Fireworks Display on Perth International Arts Festival

Display location:Supreme Court Gardens
City:Perth
Country:Australia
Date:Feb.5

Details: Flying above people's heads, being suspended from spinning wheels and spraying a 44-gallon drum of water was all in a night's work for Perth International Arts Festival artists.

PIAF's opening night had audiences on their toes, quite literally, when large metal contraptions parted the huge crowd like the Red Sea.

And if this is just the start, then Perth is in for an unbelievable three-and-a-half weeks.

The team from La Fura Dels Baus performed their stunning show against the backdrop of the city skyline at Supreme Court Gardens on Friday night.

Early in the show, a giant crane dropped a winged man atop a large piece of machinery that worked its way around like two horses and a chariot. A large spinning wheel then hovered over the crowd, with seven performers inside letting loose, running around like mice in a wheel.

At another point a dancing woman was suspended over the stage trapped inside a large bubble, which filled with foam as she danced. Just as it looked like she would drown inside, the foam was released and sprayed over the stage while a tribal-style singing and dancing performance went on underneath.

The highlight was the finale, when figures in white jumpsuits were hoisted up by the crane. They created a checker-board style formation of seven people across and eight people down, each moving in sync. As unexpected fireworks exploded, the hooded acrobats stood still and held hands to make a perfect cross-thatched board, as a light show danced over their bodies.

Stunned gatherers left the gardens spellbound by the show created especially for the festival.

Part of the crowd then moved over to the Esplanade to the Becks Music Box for the official after party and opening night of the venue.

The VIPs entered a space that was filled with a fashionable vibe and ambience. The seemingly modest area expanded as guests walked through to the auditorium to be welcomed by lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi, Festival artistic director Shelagh Magadza and general manager Julian Donaldson.

Mrs Scaffidi looked ravishing in black and she officially opened the festival.

Magadza then welcomed special guest Kamy Thompson, who entertained the crowd for the remainder of the night. Thompson, a solo artist from London, played a relaxed, acoustic set and playfully interacted with the crowd.

Becks Music Box is undoubtedly one of the best venues Perth has to offer. With many shows already sold out, it would be a real shame to miss out on experiencing one of its festival shows.

Spotted at the after party were many of the artists who will be performing in the Festival for the next three-and-a-half weeks, including the team from La Fura Dels Baus who mingled with the delighted crowd after the night's spectacular opening celebration

HCM City to greet Lunar New Year with seven fireworks shows

Display location: Ho Chi Minh
City: Ho Chi Minh
Country:Viet Nam
Date: Lunar New Year’s Eve.

Details: VietNamNet Bridge – Fireworks will be set off at seven locations around the city and broadcast live on Ho Chi Minh Television at midnight on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

The locations selected for the 15 minute fireworks displays are: Thu Thiem Bridge in District 2; Go Vap District Cultural Park; Binh Phu Park in District 6; North Western Tan Binh Industrial Zone in Binh Tan District; National Historical- Cultural Park in District 9; Ben Duoc Revolutionary Martyr Memorial Monument in Cu Chi District; and the football stadium in Can Gio District.

Other New Year events include a concert on Le Duan Street which will also be broadcast live on Ho Chi Minh Television’s HTV9 channel on the evening of the last day of the lunar year.

Many art programs by HCMC Movie and Performance Organization Center will take place at: the National Historical- Cultural Park in District 9; Ben Duoc Revolutionary Martyr Memorial Monument in Cu Chi District; Gia Dinh Park 2 in Go Vap District; Cultural Center in District 12; Thoi Tam Thon Ward in Hoc Mon District; Thai My Ward in Cu Chi District; and Can Thanh town in Can Gio District.

The programs will run from lunar December 30 to the third day of the Lunar New Year (February 14-17).

Winterlude to begin tonight with fireworks display

Display location:Major's Hill Park
City:Ottawa
Country:Canada
Date:Feb.5th. 8:50 p.m.

Details: The 32nd annual Winterlude Festival kicks off with a bang tonight with a variety performances, activities and a musical fireworks extravaganza.

The American Express Winterlude Opening will take place at the Canadian Museum of Civilization with performances by The National Parcs, DJ Misstress Barbara, and Saltarello.

The celebration will also feature Glacialis, a performance by Jesse Stewart who will play instruments built out of ice, Nite-Lite, a large scale installation by artist Alexandra (Alita) González-Vucina based on the popular toy Lite-Brite, and H2Orchestra, a demonstration and performance of the world's first and only water-based musical instrument, the hydraulophone.

Activities will also take place at Major's Hill Park, including extreme sports demonstrations by the Flying Canucks and various arts and crafts.

The musical fireworks show can be seen at 8:50 p.m. from Major's Hill Park, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park.

