HUDSON, Ohio — Seth Kerechanin takes his Fourth of July celebrations seriously.
“I love fireworks! I put on a show for my friends and my family. It’s like the biggest part of my whole year,” he said.
That show comes with a serious spark and a serious price tag.
“My wife thinks it’s $4K, but it’s a bit more than that. I probably spend between $6,000 to $7,000 on a show,” Kerechanin said.
With fireworks shows set to ignite across Northeast Ohio, the American Fireworks Company in Aurora is busy supplying products for 400 to 500 displays. Trucks are loaded and ready to roll out to towns like Mayfield and Avon Lake.
But not all shipments are immune.
“This year’s shows will not be impacted,” said Roberto Sorgi, co-owner of American Fireworks Company. “The 250 next year for the 250th birthday of the United States for sure will be impacted. So a 30-minute show is going to be 10 minutes or a 20-minute show will be 12 minutes. Or the budget’s going to have to go up 30 or 40%.”
More than 95% of fireworks are imported from China. Sorgi says orders are placed 12 to 18 months in advance, and they’ve already submitted orders for the 2026 celebration.
“Some of those came at 10%. Some of those came at 30%. Some of them came at a 45% tariff level,” he said. “It’s truly not a good situation from somebody who’s the retailer to the distributor to the manufacturer at this point.”
Shelves remain full for now, stocked with last year’s inventory at pre-tariff prices. But come September, the costs are expected to climb, especially for smaller retailers.
“This is a lot for small businesses to carry on their balance sheets,” Elizabeth Pancotti from Groundwork Collaborative said. “And it’s even more to pass on to the consumer, who at the end of the day, is going to have to pay those high prices.”
Spencer Dunlap and his son are stocking up for their holiday tradition while prices are still low.
Dunlap supports the new tariffs and says he’s willing to pay a little more next year.
“We put our tariffs out there finally against them… We actually did to them what they did to us,” he said.
If prices get too high, Kerechanin said his show may look different.
“If the pricing continues to rise… I’ll probably back my show off a little bit… which would be sad,” he said.
For those looking to celebrate with a bang, experts suggest buying early and storing fireworks in a dry place they can last for years if properly kept.
