Right on cue just before 6 p.m. on December 31, 2024, droves of vehicles made a beeline to parking lots on the south end of Wessington Springs to delight in a visual feast of big rockets and thunderous booms that lit up the skies above South Gulch in Wessington Springs.
The combined efforts of Jarrod and Jacki Bultsma, Cristin and Jason Weber and Dennis and Sandy Beckman treated attendees to a dazzling show, originating from a hill in the gulch.
“We do a mix of purchasing fireworks on July 5 and then right before New Year’s Eve,” Jacki Bultsma shared. “In the past we talked about taking contributions and decided we don’t want to do that. We spend what we need to have a good show and enjoy doing it as our gift to the community.”
Each year since 2021, the fireworks aficionados have tried different combinations and types of fireworks ranging from cakes to mortars to see what makes for a better show.
“We keep track of things year to year, of what’s good and what’s not. And we do watch videos of them before we purchase them,” she said. “The mortars we started with we want to avoid next year, they barely got off the ground and Jarrod and Jason were taking on lots of sparks. We had over 1500 shots this year, which is the most we’ve ever had.”
When asked about her favorite fireworks in this year’s show, she was quick to answer, “The finale ones for sure. Those were cakes.”
She continued to reflect on this year’s show, while already jotting down the group’s plans for next year.
“Next year, we will either go with the same balance we had this year — which was more cakes than previous years — or even more cakes than this year. With more cakes, we need two stations and some need to be wired together, but it went smooth this year and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.”
Read an appreciative fireworks show attendee letter to the editor in this print and e-edition on PAGE FIVE