There have been several changes to the lineup for this year's Winterlude celebration, including the cancellation of the Snowbowl concert series in order to work towards a more carbon-neutral festival by 2012.


Winterlude opening night festivities will take place tonight from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Major's Hill Park.

The Winterlude Festival will run from February 5 to 21.

Boy Scouts mark 100th: Celebration features fireworks show, music, cake and sparklers

Display location:Cohen Stadium
City:EL PASO
State:Texas
Date: 7 p.m. Monday.
Show contact:772-2292
Event website:www.yuccabsa.org.

EL PASO -- More than 8,400 local Boy Scouts are ready to party. And they've got a lot to celebrate.

The Boy Scouts of America is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. That calls for some fireworks.

El Paso's Yucca Council on Monday will have a family fun event, including a 20-minute fireworks show, at Cohen Stadium.

"We choose to celebrate the 100 years of Scouting the 'American way,' " said John Thilman, Yucca Council executive board vice president and 37-year Boy Scouts of America member. "That includes birthday cake, candles, and -- like any New Year's Eve program -- fireworks, signifying a new century of continuing the Scouting values that the Scouting program was founded on back in 1910."

The Yucca Council also will host its annual Scouting for Food Program food drive, today through Feb. 14. The group's goal this year is to raise at least 75,000 pounds of food for at least 32 area food banks, Thilman said. Last year, local Boy Scouts raised more than 40,000 pounds of food during the annual drive and distributed it throughout the council's territory, which includes El Paso (and outlying areas as far east as Van Horn), Silver City, Deming, Las Cruces, Alamogordo and White Sands.

Lowell Stokes, a former Scout and current den leader, said Scouting has become a family affair. His wife, Christina Stokes, is a Cub Scout pack trainer and his son, Andrew, is a Cub Scout.

"I think (being involved in Scouts has) made all of us get out together and do activities that we probably wouldn't have done otherwise," Lowell Stokes said. "We were so excited this year. Normally we wouldn't go, but we decided to make the (National Scout) Jamboree our family vacation."
Though not yet a full-fledged Boy Scout, Andrew Stokes, 10, already loves the organization.

"It feels good to know that people have been enjoying this for over a few decades and that it also helps a lot of people who don't have very much and the troops who are fighting for our country," Andrew said.

Besides the fun and adventure of Scouting, Lowell Stokes said being involved has also given him a positive outlook.

"It has made me more of an optimist," he said. "I've met so many people that are just really nice people. You read the paper from day to day and get discouraged with society. And then you get in and you meet so many nice people; it's refreshing."

After nine years of volunteering within the group, Tami Gandt, a mother with three Scouts ages 12 to 18, said she also has enjoyed the camaraderie.

"I have met a lot of people that I never would have met before, and there are a lot of nice, good people," Gandt said. "I've also been able to expand my own leadership capabilities as I've done different volunteer jobs."

And the Scouts aren't just for boys anymore. The Scouts' Venturing program is for young adult boys and girls and expands the group's mission on leadership, adventure and hobbies as youth mature.

Gandt's daughter, Malia Gandt, a 16-year-old Venturing Scout and junior at Coronado High School, said the organization offers more than some might realize.

"I think it's really cool, because I'm, in a way, carrying on a legacy," Malia said. "I like being a part of this organization É. The Boy Scouts represent more than what people think and they shouldn't stereotype them. It's an important way for the community to grow and expand to become a community of one."

Jacqueline Armendariz may be reached at jarmendariz@elpasotimes.com; 546-6164.

Make plans


What: Boy Scouts of America 100-year anniversary celebration.

When: Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks start at 7 p.m. Monday.

Where: Cohen Stadium.

How much: Free.

Information: 772-2292 or www.yuccabsa.org.

Scouting programs

Cub Scouts: This is the first level of the Scouts, for boys in first through fifth grades.

Boy Scouts: This is for boys who have earned an Arrow of Light Award and are at least 10 years old or have completed the fifth grade, but not yet 18 years old. The organization sets out to achieve the program's objectives of developing character, citizenship and personal fitness.

Venture: This is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 (and have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years of age. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.
Source: Boy Scouts of America, www.Scouting.org

By the numbers

One hundred years of service.

23 million members worldwide; 8,400 in El Paso.

1.2 million national volunteers.

More than 35 million service hours worldwide in 2008.

Fireworks Display in February at Nationals Park

Display location:Nationals Park
City:Washington
State:D.C.
Date:Feb.3. Wednesday evening

Details: It was a dazzling display of fireworks against the night sky. Residents in Southeast looked out of their windows Wednesday evening to see what all the booming was about.

Much to their delight, right there in the middle of the winter, was a spectacular display of color lighting up D.C. For some it was quite unexpected and fun -- a great diversion from all those snow clean-up chores.

