Nine-year-old Austin Hamilton needed very little time to decide what his favorite thing is about fireworks.

“When they blast up into the air,” the Meadville youngster said.

“You mean the beginning?” his grandma, Margaret Hamilton, asked.

“Yep,” he answered, his eyes beaming.

Attending firework displays is a yearly tradition for Margaret Hamilton and her family. This year, the Hamilton family will travel to Pittsburgh to attend the Three Rivers Regatta at Point State Park where a performance by Three Dog Night will be followed by a large fireworks show.

“We make it a point to go every year,” Margaret Hamilton said. “It’s something that we do. It’s a family tradition and a national tradition.

“We’re a pretty patriotic family.”

And families looking to take in a fireworks display locally this 4th of July weekend will have plenty to choose from — unlike some other areas of the country where the economy is taking a bite out of their sky shows.

In the Crawford County region, on Friday night, both Canadohta Lake in northeast Crawford, and Waldameer Park in Erie will have fireworks.

Visitors to Pymatuning Dam in Jamestown will have fireworks Saturday, the same day Waldameer will offer a second show.

And on Sunday, there are two shows near Meadville:

n Conneaut Lake Park will wrap up a weekend of festivities with a fireworks display off the grass pier outside Hotel Conneaut, which is being put on by Park Restoration, LLC and Lisko & Sons Amusements. Greg Sutterlin, of Park Restoration, LLC, said a portion of the proceeds from parking will go toward helping to pay for the fireworks.

n The Movies at Meadville will have a Sunset Dance with DJ Jimmy from 8 to 11 p.m. with fireworks set to go off at 10 p.m. The theater will have hot dogs and soda for a dollar.

While there are plenty of options locally for fireworks, that is not the case everywhere where many shows are being canceled or scaled back due to the economy.

Budget realities are forcing communities to decide, for example, whether they can pay for extra police and fire protection for a fireworks show — or perhaps pay an officer’s salary for the rest of the year. And some organizers have concerns about seeking money for a celebration as communities struggle to take care of life-or-death needs worsened by the recession.