The July 4 sky will be exploding by design
By Dave Schwab Most think of pyrotechnics as a display. For fireworks show designer Sam Bruggema of Pyro Spectaculars Inc., which handles many […]
Rose Bowl’s July Fourth Fireworks Show to Feature “Act” Beaming in From 365 Million Miles Away
Bill Nye “The Science Guy” Invites You to AmericaFest on July 4. 2016 from Pasadena Now on Vimeo. Just minutes before the […]
America’s best Fourth of July fireworks displays
By Katie Jackson, Published June 30, 2016, FoxNews.com It just wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without a well-received rockets’ red glare. […]
Party like it’s … the 4th of July
The highly anticipated fireworks show in El Dorado Hills is back. On Sunday, July 3, from 7 to 11 p.m., ring in […]
Rose Bowl Will Host Largest 4th of July Fireworks Show in Southern California
AmericaFest’s™ Thousands of Firework Effects with More than a Ton of Explosives Make for the Largest Pyrotechnics Event in Southland and Rose […]
REDLANDS: Fireworks show keeps getting hotter
Link to Original Article — http://goo.gl/NkRUwc In the past 40 years, Redlands’ annual fireworks show has gone from a last-minute, low-budget, anything-goes kind of […]
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Premiere
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood celebrated its Grand Opening with a star-studded red carpet event, including a […]
Spectacular Fireworks Light Up Super Bowl City Opening Night
Original Article -- http://goo.gl/Evn6LM
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Opening night of Super Bowl City in San Francisco kicked off with a bang.
The Macy's fireworks display dazzled thousands of fans who turned out at Justin Herman Plaza.
The theme of the twelve-and-a-half minute show was blue and gold, representing the golden fiftieth anniversary of the NFL's Super Bowl Games.
Some 15,000 aerial shells were set off on barges on the bay over a crystal-perfect night sky.
Gary Souza has designed the Macy's fireworks show for 30 years.
"There's always a little passion I put into it," says Souza.
As for Souza's fireworks finale?
"It's that ooh and aah moment, when people lose everything... no verbalization, just awe."
Prep underway for New Year’s at the Needle fireworks
SEATTLE, Wash. — If you looked up at the Space Needle Wednesday, you may have seen three tiny figures moving around on […]
Finale Revealed for Space Needle New Year’s Eve Fireworks
Original Article -- http://komonews.com/news/local/finale-revealed-for-space-needle-new-years-eve-fireworks
Security is tight across much of the country this New Year's Eve. Seattle Police say they do expect to be very busy, though they have "no upgraded security threat level" and "have no concerns about unplanned events." The department did tell KOMO News that many officers will be working on their days off and that they will be working on large events in the city, plus traffic concerns and looking for impaired drivers.
In advance of the evening festivities and midnight celebration, KOMO took a tour of the preparations at the Space Needle, to give you a sneak peak at the new fireworks show for this year.
For the first time, they'll be shooting fireworks off the very top of the needle, where all this month, we've been enjoying the lit tree.
"This year we're shooting literally from 84 different locations on the space needle. And it's technically pretty challenging for us each year," said Ian Gilfillan, Executive Vice President of Pyro Spectaculars. They've been putting this show on for more than 20 years now.
It took a full crew of 12 strong guys, to move it all in place. One by one, they hoisted blocks of wood, filled with pyro-technic tubes up narrow ladders to the top of the needle.
Of course, the planning for this fireworks extravaganza started months ago, with the bed of music that will be used.
The show is completely choreographed to music chosen by KEXP, starting at 11:59.
"The opening sequence is kind of a space, NASA kind of countdown sequence," said Gilfillan.
And with the stroke of midnight, he said the music lets lose for 7 solid minutes of spectacular pyrotechnics, the grand finale; a local tune from a familiar name. Gilfillan revealed the final tune will be 'Downtown' from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
New kind of fireworks show for Poinsettia Bowl
Original Article — http://goo.gl/sOcqVE SAN DIEGO — James Souza, the man behind some of the nation’s biggest fireworks displays, has only one way […]
RIVERSIDE: Festival of Lights thrills crowds at Mission Inn
Original Article -- http://www.pe.com/articles/ceremony-787708-night-hotel.html
Thousands of festive revelers and millions of lights turned the historic Mission Inn Hotel and Spa into a holiday wonderland during Friday night's 23rd annual switch-on ceremony, a glittery kickoff to the region's holiday season.
The ceremony, which included a fireworks display and a performance by the Riverside City College Marching Tigers, has turned into a national draw in recent years due to exposure on TV shows and in USA Today. And it's become a highly sought-after backdrop for selfie-seeking locals.
"Now with social media, it's gone crazy," said Monica Puga, who took in the spectacle with her husband, Juan, and 3-year-old son, Andrew.
Andrew had one of the best seats in the house, taking in the scene from his dad's shoulders. The Pugas, who hail from Moreno Valley, have been going to the ceremony for about 10 years.
They make a grand night of it, indulging in kettle corn, doughnuts and funnel cakes. When the crowd thins out, the Pugas make their way to the front of the historic structure to take in the awe-inspiring sight of a building bathed in the glow of almost 5 million lights.
"It's the start to the holidays," she said. "You start thinking about the lights you're going to put up at your home."
Oliver Unaka, the inn's public relations director, said the crowd for Friday night's extravaganza was estimated at 78,000.
Included in the number are international and national guests who have made a visit to the inn part of their holiday traditions and Southern Californians who drive in for the ceremony.
Unaka said the festival, which runs through Jan. 6, has helped boost the occupancy rate at the hotel to around 96 percent, up from 80 percent to 85 percent five years ago.
Some of the guests stay for a week at a time, he said, a fact that would bring a smile to the face of the hotel's founder, Frank Augustus Miller, who packed the hotel with diversions to occupy a visitor during long vacations.
"This is our busiest time of the year," Unaka said.
In response to the recent attacks in Paris, organizers bolstered the private security presence at the festival and the Riverside Police Department, apparently at the behest of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, deflected questions ahead of the event about the exact time the lights were scheduled to be switched-on and how many people were expected to attend.
At last year's ceremony, a group of protesters attempted to disrupt the festivities by blocking traffic at Main Street and Mission Inn Avenue. The scene turned chaotic when a motorist trying to weave through the crowd hit some of the protesters.
There were no similar incidents this year.