In 2024, the Civic Center Conservancy reimagined its Indy Eve celebration with a Night Market, several stages of entertainment and a drone show replacing the traditional fireworks. Indy Eve will look much the same in 2025, with a drone show as the highlight of the night. 

"I think the best thing about drone shows is the creativity," said Tom Dolan, founder of .

The shows feature 3D animations with drones creating images in the night sky. During the 2024 show, there was a 400-foot Liberty Bell ringing, and an animation that showed the face of Lady Liberty transforming into the entire statue. 

"We're working on some really fun animations that take the animations we flew last year kind of to the next level," Dolan explained. 

"Has there been any pushback from people who are like, 'Fireworks are the way to go. Don't mess with my July 4th tradition?'" asked CBS News Colorado. 

"Absolutely," Dolan replied. "But I feel like we're winning them over, slowly. When they come and see a show in person and they see the scale, the size, the creativity of the event." 

What audiences see in the sky is the product of weeks of work at the computer. Chris Probst draws out the animations, places the drones, sets the safety parameters, and then tweaks every second to perfection. 

"In your mind, what's the key to a great drone show?" CBS asked Probst. 

"I feel like it's utilizing light in the way that you're getting your image across, but then you're surprising the viewer," Probst explained. 

300 drones can create a lot of surprises. The drones are designed to dazzle. They carry a battery and a full-spectrum light, and that is it. At a cost of $800 - $1,000 a piece, there is a significant initial investment.

When asked how that much of an investment up in the sky affects him, Dolan responded with a laugh, "I have an Apple Watch. I had to turn the heart rate monitor off because when we had that many drones in the sky, it would start to warn me you need to stand up and take a deep breath."

A drone can be used over and over again for hundreds of shows, making them a sustainable entertainment option. The safety parameters wrap each one in a protective bubble, making sure that they don't fly too high, or too fast, or too close together. 

For Dolan and Probst, the payoff is the "oohs and aahs" of the audience as their hard work helps Americans celebrate the birth of a great nation. 

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The Civic Center Conservancy hosts Indy Eve at Civic Center Park from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 3, 2025.