Like many in the fireworks industry, Stephen Vitale is in the family business. In October, he struck a surprising alliance with Nova Sky Stories, the drone company that Kimbal Musk acquired from Intel. Increasingly, drones are lighting up skybound entertainment shows. Drone shows are in some ways the newer, hipper brand of fireworks. Fireworks providers like Vitale face a tough decision: Invest in the expensive equipment and regulatory clearance required to get into the drone business, or believe that demand for fireworks will remain steady even as a new type of competition skyrockets.

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Persons: Stephen Vitale, Kimbal Musk, King Charles III, Vitale Organizations: Nova Sky, Kimbal, Intel, Allied Market Research, Invest Locations: New, Pa