Review of Thunder on the Mountain in Birmingham, Alabama

For the past eleven years my family has gone to Birmingham, Alabama to get a good view of the fireworks display they call "Thunder on the Mountain." To my family it is a tradition that cannot be broken. When my children were small, it always got "oohs" and "aahs" out of them every single time. Now that they are older, they keep their awe to themselves, but their tell of the wonder they still see in the each fireworks display.

The display typically begins at 9pm Central time, lasts an average of twenty minutes, and the fireworks are designed to follow the flow and feel of the patriotic music that is played over the radio to correspond. The most popular radio station to follow with has always been Classic Rock 99.5 (or WZRR on the FM channel). The songs they have chosen over the past have beens songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama," "God Bless America," "Proud to Be An American," and The National Anthem, "Star Spangled Banner." The 2009 event, however, did not play any of these except the Star Spangled Banner in an attempt to make a change, but the majority of the people who have spoken up about the music have admitted that they were not impressed with the 2009 music ensemble.

Pyro Productions, Incorporated is responsible for the pyrotechnics display performed off of Red Mountain right by the Vulcan, and has been for the past thirty years. Along with multi-colored flowers, there was a lovely assortment of smiley faces, rainbows, bow ties, and butterflies. The ending is always the most spectacular with a fast paced, barrage of fireworks that almost seems to overload the senses.

Finding parking to view the fireworks display has always been a bit a problem, however. I have been told by various people that businesses charged a $7.00 parking fee to park at their establishments to see "Thunder on the Mountain" in 2009. Apparently, ten minutes before the show began, those who did not pay the fee and left their vehicles unmanned returned to find a boot placed on their tires. There are several other places such as parking decks that can be used to see the fireworks display. You have to get there early, however, to find a good spot, but it is worth the effort.

The police and security appear to be out in full force Independence Day evening. This is a nice thing to see with so many people out and about. The traffic control does seem to be a bit wanting, however. There have been several occasions that it took us an hour to get out of the downtown city district when it usually only takes about 5 minutes.

All in all, as you can tell, my family believes it is worth the extra effort to partake in the festivities in downtown Birmingham. We have always been rewarded for our effort, and end up with great pictures to memorialize the event. Our only complaint, like so many others, is the deviation away from the traditional music played.