For the past 66 years, summer has unofficially begun with a massive multicolored pyrotechnics show full of fireworks exploding and cascading over the Detroit River.
Beginning in 1959, the fireworks display, sponsored by the J.L. Hudson’s department store, was the highlight of the multi-day Detroit-Windsor International Freedom Festival held in late June and early July that celebrated Canada Day (July 1) and America’s Independence Day (July 4).
As pictured here on June 30, 1982, at Hart Plaza, police estimated that 900,000 people gathered to view the fireworks on the Detroit side of the river, while Windsor, Ontario, police reported that at least 200,000 lined the Canadian shore, according to the Detroit Free Press. The first-ever live telecast of the fireworks took place that evening when CKLW-Radio’s Dick Purtan and WDIV-TV’s Carmen Harlan hosted the festivities on WDIV.
Other events during the International Freedom Festival that year included, among other activities, an air and water-ski show on the Detroit River, a 5-mile run from the Hotel Pontchartrain to Windsor and back to Hart Plaza, an international moonlight cruise on a Bob-Lo boat, and Windsor Night at a Tigers game in Detroit.
The tradition celebrating the historical friendship between the United States and Canada continued until 2007, when the festival became two different celebrations on each side of the river, though the fireworks remain the highlight.
Since 2013, the fireworks show has been sponsored by Ford Motor Co., and it takes place on the Monday of the week before July 4. It remains one of the largest fireworks displays in North America.
This year, the Ford Fireworks, produced by The Parade Co., occurred on Monday, June 23, as the summer tradition continued with thousands gathering on the riverfront and on rooftops to view the jaw-dropping spectacle that ends with an earsplitting and colorful grand finale.
This story originally appeared in the June 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition. Plus, find more The Way It Was articles at hourdetroit.com.
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