2009 Post Display News
07-07-2009
 What an amazing fireworks display Page/Lake Powell was treated to this year! With over 1250 shells it was the largest show ever produced and went off as smoothly as it came together. Thanks to my expert crew and everyone who helped, the show couldn't have been more perfect. Complete Recap being prepared right now...stay tuned.
2009 Pre Display News
06-30-2009
Crew Selection Finalized, Display Finalized, All Plans Finalized. We are completely ready for the 4th and everything is in order. My "Chicago Crew" arrived at Lake Powell today for 4 glorious days on their houseboat. The "Prescott Crew" will arrive at the lake on Thursday morning and join them on the houseboat for 1 1/2 days of fun and pre show relaxation. Get ready Page/Lake Powell, we are geared up and excited to deliver another world class fireworks display for you! Follow the latest Updates on Facebook while we're on the lake.
06-28-2009
Crew Emails sent out this morning. If you did not receive an email please contact me immediately.
2009 Crew Selections:
Mike Kreidel/head pyro,producer - Ryan Hertz/lead pyro,shooter - Dan Noonan/asst pyro,shooter - Brian Corbett/shooter - Bill Beard/loader - John Borhek/loader - James Doyle/loader - Kyle Walker/loader - Jim "wagonburner" Davis/loader - Steve Banke/loader - Sherwood Cornforth/loader - Lorin McLain/loader - Anton Teschner/loader - Brenton West/loader - Rob Nelson/loader - Jeremy Hart/loader - Jesse Warnock/loader - Roger Pallanes/loader - Gabriel Garcia/loader - Brandon Rudisill/loader - Maggie Cummins/loader - Mike Madsen/loader - Jerry Halfmann/photographer
06-07-2009
It's that time of year, the annual Page/Lake Powell Fireworks Spectacular is under a month away and we are excited! Looks like this years show will be equal to last years show with a few changes. Federal Regulations have limited our use of "large diameter shells", most notably the 10" shells that we shoot. We will still shoot a few 10" shells this year but have been forced to switch to 8" shells for the large shells that happen during the main show. There will be 2 - 10" shells to close the Grand Finale and those might be the last two shells of that size to be fired at this display for some time to come. No big deal, the 8" shells are great and produce nearly the same effect.
There will be a new "rhythm" to the show this year because our good friend Dan Noonan is back! Dan was in China working for the Olympics last year and was not able to make the show. He has been involved with this display for over 8 years and we are glad to have him back.
I have made a few design changes to the display as well but you'll have to show up and see what they are.
2008 Post Display News
07-08-08
Wow, what a show! Everything worked out perfectly this year. We were able to start setting up around 4:30, which gave us a fair amount of time to relax before the show. It was windy all afternoon and rain looked very promising but the rain stayed away and the wind blew right up until showtime, then nearly stopped. The fireworks gods were watching over us for sure. We were set to shoot the largest fireworks display Page, Arizona and Lake Powell have ever seen.
 The Show - (* Opening Video *) We opened the show with a 100 shot basin, then fired 20 shells ranging from 3"-5" just before the basin quit. It was a great opening, full of noise and color. Ryan "fused" the opening this year...and it worked! Ryan Hertz, lead pyro and shooter, has been a member of this crew for the past 6 years.
After the opening, the show went on just like past years shows except we had a new shooter this year, Brian Corbett. He took the position that was held by my other veteran shooter, Dan Noonan, who is in China cooking for the Olympic team. The shell selection this year was great. Many new shells of all shapes and colors. Some really cool new effects that I'm sure the crowd loved. The "main body" of the show consisted of around 550 shells ranging from 3"-10" in diameter. In the middle of the main show we fired a specialty basin that was 100 shots of golden palms, fanning side to side across the sky.
There were only 2 misfires this year. The very first 10" shell that we shot exploded right in the mortar ( *10" Misfire Video* ). Not a pretty sight but a spectacular one none the less. I will never be comfortable with that happening but I am almost used to it by now. Misfires are part of any fireworks display. They always happen but if you take the proper safety steps and plan for them, then they are usually harmless.
There were a few slower than normal parts of the show. This I believe was due to "shell-shock" by a few of the newbie loaders. You can't explain to someone what it's really like on the firing line and when they finally experience it, it can be overwhelming at first. Overall the newbies did a fine job, as did the entire crew. (* Crew Member Pics *)
The Finale - This years Grande Finale was the biggest ever. We fired over 500 shells in just about 90 seconds. 300 of those shells were 1.5" Titanium Salutes, 100 were 1.5" Specialty Comet Shells, and around 107 large shells ranging from 3" - 10". The finale was loud, bright, colorful, choreographed and finished with a huge barrage of large diameter shells, ending with 3 - 10" booms! There are numerous videos of this years finale on this page as well as on the 2008 Finale Videos page. In a word, the Page/Lake Powell Fireworks Finale was spectacular!
I found a video on YouTube of the finale. Looks like it was shot from the Basha's parking lot. It's small but shows the finale from a view that we never get to see ( FOH Finale Video ).
( Multi-View Finale Firing Line & Finale FOH )
New Images Here | New Videos Here
more post display news soon...
2008 Pre Display News
05-20-08
Fireworks are ordered! More New Products this year. 2-150 Shot Basins and 3-100 Shot Basins! Total of 1228 Shells in this years show...wow!
(re: last years show featured just over 700 shells)
05-24-08
Preparation begins for the 2008 display. Site plans are drawn, new finale setup is layed out. Huge Finale this year. over 700 shells !!
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The main firing line will have 35 mortars ranging from 3" to 10" in diameter. These are the steel mortars that get reloaded during the show and are buried in the ground.
