What started as a unique nighttime attraction for water park and campground guests just keeps on growing for Wisconsin's Northern Lights Drone Shows.

Origins as a 50-Drone Campground Spectacle

The moment Andy Ackman started at Jellystone Park / Bear Paw Adventure Park in 2020, he and his team were on the hunt for additional park attractions.

That's when Andy suggested doing drone shows.

"I had never seen one and didn't know anything about them. I researched drone companies and settled on Verge Aero because of the ease of use of the design studio. It was easy enough for me to grasp."

They formed Northern Lights with a modest fleet of 50 light show drones, treating campers and park guests to weekly nighttime productions.

In 2023, one of their shows impressed the mayor of a neighboring suburb in attendance, who quickly got in touch for a custom drone show at the suburb's summer festival.

Northern Lights' waiver constraints at the time prevented them from flying drones anywhere besides their campgrounds – but that didn't stop Andy's team from making it happen.

The NLDS artists designed the content and the team partnered with fellow Verge Powered Network provider Mad Bomber Fireworks (aka Chicago Drone Light Shows) for the drones and the waiver to fly the first drone show at Round Lake Beach's Elote Fest.

That show sealed the deal for a multi-year agreement, allowing Northern Lights to start growing as a regional drone show provider.

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From Local to Regional: A Growing Show Portfolio

Each year since their first off-campground show, NLDS has expanded their fleet by a few hundred drones and can now accommodate light shows of over one thousand of their own drones.

Today, Northern Lights flies dozens of drone shows for all occasions throughout the year, both at and outside of their affiliate campground and parks.

Recent noteworthy shows:

• Brand partnership: Culver's drone show for the largest Culver's franchise owner, S&L Companies.
• Sports partnership: Minnesota United FC drone show celebrating 10 years of the football club.
• Artistic partnership: Drone shows synchronized to Tesla car light shows at Tesla owner conventions in Michigan and California – definitely worth a watch!
• State Fair partnership: York, Pennsylvania state fair drone show.
• Wildest venue: Launching from the roof of and flying a show over Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
• Most unique show: A drone show for an Irish Wake in California, in which the client wanted a tribute to his late husband and "to make the neighbors envious." Mission accomplished.
• Holiday shows: NLDS flies several holiday shows for Christmas, Fourth of July, and Halloween. This year they flew their first Easter show with 1,000 drones at the Jellystone campgrounds.
• Upcoming showcase: Northern Lights' "BIG showcase" will be April 25th with 1,000 drones, 50 pyrodrones, fireworks and music in a synchronized display billed as "the largest pyro drone show in Wisconsin ever" to celebrate the campground's grand summer opening.

Andy estimates they'll fly upwards of 120 shows in 2026, with more higher-value displays than in previous years.

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The Mastermind Formula

Northern Lights has grown their drone show fleet by 1,000% over just a few years! Their operations continue to expand in 2026 and they may even add an additional location in a couple of years.

COO Andy Ackman mainly attributes the company's success to two foundational points: "Building the right team and treating customers well."

A strong team dynamic is invaluable for drone show operations. NLDS' team of 'Masterminds' consistently bring clients' dreams to life, from the pilots to the drone artists who are "amazingly talented and are really the showcase of our company."

Client satisfaction is another big focus for Northern Lights – if any issues arise, they issue a full refund and will even return the following year to fly the show for free.

Andy also says a strong marketing team really helps. NLDS utilizes the campground's marketing team – a big perk of having drone show operations that support a park and vice versa!

Andy's biggest piece of advice to existing drone show providers looking to expand is to keep things organized and make sure your processes scale with your fleet: "If you're not organized with your current fleet, adding more drones will make a small problem much bigger."

As for those looking to break into the drone show market, Andy suggests having a "strong marketing person or background" and to "make sure your drone design game is on point."

"Don't try to just muddle through and design things yourself if you're not an artist. It's great that Verge has design services available, and new people should probably lean on that."

Lastly, Andy mentions he gets a lot out of being a Verge Powered Network partner.

"I love the partner network. It's great when we get together for the Verge sponsored events or when we collaborate on our own. We all get to learn something from each other because we all do some things a little differently. I like that we can actually reach out to the [Verge] owners and engineers directly if we really need to as well. They are approachable and great to work with."

Learn more about Northern Lights Drone Shows at northernlightsdroneshows.com.

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Interested in building your own drone show operation?

The sky-high art of drone light entertainment is one of the coolest services on the planet! Check out these resources to get started:

• How to start a drone show business
• How drone shows work
• Verge Aero's drone show ecosystem
• Drones and fireworks: The future of aerial entertainment