The fireworks convention now under way at Cooper’s Lake might have local officials a little anxious, but not so for recent host cities, where officials are actively pursuing return visits by these pyrotechnicians.

Officials in LaPorte, Ind., where the Pyrotechnics Guild International Convention was staged last summer, are filing applications to try to have the show return.

“People are still talking about it,” said Linda Simmons, director of marketing at the LaPorte County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “It was just something you don’t see. You see fireworks all over, but these were probably the best of the best, very crowd pleasing.”

LaPorte had about 20,000 people go to shows throughout the week, which is a big deal for the city of 22,000 about 65 miles east of Chicago.

Simmons said there were great economic benefits.

A study after the convention concluded that the convention generated $3.5 million in local spending.

Andy Snyder, LaPorte fire chief, said many safety precautions were enforced.

“The PGI people, they had their own safety personnel, their own fire personnel,” Snyder said. “I was extremely impressed working with them, how they covered the bases with public safety.”

The LaPorte Fire Department assisted a nearby volunteer fire department, since the fairgrounds is outside city limits, in making sure things stayed safe.

“The shows were also outstanding,” he said.

Another popular venue for the convention is West Fargo, N.D., which has hosted these fireworks experts seven times in the past 20 years.

And the city of 26,000 is tentatively set to host it again in 2015.

The economic impact on the city was evident all over town.

“Our restaurants and hotels were all full. It draws people from the entire region,” said West Fargo Mayor Rich Mattern.

He said people consistently filled the city’s fairgrounds and lined the streets of the western side of the city to see the show.

“It’s an incredible event,” Mattern said. “It’s hard to describe in words. They are unlike any other fireworks I’ve ever seen.”

The city of 26,000 took some safety precautions, Mattern said, but added organizers of the event were thorough in their safety standards.

“They worked closely with our police and fire departments,” he said. “The big thing for us was having extra police working for traffic control.”

Roy Schatschneider, the city’s fire chief, said the organizers were easy to work with.

“They’ve always been real open with us,” he said. “We’ve had a real good history with them.”

Schatschneider said the organizers meet with his department a couple times before the show to go over where they’ll be, and explain the safety measures of the fireworks they use. He also added PGI has its own fire and medical team that can assist the city’s firefighters.

Kaukauna, Wis., hosted the guild’s convention in 2003, 2006 and 2010.

Pam Seidl, executive director of the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the weeklong event brought in an average of $1 million in economic impact in each of those three years.

“In general, the event was very impressive and very well received because of the quality of the shows and the types of fireworks you see,” Seidl said.

She said while the 2010 event unfortunately was plagued by rain, the displays attracted several thousand interested individuals in each of the three years.

Regarding those crowds, Seidl said the convention bureau made sure traffic flow and parking were handled by police.

“There were no problems with the crowd,” she said.

Eagle staff writers John Bojarski, Will DeShong and Paula Grubbs contributed to this report.