JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Independence Day is almost upon us, and that means fireworks, and lots of them.
“Just some Roman candles and the smaller things for the kids that are quiet because the big stuff goes on later,” fireworks shopper Mike Atlee said, showing off his purchases to Action News Jax while checking out Thursday.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
However, for many looking to light up the skies or pop those firecrackers Friday, it may cost more than years past.
The American Pyrotechnics Association last month warned that President Donald Trump’s tariff war could affect the price and supply of fireworks -- a favorite Fourth of July pastime for so many.
Joanna Hand, a fireworks tent operator on Jacksonville’s Southside, told Action News Jax Thursday there have been some slight price hikes on certain items.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
“We did increase slightly, some items, but we haven’t had to increase in a couple of years,” Hand said. “But we did slight, there were some slight increases, but not a whole lot.”
However, Atlee told Action News Jax while getting his Fourth of July fireworks that the prices to him seem around the same as last year’s.
Hand added that even with slight increases on certain Fourth of July firework products, there are ways to celebrate on a budget, starting with shopping local, she said, instead of corporate brick-and-mortar retailers.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“Normally I would say that coming to the tents normally has the best deals,” Hand said. “We are able to do a lot more customization and work with you [than brick and mortar.] We do have a lot of buy one, get one free. And so there’s a lot of ways that you can have a really nice show without spending a whole lot of money.”
A National Fireworks Association spokesperson said while prices on fireworks have gone up slightly this year, that’s been balanced out a bit by the holiday falling on a Friday, increasing firework demand.
NFA added that the ultimate concern is the cost and supply of fireworks on New Year’s later this year and going into next year, with production slowed due to the Trump administration’s China tariffs.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
