Usually at this time of the year, people are rushing to fireworks stands to pack their shopping cart to the brim. This year, however, more people are leaving the fireworks to the professionals, which could mean a bigger bang this year.

While people are still opening their wallets for to buy fireworks, display coordinators say big shows are more popular than ever this year.

Whether it's sparklers, the big one, or something in between, the rush for fireworks is on.

"Mostly, a lot of people have moved from the artillery shells to the 500 gram kegs," says Jeremy Marietta, a manager at Wholesale Fireworks in Andover.

"I think we bought more this year than we did last year," said Ian Wolfe, of Andover.

While a fireworks shortage has put a damper on some parts of the country, there is plenty to go around in Sedgwick County.

"Fireworks are kind of like Christmas presents. Everybody is going to get them. Everyone's going to celebrate," explains Marietta.

Vendors say they've seen a slight decrease in sales, with people keeping a closer eye on the wallet this year.

"Look at the coupons. Buy them online. We're bargain shopping and going to buy-one-get-one free's at every different place we can," said Jeremy Hickman of Andover.

One group that is not feeling the pinch are companies putting on the big shows.

"This year we're actually doing more shows than what we've done in the past and the shows we've done in the past are actually wanting bigger shows," explains Mike Greene with Western Enterprises, Inc.

Greene says his company alone will put on more than 400 shows around the country. However, whether Americans spring for the sparklers or leave it to the professionals, many say they expect this 4th of July to still be a blast.

"People are still wanting to do fireworks, they're still wanting to celebrate our freedom," Greene says.

Don't forget, you can watch Wichita's biggest fireworks display at Celebrate '08 sponsored by KAKE News. The baseball game gets underway at 6:45 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Fireworks will start promptly at 9:45 Friday night.