Brocade crown diadems, hour glasses within rings and color-black-colors are some of the fireworks Mobilians can expect to see at the city's annual Fourth of July fireworks show, held this year at Battleship Memorial Park.
"The names and the fireworks themselves are complicated, but they'll look effortless," said Bruce Volensky, spokesman for Pyrotecnico, the company producing the show for the sixth year.
Register, city sponsor Monday night event at Battleship Park
Color-black-color shells are a new feature that his company is using for the first time this year, Volensky said. When these shells burst open, each individual star will burn a certain color and start traversing a pattern for one or two seconds, he said. Then, the stars will burn black for a couple seconds making them invisible in the night sky before again showing up in another color.
"This makes for a very interesting pattern in the sky," he said.
The 25-minute-long fireworks show, hosted by the Mobile Register and the city of Mobile, will begin at 9 p.m. Monday.
Monday night's other main event in Mobile is a "Cellular South Freedom at the Hank" celebration at Hank Aaron Stadium on Bolling Brothers Drive in west Mobile, starting at 5 p.m. with a "Thank the Troops" picnic in Gaslight Park at the stadium. Following that, the Mobile Police Department and Mobile Fire-Rescue Department will play a softball game to decide the "Mayor's Cup," and then the BayBears take on the Jacksonville Suns at 7:35 p.m., followed by a fireworks show.
At Battleship Park, fireworks fans should look for a new color that's been added to the show's repertoire this year, Volensky said. Lime green, a color very hard to make because of the difficulty in getting the chemicals involved in making it burn, will be seen for the first time at the Mobile show, he said.
Another new shell is called a brocade crown diadem, which will have a maximum effect at Monday night's show if there is little wind, Volensky said. When the shell bursts, it will form its pattern and then the stars will drizzle down toward the ground. Volensky said that in a dry night with no wind, the stars could burn for up to four seconds.
Unlike rings within rings or hourglasses within rings -- the name implies the design -- not all of the shells form patterns when they burst, Volensky said. Waterfall shells burst and "the stars just dump into the sky and fall to the ground, it doesn't have a pattern," he said.
The event was moved to Battleship Park because construction on a proposed maritime museum at Cooper Riverside Park would leave no room for the show. The event could be moved back to the park when the museum is completed.
Two bands will also be playing at Monday's event. The Navy Show Band South, which specializes in big band music of the World War II era, will play an hour-long set beginning at 6 p.m. The Mobile Pops will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will ac company the 9 p.m. fireworks display.
Volensky said people watching the show can expect to see a high quality show with fireworks being shot from several different locations at the park.
"We'll use as much of the new products as we have available for the Mobile show," he said.
Pyrotecnico representatives travel to China, a major fireworks manufacturer, each year and examine new products and effects, Volensky said. If the products meet the company's quality and safety standards, they will be added to the events it produces.
"They have to look good and work every time," he said. "We don't want anything that's inconsistent because we want our shows to be good, every time."
By MEGAN NICHOLS
Source: www.al.com
"The names and the fireworks themselves are complicated, but they'll look effortless," said Bruce Volensky, spokesman for Pyrotecnico, the company producing the show for the sixth year.
Register, city sponsor Monday night event at Battleship Park
Color-black-color shells are a new feature that his company is using for the first time this year, Volensky said. When these shells burst open, each individual star will burn a certain color and start traversing a pattern for one or two seconds, he said. Then, the stars will burn black for a couple seconds making them invisible in the night sky before again showing up in another color.
"This makes for a very interesting pattern in the sky," he said.
The 25-minute-long fireworks show, hosted by the Mobile Register and the city of Mobile, will begin at 9 p.m. Monday.
Monday night's other main event in Mobile is a "Cellular South Freedom at the Hank" celebration at Hank Aaron Stadium on Bolling Brothers Drive in west Mobile, starting at 5 p.m. with a "Thank the Troops" picnic in Gaslight Park at the stadium. Following that, the Mobile Police Department and Mobile Fire-Rescue Department will play a softball game to decide the "Mayor's Cup," and then the BayBears take on the Jacksonville Suns at 7:35 p.m., followed by a fireworks show.
At Battleship Park, fireworks fans should look for a new color that's been added to the show's repertoire this year, Volensky said. Lime green, a color very hard to make because of the difficulty in getting the chemicals involved in making it burn, will be seen for the first time at the Mobile show, he said.
Another new shell is called a brocade crown diadem, which will have a maximum effect at Monday night's show if there is little wind, Volensky said. When the shell bursts, it will form its pattern and then the stars will drizzle down toward the ground. Volensky said that in a dry night with no wind, the stars could burn for up to four seconds.
Unlike rings within rings or hourglasses within rings -- the name implies the design -- not all of the shells form patterns when they burst, Volensky said. Waterfall shells burst and "the stars just dump into the sky and fall to the ground, it doesn't have a pattern," he said.
The event was moved to Battleship Park because construction on a proposed maritime museum at Cooper Riverside Park would leave no room for the show. The event could be moved back to the park when the museum is completed.
Two bands will also be playing at Monday's event. The Navy Show Band South, which specializes in big band music of the World War II era, will play an hour-long set beginning at 6 p.m. The Mobile Pops will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will ac company the 9 p.m. fireworks display.
Volensky said people watching the show can expect to see a high quality show with fireworks being shot from several different locations at the park.
"We'll use as much of the new products as we have available for the Mobile show," he said.
Pyrotecnico representatives travel to China, a major fireworks manufacturer, each year and examine new products and effects, Volensky said. If the products meet the company's quality and safety standards, they will be added to the events it produces.
"They have to look good and work every time," he said. "We don't want anything that's inconsistent because we want our shows to be good, every time."
By MEGAN NICHOLS
Source: www.al.com
