Sky Wars
13604 State Highway M in Wright City (63390)
From I-70W/US-40W: Exit 200 toward MO-F/Wright City, left onto Elm St., straight onto N. (this becomes Hwy F.)
Sky Wars—presented by the Missouri Pyrotechnics Association—is a light and sound explosion featuring pyrotechnicians who are among the nation's top fireworks choreographers. Elm Ave., right onto W 2nd St. S, the first left onto Southwest Ave. Follow Hwy F until you see the signs for Sky Wars. From I-64W/US-40: Exit 4A (MO-N) and merge onto Highway N (becomes State Highway OO.) Turn right onto Sta
07/24/2024
2024 Ticket Resale Update 🎟️ We are now offering ticket resale options via Tixel. For those looking to sell their 2024 tickets, buy from legitimate sellers, or join the waitlist, please visit this link: https://tixel.com/us/exhibition-tickets/2024/09/28/sky-wars-2024-19th-annual-us-inv
We have chosen to provide this solution as a safe and easy place to facilitate ticket transfers. Please let us know immediately at [email protected] if you notice any attempts to sell illegitimate tickets. Thank you!
Continuing with our 2024 talent introductions... Meet James Baxter, owner of Minnesota Pyrotechnics, who's coming in from North Branch to compete in this year's Pro division.
From large-scale shows to stadium events to special projects, there isn’t much with pyro and DMX that James won’t try if it’s feasible and sounds cool. He and the crew at Minnesota Pyrotechnics are ready to show the Sky Wars audience what they can do!
Learn more about James on our website: https://skywarsevent.com/meet-the-2024-artists-james-baxter-pro-competitor/
07/17/2024
That's a wrap on 2024 tickets!
Get first access to next year's passes by joining our mailing list at skywarsevent.com/newsletter. Our Subscriber Pre-Sale typically goes live in October.
Thank you to all who reserved your tickets, we cannot wait to see you on 9.28.2024 in Innsbrook! Stay tuned for more event updates to help you plan your trip.
07/16/2024
🚨 Only 100 tickets left: skywarsevent.com
Photo by Linda Hanley
07/11/2024
The 'pyro parabola,' an effect achieved with series of meticulously angled single-shot comets.
Ticket Alert - Only 700 tickets remain for our 2024 show. Tell your friends!
9.28.2024 in Innsbrook, Missouri. Skywarsevent.com
Photos by Mathew Hovey Photography
06/17/2024
A-List Final Voting Day 🌟 Link is in the comments. Find Sky Wars under Festivals. Please vote today for all your favorites - and thank you!
06/12/2024
Only 7 VIP tickets are left! 🚨 Going once, going twice...
skywarsevent.com
Photo credit: Matt Hovey
06/06/2024
We're a St. Louis Magazine A-List Finalist! 😁 If you love Sky Wars, please vote for us daily through June 17th at https://www.stlmag.com/alist #/gallery?group=473847
Thank you in advance for voting and for spreading the word: Sky Wars is hands down the Lou's best festival.
Photo credit: Linda Hanley
06/04/2024
Ticket update - VIP is going fast!
06/02/2024
Fireworks displays uniquely preserved through long-exposure photos 🎆
Thanks to Brad Manis for these artistic shots captured at the US Fireworks Championship, 2023.
Ready or not... burn it all down. 🔥🔥🔥
Choreographer: Tim Traphagen (2023 US Fireworks Championship)
05/29/2024
Have you voted yet today? stlmag.com/alist
Find us under Festivals in the Arts & Entertainment category.
THANK YOU for your continued voting! We can't wait to see the results.
📷 credit: Christy Schaper
05/20/2024
It's official: Sky Wars is in the running for "Best Festival" near St Louis. Time to vote! You know the drill --> stlmag.com/alist
THANK YOU to everyone who nominated us back in February & March. We could not have made it this far without your help, and we're almost there... everyone can vote for Sky Wars daily now through June 17th.
2024 tickets are still available at skywarsevent.com
STL Magazine
Meet Tom Kohnen, Pro-Am competitor in the 2024 US Fireworks Championship.
Tom is traveling from the land of Disney (Orlando, Florida) to compete in this year’s Sky Wars championship! With a background in musical education and over 600 shows as a pyro crew member under his belt, Tom is excited to present a large-scale fireworks display of his own creation.
Spoilers: "Almost everything in this show is being made specifically for this show," and he'll have a lot of effects that our audience likely hasn't seen before, Tom says. Sky Wars attendees are in for a treat!
Currently an Entertainment Technician at The Walt Disney Company (EPCOT) where he's crewed on hundreds of shows, Tom is taking the next leap in his pyro career by competing at Sky Wars to beef up his resume. He says this is “the perfect opportunity” for him to prove that he can be a full-time display designer at Disney.
Tom adjusted his intended career path after he worked at Disney's Tomorrowland Speedway during a college gap year, where he saw the production "Wishes" go up in the air every single day at Disney Magic Kingdoms.
