On the first weekend of September, the site south of Morden, Manitoba, will become something the province has never seen: a stage for a pyro-musical competition. Shadow Valley Illuminated, running September 5 and 6 at Shadow Valley MX, will pit Alberta against Manitoba in a battle of fireworks choreographed to music — an art form that organizers believe is making its Manitoba debut.
A pyro-musical is not your average fireworks show. Instead of shells launched in random bursts or simple sequences, every effect is carefully timed to match the beat, rhythm, mood, and key moments of a soundtrack. The designer builds the entire display around the music, carefully timing each effect to the soundtrack. The result is a performance that unfolds like a story in the sky, with explosions that pulse, swell, and fade in perfect sync with the score.
Terry Penner, the Manitoba competitor, has been working with fireworks for 12 years. Each competitor gets an entire evening to present their show. On September 5, Aerial Fireworks of Alberta, led by designer Sheri Sibbald, will take the sky. On September 6, Penner, who designs for Archangel Fireworks and has been the Winkler Harvest Festival fireworks designer for years, will represent Manitoba.
The site allows for much larger fireworks than are usually used at festivals and celebrations, and the large hill provides a great seating area for spectators. One of the most unusual features of the event is a special bracket mounted on an 85-foot-plus lift that allows fireworks to be launched in multiple directions, including all the way around.
Penner's show will feature a Christian soundtrack, including songs like "He Arose" by Tommee Profitt and Phil Wickham, "Invited" by Tenth Avenue North, and "Break Every Chain" by Matt Macleod. The Alberta show, meanwhile, will feature tracks like "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "High Hopes" by Panic! at the Disco, and "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson.
The event is more than a fireworks competition. Each night will feature live music — Love & The Outcome, the Canadian husband-and-wife duo known for hits like "He Is With Us," will perform September 5, and Jet Trouble, a Christian artist from Dallas, will take the stage September 6. Food trucks will be on site, including Industrial Eats, a social enterprise that helps fund The Bunker Youth Drop-in Centre. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with the main band starting at 7:15 and fireworks around 9 p.m.
Shadow Valley Illuminated is a fundraiser for S-HOP, a rural youth drop-in centre in Haskett, Manitoba. For now, the first edition is a two-night provincial showdown, a fundraiser with a sky full of light, and a chance for Manitoba to see what happens when fireworks learn to dance.