City of St. Pete Announces New Drone Show Date

Rain and wind struck St. Pete Pier, forcing a delay of the planned 1,000-drone light show to Oct. 18. Officials picked Oct. 19 as backup in case bad weather hits again.

"The 1,000 drones were preset in Vinoy Park and covered, and the control equipment was under a tent. Prior to the storm, the equipment was wrapped, and the tent was lowered; however, the amount of rain, coupled with the wind and saturated ground, damaged multiple drones and some computer equipment," said officials in a statement to 10 Tampa Bay News.

The display was set for "727 Day," marking Pinellas County's area code. At 7:15 p.m., dark clouds rolled in. Lightning flashed. People ran for cover.

"Going into it, we knew that the drone company had said they could stand a pretty decent amount of rain," said Shawn M. Drouin, St. Petersburg's Event Coordinator, according to St. Pete Catalyst. "The rain came in sideways, essentially, and got their laptop, and their backup laptop, completely soaked."

Sky Elements, based in Texas, had set up at Vinoy Park. Their plan: send drones skyward in waves to paint pictures above Vinoy Basin. Though 900 drones survived the soaking, technical glitches kept the fleet grounded.

The crowd stuck it out until 10:30 p.m. Some watched from boats. Others brought paddleboards. A few brave souls even tried kayaks.

Now the show shifts to spooky season. The October display starts at 8 p.m., beating the summer schedule by an hour.

This spectacle marks five years since the pier opened. Staff will work with the Texas team to craft fresh plans for fall.