Our hometown team the Washington Nationals wanted to get it right. It was a fireworks test to determine the best spot to set off fireworks for next season's "Friday Night Fireworks" series.

You may remember last summer when fireworks were temporarily suspended at Nationals Park. Some ashes fell on fans. No one was hurt. But for Wednesday night's test, police and firefighters were on hand to monitor for safety.

Fireworks display on Valencia's biggest festival, Las Fallas

Display location:
City:Valencia
Country:Spain
Date:March 17

Details: Valencia's biggest festival, Las Fallas, offers a riotous week of fires, explosions and parades.

There's an expectant crackle, then the loudspeaker roars into life. "Senor pyrotecnic, pot comencar la "mascleta" (Mr. Pyrotechnic, you may commence the Mascleta!), says the macho Spanish male right into my ear.

Next thing I know, the sky is ablaze with thousands of fireworks head their way towards the heavens. Valencians, their heads wrapped in blue and white scarves, cheer so loudly that the grounds of Plaza de l'Ajuntament, home to Valencia's City Hall, every time a new pyrotechnic is fire up.

"You need strong pair of ears to enjoy a Spanish fun, don't you?" I say to fellow travel writer Kanchana, as we watching the young Spaniards braving the thunderous sounds to get as close as they can to the front line.

It's March 17, 2009 as we're in Valencia to celebrate Las Fallas, the coastal city's "Festival of Fire".


Las Fallas actually marks the end of long, gloomy winter in Europe. Every year, from March 15 to 19, the Valencians stacks hundreds of huge puppets, and place them in the middle of intersections in and around town.

The puppets stay there for the five days of celebration and parties, and then on the last night every piece will be burnt to ashes

"It's rather like a Pagan purification ceremony, as we move from winter into a warmer day," offers Eva Crespo, our guide. "Except we do it for fun."

For five days, the whole town goes crazy. Brass bands roam the city to wake Valencians from winter. Kids, clutching bags full of "Churros" (chocolate dough), tease passersby with firecrackers. Here and there, you catch a whiff of gun power mingled with white smoke from the pans of paella.

And, for five nights, the street musicians occupy the medieval square of Valencia, and entertain the night with different beats, varying from African drum to hiphop.

The highlight is the burning night. That takes place on March 19, when the 30metre giants at City Hall are engulfed. It begins with sixminute barrage of blasts and the thunder soon becomes addictive. You hope the next bang will be even louder, vibrating deeper.

It takes less than 10 minutes to burn it to the ground. The crowd disperses, leaving the embers behind, to join vibrant street parties elsewhere.

Try it if you happen to be in Europe next month.

Fireworks display in Charleston

Display location:Power Park
City:Charleston
State:West Virginia
Date:January 30

Details: CHARLESTON -- The Special Olympics annual Polar Plunge made quite a splash in Appalachian Power Park Saturday night. It was a snowy, wet and cold day all around but these fearless polar aquanauts took it to the extreme by splashing, swimming, sloshing, and wading through an above ground pool filled with thousands of gallons of freezing cold water.
Ninety-Five “plungers” took the plunge and raised $47,750, $30,000 of that came from Massey Energy, its employees and vendors. Massey employee Mark Clemons was shocked when they began totaling the donations, “I was floored I thought we would raise $6,000 or $7,000, enough to break the record but when we began adding it up I was stunned.”

That $30,000 not only set a record for the fundraising event, it also seemed to ward off the cold, “That water was cold but when I think about what we raised it really warms you up and gives you a good feeling. I was never cold the whole time just knowing what we raised for them.” Said Clemons after getting out of the pool and into some warm and dry clothes.

The Kanawha county Sheriff’s department was the top earning team.

Massey donated the fireworks display, also a first for the plunge.

New Crystal Cruise Culminates in Venetian Fireworks Show

Display location:San Marco Basin
City:Venice
Country:Italy
Date:on the third Saturday in July

Details: LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- This July, guests aboard Crystal Cruises' award-winning Crystal Serenity will be treated to one of Italy's most popular Venetian traditions. The ultra-luxury line is introducing a new cruise for 2010 that sails into Venice just in time for the annual Redentore Festival, a spectacle of brightly colored boats, gondola races, costumes and traditional feasts culminating with a magnificent fireworks display. The 12-day Mediterranean/Adriatic voyage, departing from Athens on July 7, marks Crystal Cruises' first ever itinerary with two shipboard overnights in Venice.

Dating back to the 16th century, the Redentore Festival commemorates the church of the same name, built on the island of Giudecca to mark the end of a plague that had stricken the city. Each year on the third Saturday in July, Venetians gather in San Marco Basin to celebrate, where they remain until late-night fireworks are set off in the bay of San Marco.

