Fireworks!
Some years ago, I met a family in San Francisco who had flown in for the Fourth of July celebration along the city's waterfront (it has since scaled down dramatically, but at that time, it was managed by The San Francisco Chronicle and was one of the largest Fourth of July displays in the United States). Each year, this family's vacation plans included a trip to one or another of the largest pyrotechnic displays in America. They said the most beautiful they had seen was in Denver, Colorado because there was snow on the ground. All of the bursts were amazingly reflected in the white powder. It sounded like a great thing to do with one's family. Spectacular pyrotechnic displays can be seen in various places in America on the Fourth of July and, of course, during Chinese New Year in Hong Kong—which are possibly the most impressive you'll ever see.
Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, is of course, huge . . . in part because fireworks started in the East. Shops and small restaurants close for three days and some for the week.
Visiting Hong Kong around this time is well worth it as you many waterfront hotels offer a direct view of one of the largest fireworks displays in the world.
As part of the team organizing 4th of July in San Francisco for The San Francisco Chronicle, I was flown to Hong Kong to see PyroSpectacular's Chinese New Year celebration in Hong Kong. A competitive bid from a new pyrotechnic company had been submitted and PyroSpectacular wanted to keep The Chronicle's business.
This was the year that Hong Kong would be turned back to China, so everything was impressive. At a cost of nearly $1 million, the display was amazing; the explosions were so massive that the steel door on one of the barges was bent.
Standing next to me on a balcony watching the fireworks was a member of a noted Philippine family in the munitions business. He explained that since his family wasn't involved in wars at the moment, they were thinking of going into the fireworks business. He also said his father wanted him to have an American education, that America accepts everybody, so he went to Stanford.
PyroSpectacular is one of the finest pyro companies in the world. They stage many of the largest exhibitions around the country, including San Francisco's Fourth of July (which used to be sponsored by The San Francisco Chronicle when the paper was owned by the deYoung-Thieriot family and shot from three different barges located on San Francisco Bay).
Fourth of July Fireworks Festivals and Parades in the U.S.
- Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
- Huntington Beach (California) Parade
- Honolulu Fireworks
- San Francisco (California) Festival and Fireworks along the Waterfront
- Los Angeles (California) Fireworks
- Dallas (Texas)
- Daytona Beach (Florida)
- Houston (Texas)
- Pensacola and Miami (Florida)
- New Orleans (Louisiana)
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude