July 2nd – Explodeapaloozaganzatacular
Yes, that was the title of this show. Living in an apartment, I was responsible and let people know I would be doing some fireworks so they didn’t complain about the noise, and that was what I called it. Living in Oregon, about the only things that are legal are fountains and ground spinners, so options are limited. Last year I bought a few small things to play with and told a friend or two. When I came out, about ten people were there expecting a show. This year I decided to expand considerably, but it was still meant to be funny and small. A few of these were from Steve, but most were purchased on my little Oregon fireworks excursion. [Edit: The spacing is being all screwy again, so just bear with it...]
Here is the rough layout, starting with random small fountains and then working up to the larger stuff in increasing numbers. I started with a Rising Flag and two Rising Pandas, but the flag didn’t work, so China defeated us that time. Five tanks and a few crackling balls then performed a reenactment of the Revolutionary War, which I found quite amusing. An ironic show to amuse myself was the whole point, the audience was secondary, but they seemed to enjoy it too. It was just about ten friends anyway, so I kept expectations low.
All the little fountains were quite entertaining, and the little yellow pyramid ones were better than I expected. I also made an X with random powder and arranged 36 ground flowers so the fuses were in the powder, then threw a crackling ball as it. The powder ignited with a nice flame and every ground flower went at the same time, which was definitely a highlight of the show. The Christmas tree fountain by Brothers was actually pretty good, and proceeded to catch on fire and burn for the duration of the show.
Beihai Powerful Fountain was quite good and had a nice variety of effects. Brothers Hawaiian Rainbow was cool, though it didn’t go as high as I expected. Brothers Keg Party was a standout, the fountain section was pretty standard, but the flipping over with crackle and spinners was a nice surprise for everyone. Black Cat Tie Dye and Nuclear Meltdown were both good, with nice colors and very little noise. The Pacific Paradise fountains weren’t all glitter as they were described, but were still nice, and went well with a Shogun Silver Cone. Four TNT Purple Rain was another high point, those little fountains have some nice color and shot as high or higher than most fountains of the night. The finale was Two Black Cat Pop Goes the Fountain and three Phantom Volcano Vortex fountains. One Vortex didn’t ignite, but everything else worked fine. It made a lot of noise and a nice wall, but none of them went as high as I was expecting. After the finale, sparklers were passed out and we all had a laugh about my silly little fireworks show.
Below (both pictures) - TNT Carnival and Beihai Powerful Fountain.
Beihai Powerful Fountain was quite good and had a nice variety of effects. Brothers Hawaiian Rainbow was cool, though it didn’t go as high as I expected. Brothers Keg Party was a standout, the fountain section was pretty standard, but the flipping over with crackle and spinners was a nice surprise for everyone. Black Cat Tie Dye and Nuclear Meltdown were both good, with nice colors and very little noise. The Pacific Paradise fountains weren’t all glitter as they were described, but were still nice, and went well with a Shogun Silver Cone. Four TNT Purple Rain was another high point, those little fountains have some nice color and shot as high or higher than most fountains of the night. The finale was Two Black Cat Pop Goes the Fountain and three Phantom Volcano Vortex fountains. One Vortex didn’t ignite, but everything else worked fine. It made a lot of noise and a nice wall, but none of them went as high as I was expecting. After the finale, sparklers were passed out and we all had a laugh about my silly little fireworks show.
Below (both pictures) - TNT Carnival and Beihai Powerful Fountain.
Below - 2x Pacific Paradise, Shogun Silver Cone, TNT Iced Out.
Below - Two photos of TNT Purple Rain.
2x Black Cat Tie Dye and 1x Nuclear Meltdown.
Finale - 2x Black Cat Pop Goes the Fountain, 2x (supposed to be 3x) Phantom Volcanic Vortex.
Sparklers!!!
Well, that's it for the Explodeapaloozaganzatacular. I might do it again next year, but I'm not going to be at the same place, so it won't be quite the same thing...
