A 100-drone holiday show launched a partnership among the City of Mesa, Arizona State University and Pulse Drone Light Shows that puts students at the center of real production work.
Pulse Drone Light Shows has published a case study on its 100-drone show for the City of Mesa’s Merry Main Street celebration, which took place on November 28, 2025. Students in Arizona State University’s Drone Show Design Program storyboarded and designed the show. The Phoenix-area drone show company produced it for the City of Mesa and Mesa Arts Center.
ASU drone show design partnership
The ASU Drone Show Design Program expanded through a partnership with the City of Mesa to involve students directly in production work. According to Pulse, Merry Main Street was where that partnership launched.
Students in ASU’s Designing Drone Light Shows course led the storyboarding and created the show’s Christmas designs. They worked alongside the Pulse team through ASU’s MediatedX Lab.
Venue planning
For the venue, Pulse framed the show directly behind the event stage and its large Christmas tree. As a result, the audience could see the drones, the stage and the tree together in a single view.
Feedback from the client, published by Pulse, pointed to the format’s small footprint. “A drone show is great because it takes up way less space than I expected, the logistics were super easy,” according to the client feedback. A second comment thanked the company “for providing such a special experience for the festival,” and noted that the organizers would “be in touch about next year.”
The Mesa relationship continued into 2026. According to its portfolio, Pulse produced a 300-drone show for the City of Mesa on July 4, 2026. In addition, the company flew a 100-drone space-themed show for the City of Tempe’s Tempe Jam in November 2025. It also ran 11 Friday-night shows for the Aqua Nights summer series at JW Marriott Desert Ridge in north Phoenix.
More information is available at Pulse Drone Light Shows.
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Ian McNabb is a journalist focusing on drone technology and lifestyle content at Dronelife. He is based between Boston and NH and, when not writing, enjoys hiking and Boston area sports.
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