On Friday, July 3, 200 drones will take off for Morro Bay's first-ever Independence Day drone show.
"Drone light shows are an alternative to fireworks," said Kyle Pivnick, Sky Elements Vice President. "I never think that they should fully replace fireworks, but they can always supplement them in different environments. Some communities find a drone light show to be more beneficial than a firework show.”
Morro Bay Recreation Services Manager Kirk Carmichael said that fireworks aren’t a suitable option for the area.
“We’ve got snowy plovers that nest out in our sandspit and we found that fireworks do disrupt them, so we’ve moved to other shows," Carmichael said.
The drones will launch from Tidelands Park and head out over the bay.
“They will be visible for many, many areas in the city, even as far out as Morro Rock because the shows are rather large,” Carmichael said.
The price of the 15-minute show came out to $28,000, with funds coming from a grant from Visit Morro Bay and the Friends of the Harbor Department.
“Every image, logo, text, anything you see in the sky is completely made from scratch from one of our in-house animators,” Pivnick said.
“The detail that we added to our drone selection, it really represents Morro Bay and the celebration of the 250th year,” said Angelica Jaspen, City of Morro Bay Recreation Supervisor.
The event is happening on Friday, July 3, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. If there is heavy fog or rain that could potentially cancel the event, that decision is left up to the drone pilot.
