Drones, Trains and Light Shows!! Oh My!!

Performances behind Fitger's tied to special North Shore Scenic Railroad program Friday and Saturday.

People along Duluth’s Lakewalk might be surprised by what they see in the sky Friday and Saturday evening.

It will be a drone–actually one hundred drones.

Preparations were underway Friday afternoon behind the Malt Shoppe and the Fitger’s building.

Like any aircraft before a flight, there was a lot of testing going on. Making sure the drones were working, going up and down, responding to commands, and seeing that all the lights work.

Evening show performances will be tied to a special Christmas story being told to passengers on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. The drone show is the work of Firefly, and the producer says the “oohs and aahs” are often followed with a fun question.

“I always joke that the number one misconception, a lot of people will come up and they’ll say, ‘Well, where are the ninety-nine other guys that were flying those drones?’ ” said Matthew Sanker, the drone show producer for Firefly.  “It’s so funny, a lot of people will think that we’ve got a whole team down here. Everyone’s got a drone, a controller for it and stuff. That’s always a funny response but, other than that, just, ‘Wow. That’s so different, I’ve never seen something like that,’ and they’ll usually say their favorite part. And that’s always cool,’ ” Sanker said.

Friday night there are drone performances at 6:15, 7:15 and 8:15.

Saturday there are also performances at 15 minutes after the hour, from 4:15 to 8:15.

Each performance is about three to four minutes.