heh... I just get paid to set 'em up and light 'em off, no need for me to look at invoices. However, the smallish (hand-fired, not electric shot by computer) show we've been doing the last many July 4th's is around 15 to 17k worth of lights in the sky and noises, around 4 to 500 3" to 5" shells. I'd love to go with bigger stuff but there are minimum distance requirements and the site in question can't legally accomodate anything bigger than 5" shells for that reason. Last time I checked a typical single break 6" Chinese shell was around ten bucks. A 10" carton of 4 can be had for around 30 but that's a 100carton min. order. Not that it matters. You can't just go online and buy this stuff. 1.3g display fireworks is regulated more than somewhat. My (state issued) license lets me set up and shoot 'em, but does not let me buy 'em or make 'em, and I have to have a CDL to transport the stuff to the display site. Geeze getting on 30 years I've been doing this and hain't gotten bored of it yet! DHS and other such entities are making things more difficult with no other real effects, but it's still fun, and I'll keep doing fireworks displays till they pry the highway flare from my cold dead fingers...

PS I haven't been able to find out how much this 4 footer costs, but I did find that it weighs 450 kilos... holy crap. The info I had on how much lifter charge is needed to get that thing up in the air may be inaccurate... a 6 or 7 lb bag of fff powder. Other sources say more like 50 lb, with lots of wadding twixt the charge and the shell to keep it from coming apart in the gun. In any case, getting 450 kilos ~2700' up in the air on just a black powder explosion has my undying respect.