My personal opinion, this display supersedes even the City of Chicago's Independence Day display. It boasts over 15,000 shells minimum, and can be seen from Lake Mendota, or up very very close at the park! It is a great way to spend a summer day. During the day of the fireworks show, the park is host to musical stages featuring a variety of musical styles from Rock and Roll to marching bands. A carnival is also set up in the park, and a Madison Mallards baseball game is played in the afternoon. The show is preceded by a Wisconsin Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter landing, and a Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16 jet fighter fly-over. Music from a variety of genres accompanies the fireworks. This year, the howitzers from the Wisconsin Army National Guard were extremely impressive (we were sitting directly across from them this year) , and added a very loud element of surprise during the finale. Definitely the best fireworks display I have seen in the entire Midwest!