"I always thought it would be an interesting job to have, doing fireworks for such a big company."
Determined to dive into pyro, Tom joined Young Explosives Corporation in Rochester for a couple 4th of Julys, and after completing college, he scored his current gig at Disney in June 2019.
Tom's biggest pyro inspiration–unsurprisingly–comes from award-winning, legendary fireworks designer for Disney and beyond, Eric Tucker! Two pieces of Eric's advice that Tom has taken to heart: Lean into your musical background; and understand the chemistry inside the product that you're firing.
Read Tom's full bio: https://skywarsevent.com/meet-the-2024-artists-tom-kohnen-pro-am-competitor/
Meet Kevin Adams, Sky Wars 2024 Pro-Am competitor from Sheridan, WY
A theater kid at heart, Kevin’s longtime passion for pyro artistry has brought him to the Sky Wars stage. His imagination and knack for storytelling with fireworks are sure to delight everyone on September 28!
Fireworks have been a hobby of Kevin's throughout childhood, but he was really hooked with the concept of pyromusicals after being "awestruck" with a local show presented by Dr. Brent Bills. Since venturing into the pyro game as a young adult, he's had the support of his local fireworks company Flying Phoenix in Riverton, Wyoming.
Kevin started attending pyro conventions in 2015 and began competing in Class C competitions at the PGI Convention the summer of 2016. Since then, Kevin's competed 5 times in the PGI Class C and has gotten first place three times.
He's done his “own gig” producing shows for various events in his area, and these days, Kevin's often seen lending a hand on others' shows of various sizes across the US alongside his wife Jessie.
Kevin's pyro style incorporates the tried & true mechanics of performing arts: “I really believe in crescendos, highs and lows, and just having dynamics." He finds tons of inspiration from talented pyrotechnicians in the industry, including but not limited to Bill Turner, Aaron Mayfield, Tim Jamison, Kenny Chi & the Flaming Lotus Girls, Raven Ross Anderson, and of course Dr. Brent Bills.
For his first ever show at Sky Wars, Kevin hints that he has a solid show concept and soundtrack down. He's currently sourcing some key products and is strategically waiting for specific effects to hit the market before tightening up his script for our 19th annual championship.
Read Kevin's full bio and watch one of his winning PGI Class C shows at https://skywarsevent.com/meet-the-artists-2024/
04/26/2024
Two things. 1) How cool is this fireball? 2) VIP tickets are nearly gone! Get them now at skywarsevent.com.
🔥📸 by Mathew Hovey Photography
Meet Shaun Hauter, a Pro-Am competitor at this year's show.
Hometown: Niangua, MO
Shaun Hauter is no rookie to pyrotechnic competitions! With his expertise in all things fireworks and a reliable crew at his side, Shaun plans to pull off some new tricks in his first Sky Wars Pro-Am championship.
Shaun's a lead pyrotechnician at AM Pyrotechnics, LLC and operates his own retail/wholesale business, Hauter Fireworks, LLC
He credits his beginnings in professional pyro to an old friend of his who convinced him to take a shooter’s training course in 2019 at AM Pyro. He was immediately hooked. Within two months, Shaun had a Hazmat CDL, a Missouri Shooter’s License, and was shooting his first display as a licensed shooter.
He began attending Sky Wars in 2021. In 2022, he assisted in AM Pyro's Pro display, and in 2023, his team won the Blind Pyro competition – “I absolutely love Blind Pyro. I’d do it every year if they let me!”
Shaun’s currently focusing on the music selection for his 2024 show. “You have to have a winning soundtrack to win. That needs the most amount of time spent on it, in my opinion.”
Read Shaun's full bio at https://skywarsevent.com/meet-the-artists-2024/
Meet John Mikrut Jr, one of our 2024 Pro Display competitors.
Hometown: Princeton, Illinois
The pyro bug has brought John quite far from his early days assisting with backyard shows nearly two decades ago. He’s a fresh recruit at RKM Fireworks Company AND will be competing on the Sky Wars big stage for the first time this year – all in between leading large-scale events in his hometowns.
It all started 19 years ago when John's buddy asked him to help hand-light a backyard 4th of July show. “From that first thump, I was like, I gotta get into this,” John said. The very next year, he began his involvement with the large annual Independence Day display in his hometown Walnut, Illinois. Not only is he now the lead shooter for that display, he also leads the 4th of July show in his current hometown Princeton.
Not one for pyro-crastinatation, John began scripting his Sky Wars show just days after receiving the confirmation that he’d be competing.
John joined RKM Fireworks in early 2024 and is excited to begin shooting displays with them for the first time in the summer of 2024.
Read his full bio at https://skywarsevent.com/meet-the-artists-2024/
04/04/2024
And... we have a winner! ⚡️ Please help us in congratulating Adam Usher on this insanely cool capture from our 2023 event. This photo earned him two VIP tickets to our 2024 show.
