his pyrotechnic dream with him. He would toil in fireworks in the day and work in the steel mills at night,” Zambelli said.
Zambelli Fireworks soon turned into a family business. George's dad, George Zambelli Sr., took over the company after graduating from Duquesne University.
“When my dad took it over, we did eight shows the week of the Fourth of July, and now we do over 800. It's amazing,” Zambelli said.
The company is still evolving today. Monday will mark Zambelli's first Fourth of July under new president Michael Rieck.
“Soon enough I was moving cross country back to Pittsburgh after 25 years,” Rieck said.
So what goes into creating a fireworks show? Zambelli says that once you know the customer's budget and time frame, that information gets passed on to a designer or choreographer. They create a script, and that script is sent to shipping areas. That's where different shells are chosen.
For Pittsburgh, the show is set to be 25 minutes, and a rewarding one for the Zambelli's.
“Zambelli will always keep to their core. We put on amazing massive fireworks displays, and we will never change from that. However, though, we are expanding more,” Rieck said.
“We want to be number one in the industry. We want to be the champagne of fireworks,” Zambelli said.
Zambelli says people can expect new color combinations, new effects and even some surprises. The Pittsburgh show starts on the Fourth at 9:35 p.m.