This years finale (507 shells) will blow away all other years by 400 shells! Again this year the finale will become the highlight. Starting the finale are 2 - 150 shot Titanium Salute Basins and a 100 shot - Poison Spider Basin. The 2 - 150 Shot Salute Basins and a new 100 Shot Spider Basin all at the same time should last approx 40 seconds and launch 400 1.5" shells! Then, instead of going in a progressive sequence from 3"-10", I have decided to alternate the 3" & 4" mortar racks. This should produce a "multi-layered" effect in the sky, with the 3" shells exploding lower than the 4" shells at the same time. Then the finale works it's way into the 5", 6" and 10" shells to close it out.
2008 Crew Selections: (* Crew Member Pics *) Mike Kreidel/head pyro,producer - Ryan Hertz/lead pyro,shooter - Brian Corbett/shooter - Bill Beard/loader - John Borhek/loader - James Doyle/loader - Kyle Walker/loader - Chris Moore/loader - Jim "wagonburner" Davis/loader - Steve Banke/loader - Sherwood Cornforth/loader - Troy Cornforth/loader - Jeff Skinner/loader - Lorin McLain/loader - Anton Teschner/loader - Brian Groves/loader - Dan Reno/loader - Tom Reynolds/loader - Tony Swartz/loader - Rob Nelson/loader
** Dan Noonan, my other main shooter for the past 4-5 years is working in Beijing, China for the summer Olympics and will not be able to shoot this year. He is a world class Chef and his talents are needed there to feed the athletes. Have fun Dan, we will miss you this year!
** Brian Corbett is taking over the #2 shooter spot this year.
2008 Crew is all set. A few more people than usual this year because I plan on having some "can tenders" to mind the storage can lids.
Show is 1 week away and everything seems to be in order.
2007 News
07-02-07
Ryan arrives from Chicago (via Vegas to Flagstaff) with his boss Steve Banke, who will be a loader this year. Ryan has been my main shooter for 4 years now. Dan Noonan is my other main shooter.
07-03-07
Mortar Day... arrived in Page at 2:00 to bury mortars in the 106 degree heat, in the desert! Not too fun after a huge night in Flagstaff partying for Johnny B's birthday. These steel mortars are very heavy in the sun. I bet those 10" mortars weigh at least 150lbs each. Anyhow, it was hotter than hell and this is always the worst part of the job. But it usually only lasts about 1 1/2 hours, and today was no exception. Just too hot to do all the final "dig-ins" (shoveling around the mortars). We just setup and got out of there.
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07-04-07 - Pre Show
July 4th !! The day has arrived, my favorite day of the year.
All day off to relax and that's what we did. Met James and John (with their trucks) at 4:45 to go to pickup the fireworks. It used to be a 1 truck job, not anymore. More product, more stuff, more, more, more.
Everyone is to meet at 5:15 and then down to the site at 5:30. Everyone shows up and we head down to the launch site. Trucks get unloaded and shells unpacked into their respective holding cans. Meanwhile I am "fusing up" the finale with the help of a few crew members (Dan, Athena, Jim). This years finale is entirely new. Not only is the design different but there is a new product starting it off. The 150 shot Salute Cake will begin the finale and it should last approx 25 seconds. The cake is fused right into a length of fuse leading to the main finale mortars. Once the cake finishes it will light the lead fuse for the main finale.
( In the lower left photo you can see the fuse running away to the right from the main finale )
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July 4th - Post Show
Fantastic show! From the opening 20 shell salute, to the "new" extended finale (which gets reviewed below), it just rocked!
Opening: Even though I give the order to fire (@9:00pm), the opening shocked me. I expected a nice easy fire sequence, similiar to last year, but it was much faster. The "quickmatch" (long length of continuos fuse) was much faster burning this year than normal. It's a very violent burning substance anyhow, but it was especially fast this year. Anyhow, my "20 shell opening" went off like a machine gun ( Watch The Video ). Scared the shit out of me!
The body of the show was perfect for the most part. Great rhythm, constant firing (thanks to my shooters, Ryan Hertz and Dan Noonan) and some interesting combinations of shells. There were obviously many new shell patterns this year. Luckily from my seat I can watch most of the show...unlike my crew (sorry guys). There was only one stop in the show, we had a faulty road flare at around 16 minutes in. Took us about 20 seconds to sort it out.
Like most firework displays, there were a few "minor" issues (as I like to call them). I don't get rattled very easily by most fireworks that don't operate as they should. But when the largest shells that we shoot, the 10" shells, don't fire correctly, we have an issue. We had 3 - 10" shells go off right in the mortars! Thank God for that thick steel pipe because those were serious and very scary. As of this writting I do not know the cause of the "flowerpot" (shell blows in the tube). Unfortunately, after the third one blew in the mortar, I stopped shooting them. So we only shot 9 - 10" shells this year. Three of which were fused into the end of the finale and went off perfectly.
Main Finale: The main finale went off like a machine gun! 140+ shells in about 20 seconds. What a sight. Ending with 3 - 10" shells covering the sky from over 1200 feet!. ( Watch The Video )
**Make sure to check out the New Videos Page for all the latest videos.
My 2007 Crew: Ryan Hertz - shooter, Dan Noonan - shooter, Bill Beard - loader, John Borhek - loader, James Doyle - loader, Brian Corbett - loader, Bryan Tiller - loader, Chris Moore - loader, Athena - loader, Jim Davis (Burner) - loader, Steve Banke - loader, Troy Cornforth - loader, Woody Cornforth - loader, Jeff Skinner - loader
Thank You Crew !
Without my crew there would be no display. By the grace of God, I always find 11 guys willing to help me blow the place up. Thank You Crew! Great work!
Mike Kreidel - Head Pyro
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