Thank you to all who participated in our VIP Photo Contest and for your patience while we decided a winner. We absolutely love to see what everyone captures during our event.
Be on the look out for our next photo contest, and be sure to secure your 2024 tickets as they are going fast as lightning. 🎆⚡️⚡️⚡️
04/01/2024
💥Call for Challenge Participants💥 Attention pyros and Sky Wars fans, we’re excited to announce a thrilling addition to this year's US Fireworks Championship lineup that YOU can be part of: Our first ever Black Snake Challenge!
In this unique edition of our Blind Pyro competition, participants will each have 1 hour to craft an unforgettable display using only provided black snake fireworks. Each creation will be presented before the panel of judges at our September 28 event just before sundown. Winner will be crowned the 2024 Snake King or Queen and will have the choice of 1st place prize: a lifetime’s supply of black snakes courtesy of Ozzi’s Famous Black Snake Fireworks, or be exempt from required post-challenge cleanup.
To give our competitors the opportunity to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation, several pyro sponsors have graciously agreed to provide hundreds of pounds of black snakes to this inaugural challenge. All creations will be launched using COBRA Firing Systems.
Whether you're a seasoned professional or a budding pyrotechnic enthusiast, the Black Snake Competition welcomes all skill levels! 💥🐍💥🐍
Sign your team up now for our first ever Black Snake Challenge: skywarsevent.com/blacksnakechallenge
03/29/2024
Congratulations to our five Photo Contest finalists! Which is your favorite?
The best photo submission from our 2023 event – and the winner of two VIP tickets for 2024 – will be announced next week.
03/14/2024
We are closing our photo contest soon 📸 Enter by March 19th by:
1️⃣ Post your BEST photos and/or video clips to Facebook or Instagram and tag us,
2️⃣ Email a copy of your media and your first & last name to [email protected]
Please do BOTH steps above by 3/19 to enter. You may enter as many times as you'd like. One winner will get 2 VIP tickets to our show on September 28th. We can't wait to see what you captured!
🔥 photo by
03/09/2024
Only a few days left ⌛️ Help us get Sky Wars recognized for "Best Festival" in the area. You can nominate daily on St. Louis Magazine's site. THANK YOU for the nominations!
We'd go for best in the nation, but St. Louis is a great place to start. STL Magazine's A-List 2024 nominations are now open! ⭐️ Help us name SKY WARS the Best Festival in the Lou.
You can nominate daily now through March 12th, and those who submit 25+ submissions will be automatically entered to win a $50 gift certificate to a top restaurant in the area. Thanks STL Mag, and thank you to everyone for your nominations!
Sky Elements Drones will be returning on September 28th for their third appearance at Sky Wars! We chatted with Rick Boss to get the scoop on their journey in breaking multiple Guinness World Records and a little of their plans for Sky Wars 2024.
02/20/2024
We'd go for best in the nation, but St. Louis is a great place to start. STL Magazine's A-List 2024 nominations are now open! ⭐️ Help us name SKY WARS the Best Festival in the Lou.
You can nominate daily now through March 12th, and those who submit 25+ submissions will be automatically entered to win a $50 gift certificate to a top restaurant in the area. Thanks STL Mag, and thank you to everyone for your nominations!
02/09/2024
Get the scoop. What do you want to know from our 2024 competitors?
02/01/2024
💥💥 2024 Competitors Announcement 💥💥
Please join us in congratulating the following pyrotechnicians who’ve been selected to compete on the big stage!
PRO-AM DIVISION
Kevin Adams from Sheridan, WY
Shaun Hauter from Niangua, MO
Tom Kohnen from Orlando, FL
PRO DIVISION
James Baxter from North Branch, MN
John Mikrut Jr. from Princeton, IL
Frank Terzino from Newton, NC
We cannot wait to see each of these ambitious pyros on the Sky Wars field this September to show us what they’ve got. (Save the date: 9.28.2024.)
Have a question for our 2024 competitors? Ask it here in the comments! ⬇️
12/31/2023
Wishing all our pyros, attendees, partners, families & friends a happy and safe New Year's Eve. See you in 2024!
Your time is now. Applications close this Sunday (12/31) for our 2024 Pro and Pro-Am competitions: https://mailchi.mp/skywarsevent.com/2024-competitor-interest
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Sky Wars
Since 2005, the Missouri Pyrotechnics Association has built a community of volunteers, professionals and fans with a passion for the artistry and science of fireworks. This year’s 16th anniversary includes saying hello to upcoming opportunities and technologies that will launch our event even higher into the night sky.
We now have a new name, a new tagline, and a new location. Our sweet spot—creating amazing displays choreographed by award-winning technicians from across the country—will remain the same. So will our dedication to entertaining an audience who come to see the exceptionally artful pyrotechnics that only true professionals can design, build and deliver.
We are ready to wow you, so be prepared to experience a Missouri Pyrotechnics Association show that you have come to expect, appreciate…and love.
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