The knowledge library
Everything worth knowing about consumer fireworks, written plainly and kept short. Start with the law where you live, then learn what you are actually buying.
Fireworks laws by state
What you can buy, when stores can sell it, when you are allowed to shoot, the minimum age, and whether your city can override the state. All fifty states plus the District of Columbia, each with a link to the law itself.
The safety guide
Setup distances, wind, ground conditions, misfires and duds, eye and hand protection, what to do with a shell that did not go, and how to shut a night down safely. Written from the guidance every maker and fire authority agrees on.
Firework types
What a cake, a shell, a fountain, a mine, a roman candle and a missile actually are. Shot counts, burn times, gram weights and what those numbers mean for the show you get.
Effects explained
Peony, chrysanthemum, brocade, willow, palm, crossette, crackle and the rest. What each one looks like in the air, how to tell apart the ones people mix up, and how often each turns up across more than nine thousand products.
Planning a show
The vertical layers a show is built from, how to structure an opener, a body and a finale, how long each block should run, how many pieces per minute keeps it feeling full, and a worked fifteen minute example.
Buying guide
How to shop a stand without overpaying, what a good assortment really contains, and unit price versus case price.