BATON ROUGE - The Fourth of July is here and people are ready to have a blast in the capital city. This year, fireworks on the Mississippi is where you want to take your family to and watch the fireworks.

In total, on the barges holding all of the fireworks for the 50th fireworks on the Mississippi are nearly 1,400 fireworks, and that equates to about a 20-minute show.

While that show may dazzle viewers, the preparation is anything but beautiful. Those putting the show together have spent the past several days outside, getting hot and sweaty, along the Mississippi River.

A regular work day to get the show set is about 8 to 12 hours. Fireworks of all colors being put into place and connected to an electrical firing system. Each of them will propel into the sky between 300 and 1,400 feet.

While the largest fireworks show in the state will mesmerize those on both sides of the river, it's quite the process getting everything just right!

“The logistics of this started about three weeks ago, four weeks ago. The actual building of the show began on Sunday. So it takes about five days to bring the equipment in, set everything up.” Chuck Lucia, the Crew Captain continued, “Set the fireworks, which we call dropping and plugging, and then clean up after the show. So, we came on Sunday with equipment trucks and we'll be leaving Friday afternoon.”

The 50th year of fireworks on the Mississippi getting underway at 9 Thursday night. If you can't make it out to catch them in person, WBRZ will be streaming the show live on Facebook and WBRZ +.

A reminder if you are attending Thursday, both the levees in East Baton Rouge and over in Port Allen will be closed due to the high level of the Mississippi River, but plenty of other places to take in the spectacle.
Those placed include The Old State Capitol and Riverfront Plaza.