The pyrotechnic enthusiasts who put the show on as part of their recent annual convention don't have that luxury.

Stricter federal controls aimed at bolstering homeland security and restricting access to explosives also apply to fireworks, making it more difficult, industry officials say, to give the public what it wants at a time when interest in fireworks is skyrocketing.

"You really have to want to stay in the business, because it's such a burden," said Ed Vanasek of Belle Plaine, Minn., as the professionals, novices and wannabes who make up Pyrotechnics Guild International met to talk business and shoot off fireworks.

The changing environment was evident in the convention agenda, with sessions including "The ATF and You" held along with more traditional offerings such as the basics of fireworks. The ATF is the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Chip Dougherty attended "The FAA and You," seeking assurances he wouldn't be stopped at an airport if residue from the fireworks he sometimes shoots or makes near his home in Romulus, Mich., turned up on his luggage.

The industry says it's already heavily regulated and safe.

"What we do is just not a threat to national security," said John Steinberg, PGI's president, who is a doctor and a holder of a license to set off fireworks displays.

The pyrotechnics industry is growing. Officials say the trend began before the terror attacks in 2001 that helped stir patriotism and interest in fireworks. Pyrotechnics are now common at baseball games, wedding parties and corporate conventions.

Industry revenues totaled $725 million in 2002, up from the previous high of $650 million in 2001, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association, a trade group representing manufacturers, retailers and public display firms, among others.

But much of the growth has been on the retail end, the association's executive director, Julie Heckman, said, and is due in part to more states allowing people to shoot backyard-type fireworks.