By Jim Bloch
The annual fireworks show in the city of St. Clair is set for Independence Day 2025.
The American Fireworks Company, based in Hudson, Ohio, will launch nearly 1,500 individual shells into the night sky above the St. Clair River. The company will ignite the display from a barge anchored 520 feet off the seawall in the city’s riverside Palmer Park.
The display will begin around 10 p.m.
The show includes 14 1.5-inch special effects barrages; 744 3-inch assorted aerial shells; 222 4-inch assorted aerial shells; 402 5-inch assorted aerial shells; and 66 5-inch assorted aerial shells.
The St. Clair City Council unanimously approved the special events permit for the display at its regular meeting May 19.
A phalanx of vendors typically descends on downtown St. Clair in the hours leading up to the display, selling a variety of food, beverages and souvenirs. The city council extended vendor hours from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. or the end of the display, which ever comes first. The fireworks company will has taken out a multi-million-dollar general liability insurance policy through Acrisure Great Lakes Partnership Insurance Services, of Howell, Michigan; the policy names the city as an additional insured party.
Thousands of people pack the city’s riverfront to watch the show. Dozens of boats fill the river to behold the colorful overhead explosions.
The rain date is Saturday, July 5 at 10 p.m.
Independent of the fireworks show, the St. Clair Chamber of Commerce’s “Rockin’ in the Plaza” will provide a live musical backdrop to the July 4 festivities. Brent Mireau plays in the courtyard of Riverview Plaza, 3-6 p.m. The Gobies take the stage 7-11 p.m.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
