BATON ROUGE -  The Manship family is putting on the largest fireworks display in Louisiana along the Mississippi River this Independence Day.

WBRZ's Fireworks on the Mississippi is a tradition that has continued for more than 50 years.

A father-son duo, technicians Hugh and Justin McWhorter, are leading preparation efforts to make sure this year's event is a success.

On a barge in the Mississippi River, they spent Wednesday and Thursday carefully placing firework shells into launch tubes one by one. They then connected each one to a computer-controlled firing system that will ignite the show with the push of a button.

"Right now, we have a team of six. Back at the warehouse, there are a ton of guys. They're loading the trucks, loading the pyro. Making sure we have everything we need," said Justin. 

Hugh and Justin have spent years producing fireworks shows together across the country.

"Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee. We've shot Houston's New Year," said Justin.

A show of this size takes months of planning and days of work on the barge.

For the McWhorters, the reward comes when the crowd reacts.

 "When the finale goes up and to hear the crowd, that's just overwhelming and that keeps me coming back," said Hugh.

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