Pembina Valley to host first-of-its-kind pyro musical competition

The Pembina Valley is set to become the backdrop for a fireworks competition unlike anything previously held in the region, as Alberta and Manitoba go head-to-head in a choreographed battle of pyrotechnic artistry.

Shadow Valley Illuminated will take place Sept. 5 and 6 at Shadow Valley MX, just south of Morden.

Aerial Fireworks of Alberta will present its show Sept. 5, while Manitoba designer and longtime pyrotechnician Terry Penner will take the stage Sept. 6.

For Penner, the event is the result of a question that came after years of working in the fireworks industry and attending competitions elsewhere in Canada: Why not bring one to Manitoba?

“I was at a couple of competitions outside of the province,” Penner said. “There’s a couple across Canada, and I decided, why don’t we have one here in Manitoba?”

Penner has worked in the fireworks industry since 2014, including shows across the Prairies and northern Canada. He has also been involved with other competitions as part of crews setting up shows and has participated in an online fireworks-design competition.

He said organizing a competition ultimately came down to someone being willing to take on the considerable work required to make it happen.

“It’s just somebody who’s trying to organize it,” Penner said. “It’s not going to happen unless somebody does it.”

Unlike a conventional fireworks display, a pyro musical is designed around a soundtrack, with individual fireworks timed to the music’s rhythm, mood, key moments and overall story.

That makes the competition less about simply producing the biggest explosions and more about how effectively a designer combines pyrotechnics, music and visual presentation.

Judges will consider several elements, including the overall size and use of space, the artistic design, synchronization, originality, soundtrack quality and emotional impact.

The use of space includes how a designer works vertically and horizontally, including a specialized lift that allows fireworks to be launched from elevated positions and in multiple directions.

The Shadow Valley event will feature a 150-foot lift, allowing fireworks to be fired upward, downward and around the structure.

While such equipment is common in high-level fireworks competitions, Penner said it is rarely seen at conventional festival or Canada Day displays because of the amount of work required to install and operate it.

“It brings an aspect that people haven’t necessarily seen before,” he said.

Judges will also assess the artistry of each show, including colour coordination, sequencing and visual structure.

Penner said the same fireworks products can produce dramatically different results depending on how they are arranged.

“You can use the same products and just rearrange which order they go in and it would look better,” he said.

Synchronization will be another key component, with designers judged on whether the fireworks complement the beat, rhythm, mood and storyline of the music.

Originality will also play a role, including the use of unusual effects, firing angles and designs that audiences may not have seen before.

The soundtrack itself is part of the judging criteria.

Penner’s Sept. 6 show is built around an explicitly Christian theme, with music including “He Arose” by Tommee Profitt and Phil Wickham, “Invited” by Tenth Avenue North, “Jesus is King” by Street Gospel Syndicate, “Just as I Am” by Tommee Profitt and Jon Reddick, and “Break Every Chain” by Matt Macleod.

Penner described his show as an invitation for people to come to know Christ, with the music and fireworks intended to work together to tell that story.

The final judging category is emotion and whether a performance connects with the audience and leaves an impression beyond simply watching fireworks.

Penner expects the two performances to be among the largest fireworks displays Manitoba has seen in a long time.

The scale of the Sept. 6 show will be particularly noticeable in the size of the shells used. Penner said a typical large local show, such as the Winkler Harvest Festival fireworks, uses shells around four inches in diameter.

His competition program will include shells as large as 10 inches.

“This is going to be louder and bigger,” Penner said. “It’s bigger all the way around. There’s more products, there’s bigger products, there’s a lift.”

Putting on a competition of that scale is expensive, but Penner said relationships built during his years in the industry have helped organizers stretch their resources.

He has worked with Archangel Fireworks throughout his fireworks career and has friends in the industry willing to volunteer their time for setup.

“I have a bunch of friends in the fireworks industry who are willing to spare or to spend some volunteer time to help do some of the setup,” Penner said.

The competition is also intended to support a local cause.

Proceeds from Shadow Valley Illuminated will go toward S-HOP, a rural youth drop-in centre based in Haskett. Penner is one of the organization’s co-founders and said the decision to turn the fireworks event into a fundraiser was a natural fit.

“One of our thoughts was, why don’t we turn this into a fundraiser for that?” he said.

The fireworks will be part of a larger evening of entertainment, with live music and food vendors complementing each night’s competition.

Love & The Outcome will perform Sept. 5, while Jet Trouble will perform Sept. 6. Food vendors are expected to include Industrial Eats, Sixteen13, Swirl and Twirl, Adele’s Mini Donuts and Waypoint Coffee.

Some of the food vendors will also use the event to support their own charitable or missions work.

Gates are scheduled to open at 5:30 p.m., followed by an opening band at 6 p.m. and the main musical performance at 7:15 p.m. The fireworks are expected to begin around 9 p.m., although organizers note the schedule could change.

Spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets, with the site’s large hill providing a viewing area.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate.

For Penner, the hope is that the inaugural event will establish something that can return annually.

He said attending his first in-person fireworks competition in 2022 fundamentally changed how he viewed the industry.

“My mind was blown,” Penner said. “I was like, that’s insane. How have I not seen these before?”

He said competition-level pyro musicals can change the way people see fireworks, even for those who work in the industry.

“Once we’ve been through competition, you’re like other fireworks shows just aren’t as near as cool anymore,” he said.

That experience is part of what organizers hope to bring to the Pembina Valley.

The goal, Penner said, is not simply to put on a fireworks show that people enjoy, but one that makes them want to return the following year.

“We have to be able to put on a show big enough that people will be like, ‘Oh, I’ll pay for that again next year,’” he said.

“If we don’t put on a show that’s phenomenal … I want people to show up and be like, ‘I’m coming next year. It’s going on my calendar already.’”