The finale at the NW Pyro demo was very cool and a more traditional sky-puke style finale, the other main option is larger numbers of a single item or series of items, as in the Victory Fireworks demo. This one is a huge number of 200g Red and Silver Razzle, followed by 200g Gold Brocade Bash, then 500g Gold Fever (all PYK).
I brought my friend Jonny with me to the demo last weekend and he took a few pictures...
Journey to Jurassic Park (Golden Bear)
Police: Thief Cuts Hole In Stand, Steals Fireworks
Stealing fireworks? This evil crime must not go unpunished! (link)UNION, S.C. -- A Union County fireworks stand owner said that someone cut a hole in the bottom of the business and stole items from the business.
...
Crocker told Union Police that sometime after Feb. 1, someone entered the storage unit that houses Crocker's business and removed an undetermined amount of fireworks.
Firefighters plan fireworks show
But I thought all firefighters knew that fireworks were evil! Good news for Lake Havasu, as long as they can get the money together. (link)The Lake Havasu Professional Firefighters Association is looking to take the display to the next level with the city’s first Lake Havasu Freedom Festival and Fireworks Show, but donations are going to be needed.
Proposed fireworks surcharge enflames wholesalers
Glad I don't live in Hawaii.... (link)HONOLULU (AP) — The state's wholesalers of legal fireworks are balking at a proposed 50 percent surcharge that is aimed at cutting sales and easing health and safety concerns on the Fourth of July and New Year's
I was going to do a longer post, but it has already been a couple days and time is short! So the short version is Steve and associates are wholesaling for Hales this year, and shot a demo at the Muckleshoot Casino. PyroU folks were invited to help out and good times were had.
Left - Fusing racks with slow visco for the demo. Shells shot in the demo included Area 51 and Redline from Pyro Predator (both great) and Gladiator from Golden Bear (great colors and effects, but not marked!)
Favorite 200g cakes from the demo:
1. Pyro Gumbo (Pyro Predator) - Huge breaks and big spread, sort of like a fanned Matrix Pyro. I have two of these in my show coming up.
2. I Love USA (Golden Bear) - Fanned red white and blue peonies, crackle finale. Good color and spread.
3. Hit and Run (Golden Bear) - Crackle mines and whistles to peony with crackle. Long duration (maybe a little slow) and nice size breaks. The breaks are sort of like a mini Global Dominance.
Favorite 500g cakes from the demo:
1. Global Dominance (Pyro Predator) - I've seen this cake before and have ordered a rewrap I hope is just as good. Huge breaks, massive crackle finale.
2. Fire in the Hole (Shotgun) - Layered mines to a variety of fanned effects. Very nice.
3. Super Stunt (Winda) - Some of the biggest breaks of the night.
Demo items were shot once it was close to dark, starting with the little stuff like fountains and candles. I got video of almost every cake and shell, so check out my PyroU gallery for those.
The finale (video below) was awesome, way better than I was expecting. The eight Fireworks Fiestas at the start helped a lot, and it is hard to go wrong with that many cakes of almost any kind shot in about two minutes. When the shells started you certainly noticed, though I wish more of the racks were angled (glad I had my rack to contritbute and fuse).
After the official demo ended, we had a few things people brought to shoot. I brought Wolverine XO1 and XO2 shells to see them one at a time before my own show, and a 200g Golden Willows for the same reason. Chris shot several different types of shells like Golden One and Zillionaire, which were excellent.
It was great to see so many PyroU guys, along with a lot of fantastic product. A very nice way to start the season!
Direct link to the file here (15MB). Check my PyroU gallery for videos of most cakes shot...
Never hold fireworks in your hand, but if you do, at least get a cool picture.
Two arrested after fireworks set off indoors
WENATCHEE — Police blocked off the streets surrounding a Cleveland Avenue home after the sound of a firework set off indoors was mistaken for gunfire. Two people, including an 18-year-old man, were arrested as a result.
...An 18-year-old Wenatchee man was booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on suspicion of illegal possession of fireworks, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction and hit-and-run of an unattended vehicle.
A juvenile girl was booked into the Chelan County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of obstructing law enforcement officers after coming out of the home and not telling police someone was still inside.
Sounds like the police got a little too excited, but the stupid people here are clearly the ones in the house... (link to story)
Blog comments - I almost never got comments on this blog (no surprise, not too many people read it, and even fewer have accounts), but most of them recently have been spam. I delete them as soon as I see them, but it is still annoying. Now only people set as friends can post comments, and I've never even done the friends thing before, so I'm not expecting a lot of comments...
My Renn Fayre fireworks show is in less than a month and everything is on track. The show is done, product is pulled and cued, and permits are almost finalized. I should be getting a video with my camera, plus a high quality video that I will post about when I get it...
Fireworks season is just getting started, so time to get excited! Next weekend I'll hopefully be helping shoot a demo up at Muckleshoot, so look for a post on that soon.
