 The Ottaway carnival, a real carnival that visited Wamego regularly, was used for the carnival scenes, with local residents as extras.Finished in 2005 and released in the first-ever "Freak Show Tour" exclusively in Landmark Theatres, and was released on DVD in 2006.Film critic Roger Ebert called it "Brilliant" and gave "Firecracker" a Special Jury Award on his list of the year's best films.