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.
Get Excited!! Riverside Festival of Lights 2015
Get Excited! The Riverside Festival of Lights is coming up! The holidays are here!
Now in its 22nd year, Festival of Lights a beloved Southern California tradition and a not-to-be-missed holiday extravaganza, Festival of Lights commences with a celebratory "flipping of the switch" ceremony -- in which the castle-like, historic hotel is instantly illuminated with nearly 4 million holiday lights followed by a full fireworks display -- and continues through January 4, 2014.
Fireworks by: Pyro Spectaculars by Souza (http://pyrospec.com/)
Location: Mission Inn Hotel & Spa (http://missioninn.com/)
Address: Main Street Riverside between University & Mission Inn Avenues Riverside, CA 92501
Date & Time: Friday, November 27th, 2015 at 5PM PT
Check out some highlights prior years! We very much hope to see you at this year's event!
Sixth Street Viaduct Spectacular
Check out some amazing photos from our recent show to celebrate the Sixth Street Viaduct. A huge thank you to Mike Tockstein […]
Sacramento Hometown Heroes Parade
Congratulations to our hometown heroes! Thank you for your service to our country. Your commitment and hard work are appreciated by all of us! It was a pleasure to help you celebrate your special day.
For more information check out, https://goo.gl/zvMtDk.
Video from the 2015 KGB Sky Show
Check out the spectacularly beautiful 40th Annual KGB Skyshow. The show took place on Saturday, September 5th at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Thank you to our hardworking crew and spectacular sponsors for a fantastic show!
TriMet’s Tilikum Crossing Bridge showcases fireworks for Orange line party
TriMet threw a picnic party for friends of the new MAX Portland-Milwaukie Orange line and used the Tilikum Crossing Bridge as the launching pad for a fireworks finale over the Willamette River Saturday night.
The theme of the party was orange: beer with orange in it, ice cream with orange in and a fireball sunset that turned the sky orange before the fireworks display took command just after dark.
The pyrotechnic display took full advantage of the mass transit and pedestrian bridge's architecture, at time mimicking the pattern of the white support cables or cross-weaving patterns against them.
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The newest light rail line opens to the public on Sept. 12.
--Randy L. Rasmussen
rrasmussen@oregonian.com
503 896 9181
@randyras01
TriMet throws party, fireworks show to celebrate Orange Line
Original Posting -- http://goo.gl/eD8RwW
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Weeks before its official opening, TriMet unleased a spectacular fireworks display over the Tilikum Crossing bridge Saturday night.
The bridge — the first new bridge over the Willamette in more than 40 years — will be a transit and bike bridge used as the Orange Line when it opens September 12.
Despite the skies over Portland being filled by smoke from Oregon wildfires, the fireworks lit up the sky and brought thousands downtown.
Fireworks add zing to Tilikum Crossing celebration
Orginal Article -- http://goo.gl/0erGLh
Smoky skies and breezy weather didn’t deter thousands from heading to the South Waterfront for TriMet’s Orange Line Fireworks Spectacular Saturday evening.
It was expected to be the one and only time that fireworks are launched from the Portland’s newest bridge.
Portlander Rich Bader envisioned the show more than a year and a half ago.
“This bridge is iconic of the 21st century of Portland,” Bader says. The show was designed to create memories for Portland, he says, “the memories that they will carry forever.”
Kiewit, the construction company responsible for building the Tilikum Crossing, sponsored the event.
Tasked with converting Bader’s vision into the 12-minute show was the responsibility of Pyro Spectaculars of Rialto, Calif. It wasn’t the company's first show on a bridge, having been responsible for the 50th anniversary shows on both the Golden Gate and the Oakland Bay bridges.
Thousands of explosive devices were used in the computer-controlled show. It was timed to music broadcast around the show site by All Classical Portland (FM 89.9). Fireworks ranged “from classical aerial up to 500 feet above the bridge deck to theatrical, instantaneous devices that can create movement across the bridge,” says Ian Gilifillan, Pyro Spectaculars executive vice president.
More than 1,300 firing commands drove the show, each firing between one and 100 devices.
The show was broken up into five scenes, according to Bader. It opened with an homage to native Americans, followed by images of movement to symbolize transportation. The history of the MAX light-rail systems was shown in a series of different color themes, starting with the Blue line.
Introduction of the Orange line put a crescendo on the MAX scene, but it was topped by a spectacular finale, synchronized to celebratory western music.
Different kind of light show
Fireworks were only one part of the evening’s festivities. An orange-themed picnic at Zidell Yards started off the hazy night on the waterfront, with Tilikum Crossing-themed beer from Bridgeport Brewing and Salt & Straw’s special edition ice cream on hand.
The TriMet Orange Line and Portland Streetcar Loop open on Sept. 12. Orange Line MAX follows a 7.3-mile alignment through SE Portland and downtown Milwaukie to north Clackamas County. The $1.49 billion project was built on time and under budget, according to the agency.
All transit throughout the region, including MAX, bus, streetcar and the Portland Aerial Tram will be free on the opening weekend.
If you missed the fireworks, you can see a different light show on the bridge starting Sept. 10. The Tilikum Crossing’s aesthetic lighting system will be switched on for the first time that night. Lighting patterns and colors will be based on the height, speed and temperature of the Willamette River below.
TriMet touts that the fireworks show was one of the largest ever staged in Portland, and it will be once in a lifetime due to the 24/7 operations of the bridge starting Sept. 12. However, Gilifillan says not to talk too soon.
“We love anniversaries,” he says.
Spectacular View of the 2015 Special Olympics Opening Ceremony
Check out this spectacular view of the 2015 Special Olympics Opening Ceremony! On Saturday, July 25th, Pyro Spectaculars by Souza participated in the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics World Games. The ceremony took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum. The ceremony was attended by thousands of athletes, dignitaries and fans from all around the world. The ceremony concluded with a spectacular fireworks show that lit up the sky to the delight of all the spectators.
Photography by Jim Souza