About Us
My Friends
Be the light in someones Dark Sky
Our Humble Beginnings...
Dark Sky Fireworks started in 2017 as a locally owned and operated fireworks stand in Ames, IA. That first season was successful and we held a fireworks show at the end of the season to show our gratitude to our customers. After three seasons of selling fireworks to families throughout the area, the stand was taking too much time away from our day jobs and we sold the business.
After selling Dark Sky, we started putting on a fireworks show for our neighborhood in Huxley. The first show had plenty of fireworks, so our friends and neighbors took notice. After requests for another show, we did it again in 2021 – and this time even more people came. Last year we partnered with Stand Down Des Moines and raised over $3,000 to support local veterans. This year we are going even bigger – adding live music to go with the free BBQ and fantastic fireworks (last year was more than 40 minutes of filled night sky).
Over the past few years, people have asked us if they could help with funding the show. While we appreciate people’s willingness to help out, we really want to pay it forward and help those in need in our community. After much reflection, we chose to support Stand Down Des Moines, a charity that provides support for veterans who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness (you can see what they do at https://www.desmoineshvs.com/).
On any given night, an estimated 107,000 veterans live on the streets throughout our country. Stand Down is a grassroots, community-based intervention program designed to help those veterans “combat” life on the streets. Homeless veterans are brought together in a single location for three days and are provided access to the community resources they need to begin addressing their individual problems and rebuilding their lives.
At Stand Down Des Moines, hundreds of homeless veterans are provided with a broad range of necessities including food, clothing, medical, legal and mental health assistance, job counseling and referral, and most importantly, companionship and camaraderie. It is a time for our community to connect with the homeless veteran population. The hand up — not a handout — philosophy of Stand Down is carried out through the work of many volunteers and organizations in central Iowa.
Last year we raised enough money to cover most of the costs of the meals provided for veterans during Stand Down weekend in September. This year we hope to do even more to support our veterans. If you are able to do so, appreciate this event and want to support our veterans please make a donation today
The Dark Sky Blast Off is a community event with free music, food and fireworks. This is our fourth year and we are happy to welcome the NOLA Jazz Band to the party! Each year has been bigger than the last and this year will be biggest party yet. Please come and help us and Stand Down Des Moines support local veterans in need.
Blast Off
Our annual event celebrating our nations birthday makes it easy to give. Come on down for some good food, live music, and breath taking fireworks. This family friendly event is free to the public and all free will donations go to benefit homeless veterans and their families.
It Is a Gift
Just like the service that these veterans provided doing their duty, so to is giving back to those that sacrificed for us. We are not a faceless conglomerate where the money disappears and we invite you to come down to Des Moines Stand Down event to see your dollars at work. We all know nothing is getting cheaper so every little bit goes that much further in making someones life a little bit better.