June is gone, July has started with a Bang! Dusty and Brooke Formanek are running the fireworks stand for the community to enjoy.

For the second year in a row Dusty and Brooke Formanek are running the fireworks stand for the community members near and far. "The company that we use is Borderline Fireworks out of New Mexico," said Brooke. Borderline Fireworks also services and supplies three other stands in South Dakota; Ft. Pierre, Sturgis, and Whitewood. They acquired the four-stand territory over the winter from the New Underwood based company who had been supplying Philip with fireworks for about 20 years. 
Mike and Hallie Albrecht along with Jerry and Lexi Rhodes, and families had operated the stand for many years out of the former Albrecht garage. In 2022, Mike asked the Formanek family if they'd like to take over the fireworks stand, and they eagerly accepted. Dusty has fond childhood memories of operating a fireworks stand in Montana with his family. Dusty and Brooke hope to make similar memories with their family running the stand for years to come. 
At the time of the interview, they had only been open for two days. Brooke commented that it is hard to say what to expect for this year's sales. "Opening day seemed a bit slow until the evening," said Brooke Formanek. "I didn't expect it would be overly busy, since we started selling product in the month of June. With the Independence holiday landing on Thursday this year, people will celebrate throughout the long weekend," Brooke said. 
Brooke also wants everyone interested to know that they have tried most all the fireworks that they sell, so if there are questions or those looking for suggestions, please ask for assistance. She went on to extend gratitude for a nice wet spring to make people more comfortable with fireworks, and not so worried about fires. 
There doesn't seem to be a favorite item this year. Everyone has their own preference, whether they are looking for something small and kid friendly, or something big like cakes. While talking about cakes maybe makes you think of the sweet dessert, it does have a different meaning in the fireworks world! A firework cake is a series of tubes that have been fused together in one box for a chain reaction of shots and effects. Cakes are popular for backyard shows, because they only require one light and have multiple shots and effects. The stand also has new kid back packs filled with age-appropriate fireworks and some new neon smoke bombs. 
Sales are running throughout the last few days, include large artillery shells (lock n' load or diablo 5" shells) along with buy 2 get one free (mix and match). For the kids, the stand is running a buy 3 get one free on neon sparklers and cracker balls. 
The final days of the 2024 fireworks stand will be July 3rd and 4th from 10:00 a.m. to midnight, and July 5th from noon to 6:00 p.m. They are located one mile east of the Pit Stop on Highway 14, in the yellow building.