Karen Hanron was walking through her neighborhood in Montpelier a few years ago when someone set off firecrackers, prompting a flock of birds to erupt from a tree.
“They were frenzied; there was nowhere to go,” she said. “I couldn’t shake the image of those terrified birds.”
Hanron, who has training in trauma therapy, had long known that fireworks can trigger people with PTSD and terrify pets. She decided to see whether she could change the tradition of using explosions to mark the anniversary of the nation’s independence.
“I thought, Why do we have to traumatize every living thing around us just to celebrate something?” Hanron said.
Last year, Hanron asked others on Front Porch Forum if they’d be open to finding another way to celebrate, noting that Montpelier is home to musicians, dancers and other performers who could put on public shows instead. Hanron said she received a flood of emails from people who agree that fireworks should go, including military veterans who thanked her for bringing up the issue. “They thought they were the only ones,” she said.
She also approached Montpelier Alive, the downtown business group that puts on a fireworks show every July 3. Executive director Katie Trautz said she’s heard from others who’d like quieter alternatives, such as light shows that use drones. But Trautz noted that drone shows cost about four times as much as conventional fireworks, which this year will cost Montpelier Alive $12,000. National Life and the Vermont Mountaineers baseball team also put on fireworks shows.
Trautz plans to survey locals about the issue.
“It’s hard to tell if it’s a community-wide concern or if it’s just a few people,” Trautz said.
While fireworks shows bring people together, Montpelier City Council member Pelin Kohn said she’s concerned about the pollutants they send into the air and ground, including aluminum, manganese and cadmium. Kohn also has constituents who want the shows to continue.
“I understand them, too,” Kohn said. “I want to represent the people who live in my district.”
Tom Swenson, the general manager of Northstar Fireworks — which is putting on 112 shows around the Fourth of July, including Montpelier’s — said preparation is key. He noted that fireworks shows are advertised in advance.
“You don’t know when a dump truck is going to drive by and go ‘bang,'” Swenson said. “There are so many other things that are startling.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Celebratory Silence”
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This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2023.
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