For almost 30 minutes, shells of red, white and blue thundered and burst over the Detroit River between Detroit, Mich., and Windsor, Ontario. More than one million spectators stood in awe while gazing into the late June sky at one of the world’s best fireworks shows.

I have been lucky to attend some impressive fireworks shows over the years. The most impressive I have ever seen was the 45-minute long Edinburgh Festival Fireworks Concert synchronized to orchestral music against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. Another memorable fireworks show was watching Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) over the River Thames from Westminster in London. Now I would rank the 59th annual Ford Fireworks Show in downtown Detroit right there near the top of the list.

Just before 10 p.m., two separate helicopters flew south down the Detroit River. The first carried a maple leaf flag underneath it in honor of Canada Day. A second helicopter cruised by hauling the Stars and Stripes to celebrate America’s Independence Day.

Just a few minutes later, one of the largest and most spectacular firework displays in North America launched from barges on the Detroit River and lit up the sky. Shells of all sizes exploded into streams of light, red/white/blue colors and even shapes of stars and smiley faces. Despite a light rain falling, nothing could dampen this display of more than 10,000 fireworks.