Life's a blast for Ted Roque and Domenic Pacione. Literally. The Capreol-area men spend a lot of their spare time assembling and setting off powerful explosives for their growing business, Dream Catcher Fireworks.
Since starting up on the Wahnipitae First Nation in 2000, the men have put on dozens of shows at events as diverse as the 2003 Canada Day celebrations at Science North, and various pow-wows on Manitoulin Island.
They now employ about 12 members of the Wahnipitae First Nation part-time to help out with their business.
“When I worked underground I was used to explosives because I was trained to drill and blast,� says Roque, who works during by day for the Wahnipitae First Nation. “So a lot of it did come naturally, because we do a lot of our shows electronically now. It's pretty much very similar in some aspects.�
Roque became intrigued with the idea of setting up a fireworks company after meeting commercial mortgage salesman Pacione, who had been involved in the fireworks business in the United States. The partners made a business plan, and bought out the inventory of Spectacular North, a Sudbury fireworks company whose owner was retiring.
“You get to blow things up,� says Pacione, with an impish grin. “It's fun to do. It's an art form. When you hear the crowds cheering, it is something else...I just had the luck of meeting some people in the United States who were into it, and they taught me how to do it.�
The Chinese fireworks the men use for their shows and sell wholesale to other fireworks companies look like round balls covered in brown paper. There are explosives in the bottom of each ball, and fuses lead up to the stars inside. The shells are propelled into the air with mortar tubes, says Roque.
The fireworks shells can be smaller than your fist or can get as big as kitchen tables. The biggest ones they use are usually about 12 inches in diameter, and shoot 1,200 feet in the air.
The partners also sell family-use fireworks wholesale to stores and trading posts in the northeast, and put together custom kits for members of the public looking to put on unique fireworks displays.
“They are in a cardboard package and there's a bunch of shells in them. We put together stuff that's a little bit higher end� than classic fireworks kits, says Pacione.
Right now, the partners say their business is about a 50/50 split between family-use fireworks and planned fireworks events.
But they are always looking to expand in new and innovative directions. Right now, Roque and Pacione are bidding on a proposal to do a $500,000 US show in Croatia in 2006.
“They are looking for roughly an hour,� says Roque. “There will be different effects in there. It's not the type of shows you usually see in Canada.�
They also have some more unusual ventures in the works. People can hire Dream Catcher to spread the ashes of a departed loved one in a fireworks display, says Roque.
Family members are encouraged to gather for the display, and at a predetermined moment a “custom aerial shell� will be launched hundreds of metres in the air, spreading the ashes far and wide.
“We started this because we had a request from somebody who wanted his dad's ashes to be shot up in the sky...We have a gentleman who is licensed to build this shell. We believe we're the only ones in Canada who do it right now...We're actually getting quite a few inquiries,� says Roque.
Since starting up on the Wahnipitae First Nation in 2000, the men have put on dozens of shows at events as diverse as the 2003 Canada Day celebrations at Science North, and various pow-wows on Manitoulin Island.
They now employ about 12 members of the Wahnipitae First Nation part-time to help out with their business.
“When I worked underground I was used to explosives because I was trained to drill and blast,� says Roque, who works during by day for the Wahnipitae First Nation. “So a lot of it did come naturally, because we do a lot of our shows electronically now. It's pretty much very similar in some aspects.�
Roque became intrigued with the idea of setting up a fireworks company after meeting commercial mortgage salesman Pacione, who had been involved in the fireworks business in the United States. The partners made a business plan, and bought out the inventory of Spectacular North, a Sudbury fireworks company whose owner was retiring.
“You get to blow things up,� says Pacione, with an impish grin. “It's fun to do. It's an art form. When you hear the crowds cheering, it is something else...I just had the luck of meeting some people in the United States who were into it, and they taught me how to do it.�
The Chinese fireworks the men use for their shows and sell wholesale to other fireworks companies look like round balls covered in brown paper. There are explosives in the bottom of each ball, and fuses lead up to the stars inside. The shells are propelled into the air with mortar tubes, says Roque.
The fireworks shells can be smaller than your fist or can get as big as kitchen tables. The biggest ones they use are usually about 12 inches in diameter, and shoot 1,200 feet in the air.
The partners also sell family-use fireworks wholesale to stores and trading posts in the northeast, and put together custom kits for members of the public looking to put on unique fireworks displays.
“They are in a cardboard package and there's a bunch of shells in them. We put together stuff that's a little bit higher end� than classic fireworks kits, says Pacione.
Right now, the partners say their business is about a 50/50 split between family-use fireworks and planned fireworks events.
But they are always looking to expand in new and innovative directions. Right now, Roque and Pacione are bidding on a proposal to do a $500,000 US show in Croatia in 2006.
“They are looking for roughly an hour,� says Roque. “There will be different effects in there. It's not the type of shows you usually see in Canada.�
They also have some more unusual ventures in the works. People can hire Dream Catcher to spread the ashes of a departed loved one in a fireworks display, says Roque.
Family members are encouraged to gather for the display, and at a predetermined moment a “custom aerial shell� will be launched hundreds of metres in the air, spreading the ashes far and wide.
“We started this because we had a request from somebody who wanted his dad's ashes to be shot up in the sky...We have a gentleman who is licensed to build this shell. We believe we're the only ones in Canada who do it right now...We're actually getting quite a few inquiries,� says Roque.
