INDIANAPOLIS -- The 39th annual Freedom Blast went off without a hitch Sunday night, but it was a day late and thousands were frustrated by what they called poor communication on July 4.

About 1,500 shells were shot from the top of the Regions Bank building and exploded under clear skies in a 27-minute show, a day after persistent rain and win forced the postponement of Saturday's festivities, 6News' Tanya Spencer reported.

"We got sopping wet even though we had umbrellas," said Amanda Bell, who was downtown both days. "It was cold, and then we were just disappointed because they never told us that the fireworks were canceled."

Bell's tale of woe was one of many from people who were frustrated and angered by Saturday night's event, or lack thereof.

But Kim Borges, a spokeswoman for show sponsor Regions Bank, said the show, which was delayed twice Saturday evening before being called off, didn't happen as planned on Saturday for good reason -- safety concerns for the crew setting off fireworks and the thousands of spectators.

"We had actually delayed the show a couple of times in the hope that we might be able to still get it off as planned," Borges said. "The show, originally set to launch at 9:47, we then bumped it back to 10 o'clock. The second postponement was back to 10:15, and at that point, we realized that we just weren't going to be able to get it off due to winds that were in excess of what the fire marshal and our pyrotechnics crew felt comfortable in shooting."

As they waited for Sunday's show, most spectators said organizers made the right call, but said there should have been a better way to let people know of cancelations.

"When you have a sound system, that's what it's for," said one woman.

Organizers said they make every effort to do the show on the Fourth of July because of the tremendous effort it takes to make it happen.

Firefighters, police and the bomb squad came out again Sunday to work the event, and that cost the city an extra $5,000 in police overtime alone.