Fireworks are great, but if you can’t afford them and the only thing you can afford is a drone show, just forget the whole thing.
That’s the crystal-clear message of a new survey released this week, courtesy of Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman. The fireworks in question are the County’s once-beloved July 3 lakefront fireworks; the drone show in question is the drone show that has replaced the traditional fireworks in 2025 and 2026. (There was nothing in 2024.)
“If traditional fireworks are not financially feasible, should Milwaukee County continue the drone show with additional improvements, or should those funds be invested elsewhere in Milwaukee County?” Wasserman asked in a survey last week.
The results, according to a Friday newsletter: “85.4% of respondents indicated that if they can’t have a fireworks show, then they would rather see those funds invested elsewhere in Milwaukee County. The message I hear is loud and clear: if we cannot have fireworks in 2027, we should spend the money elsewhere.
“Only 14.6% supported continuing the drone show with additional improvements,” Wasserman added. More than 130 people responded to the survey.
2025
The survey follows a previous Wasserman survey where nearly 65% of the 51 respondents said they preferred a traditional County fireworks show on July 3. But Wasserman noted that “Milwaukee County is facing a $50.8 million dollar deficit for 2027,” and that “traditional fireworks come with a significantly higher price tag than the drone show.”
What are those price tags? In the newsletter, Wasserman says the full cost of a fireworks display is roughly $450,000. In a 620 WTMJ segment, Wasserman says a drone show costs $250,000.
Where would folks like that $250,000 to go to instead? Wasserman explains in the newsletter:
For those who preferred investing the funds elsewhere, I asked where those dollars should be directed. Milwaukee County Parks received the strongest support, earning (63.4%) of responses, followed by the Milwaukee County Transit System (17.9%), the Mitchell Park Domes (8%), the Public Safety Building (5.4%), the Milwaukee Public Museum (2.7%), and the Milwaukee County Zoo (2.7%).
“If you or your company would like to make a donation of $450,000 (full cost of a fireworks display), our office would be more than happy to help facilitate the donation,” Wasserman says at the end of the newsletter. “We still have 11 months until our next celebration, and I will continue to ask questions about this in the future.”
2025
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