Firework tents hope for big year after city legalizes aerial fireworks sales

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    WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — There are big changes coming to Wichita this year, and firework tent owners are hoping it will mean more sales than ever.

It’s one of the busiest days of the year for firework tent owners like Teresa Lybarger. After doing it for over a decade, she says she knows there won’t be much sleep ahead of the first day of sales Thursday.

“You spend all day long, and sometimes into the night to get all your fireworks in the right place, to get all your lights, to get everything in order to be able to open up the next morning,” said Lybarger.

Lybarger and her family run the tents in the Walmart parking lots at 53rd and Meridian, and Pawnee and Broadway, and she says there’s a lot more to it than most people realize.

“We are required to have people here 24/7,” said Lybarger.

On top of the heavy lifting in the grueling heat, Lybarger says there are strict laws she has to follow, and no matter what time of day or night it is, at least two people are always inside her tents working.

But Lybarger says there’s a major change in Wichita that she hopes will make it her best year yet.

“It’s kind of exciting for this year because Wichita went full power,” Lybarger explained. “We’re hoping for bigger sales, of course, because now they could spend their money here, instead of going over to Andover to Haysville, or, you know, any of the other places that are full power.”

This means Wichita tents can now sell the big, mortar-type fireworks. Before, Lybarger could only sell fireworks that didn’t shoot over six feet in the air, severely limiting the products she could carry.

As much hard work as it takes running her tents, Lybarger says there’s one thing that keeps her coming back.

“You might be a little cranky the next morning, but once you see that first smile, or that giddy kid when they’re coming in, even an adult, it just makes you feel good,” said Lybarger.

However, keep in mind that even though you can buy aerial fireworks in city limits starting Thursday, you can’t legally shoot them until July 3rd.

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