Fourth of July celebrations begin Wednesday afternoon in downtown Miami.
America's Birthday Bash at Bayfront Park begins with music and a free kids' zone at 3 p.m., with the fireworks extravaganza beginning promptly at 9 p.m.
Special section: Fourth of July
"This is the largest firework display in the southeastern United States," said Gary Avins, Owner of Firepower Displays.
Avins, along with his team of 12, spend six hours loading and wiring thousands of pounds of fireworks across three barges at the docks near the Miami Seaquarium.
"We work out here all day long loading these things one by one, and we wire them together," said lead pyrotechnician Leroy Robertson.
Every single detail counts in the intricate process.
"We've got to wire all this to panels, electronic panels that control the countdown and firing of the system," Robertson said.
It's a slow process in Miami's draining sun as the group works meticulously setting every canon to its exact explosive plan. There are more than 1,200 canons, which will produce more than 3,000 shots of fireworks.
"It's an inherently dangerous business, but the way that we are doing it is the safest that you can possibly do. We don't do any hand-firing. No one is on the barges or up close and personal with the fireworks in case there is a detonation," Avins said.
Three barges are packed with $50,000 worth of fireworks, but the two smaller barges are filled specifically with explosives for the 90-second grand finale.
Avins is proud of his planning and supervision of the spectacle unfolding Wednesday night, but he takes real pleasure in the design process.
"I'm spreading out the two finale barges like wings on the outside of the main show," he said.
The downtown Miami display promises a 15-minute spectacle as thousands of detonations will be filled with patriotic colors. Expect to see a sky of red, white and blue as an explosion of complicated choreography will be timed down to the very second.
"This year I'm doing something no one has ever seen here in South Florida that I'm not going to discuss because it's going to be a surprise," Avins said. "If you want to see it, come down to Bayside, Bayfront Park, this Fourth of July and you'll enjoy it."