On board, guests can celebrate with an al fresco champagne reception, local entertainment, Venetian dinner and view of the fireworks from the spacious open deck.

"Venice is one of the most magical cities in the world; to be there during this festival adds yet another layer to the authentic experience that our guests seek and expect with a Crystal vacation," says Thomas Mazloum, senior vice president, hotel operations. "We're thrilled to be a part of the celebration and to offer our guests more time to immerse themselves in the culture."

In addition to dozens of shoreside activities offered in the seven ports included in the itinerary, guests can maximize their stay in Venice with extravagant experiences like exclusive cooking lessons and lunch with Countess Lelia Passi or a bird's eye view of Padua from a hot air balloon.

The voyage visits Athens, Santorini, Crete and Patmos, Greece; Kusadasi, Turkey; Kotor, Montenegro; Split, Croatia; and Venice, Italy. Two-for one cruise fares start at $6,465 per person, double occupancy. Complimentary air transportation from more than 20 North American gateways, including Business Class air for Penthouse guests, plus a $1,000 per person 'All Inclusive – As You Wish' shipboard credit are included.

For more information and Crystal reservations, contact a travel agent, call 888-799-4625, or visit www.crystalcruises.com.

CONTACT: Mimi Weisband or Julie Dibble (310) 203-4305, mediarelations@crystalcruises.com

Fireworks display on annual Spring Lake Heritage Festival

Display location:Mill Point Park
City:SPRING LAKE
State:NC
Date:10 p.m. Saturday, June 19

Details: SPRING LAKE — Where the Village of Spring Lake has had to cut back, other organizations have stepped forward to fund the fireworks that have become a highlight of the annual Spring Lake Heritage Festival.

In November 2009, village officials announced they would not be donating $900 to the event as part of an attempt to offset more than $21,000 in state revenue sharing cuts.

It was also unknown at the time if Huntington Bank would still be able to fund the bulk of the costs, as it had in the past.

But at Monday night's Village Council meeting, Huntington Bank Spring Lake branch Manager Kathleen Alward said the bank would be donating $6,000 towards the 2010 display.

Spring Lake Rotary Club member Doug Heins also announced the organization would donate $1,000 to make up for the village's part of the funding, said Village Manager Ryan Cotton.

Village President Bill Filber accepted the donations on behalf of council, Cotton said.

Council will continue to work with Wolverine Fireworks, as in the past, if they are still competitive with other fireworks businesses, Cotton said.

This year's Heritage Festival will be held June 15-20. The fireworks show is scheduled for 10 p.m. Saturday, June 19, from a barge off Mill Point Park.

Fireworks display on Blue Hills Observatory at 125

Display location:Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
City:Boston
State:Massachusetts
Date:Saturday evening,Feb.6th

Details: Canton — Fireworks lit the night sky Saturday as Blue Hill Observatory, the country's oldest weather and climate station, celebrated its 125th anniversary.

The castle-like structure atop Great Blue Hill has had a number of meteorological firsts, including soundings of the atmosphere with kites in the 1890s and the development of the radiosonde to send back upper-air weather data via balloon soundings from around the world, said Dr. William Minsinger, the observatory’s president and board chairman.

He said the first soundings of the atmosphere with kites in the 1890s and the development of the radiosonde to send back upper-air weather data via balloon soundings from around the world are among the observatory’s firsts. The radiosonde gathers information that is fed into computers aiding meteorologists with weather forecasts.

“Blue Hill Observatory continues to look forward to another 125 years of climate study – perhaps after 250 years of data we will more clearly understand all aspects of climate change,” Minsinger said. “We have put a very public face on the study of weather and climate.”

The fireworks display was the climax to a Saturday night reception. Open houses and tours were held through Monday.

The festivities began at Fuller Village on Brush Hill Road with a lunch featuring guest speakers Louis Uccellini and Paul Kocin, authors of the book ‘‘Northeast Snowstorms.’’ An evening reception and fireworks followed.

The summit of Great Blue Hill can be reached by hiking or biking from the Trailside Museum and Blue Hill Ski Area parking lots on Route 138.

Fireworks display to celebrate the Istanbul as the 2010 European Capital of Culture

Display location:Istanbul
City:Istanbul
State:Turkey
Date:Jan. 9 and 10

Details: It was a night of music, fireworks, and ethnic controversy. The weekend of Jan. 9 and 10 brought a glitzy opening ceremony to mark Istanbul as the 2010 European Capital of Culture.

Turkey has seized on a little-known institution to showcase its cultural gems, such as the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, and beef up its candidacy for the European Union while highlighting its emergence as a regional power. At a time when local newspapers talk of a “neo-Ottomanist” foreign diplomacy, some are calling the coming year of cultural events Turkey’s “Beijing moment.”

In a modern conference hall built next to the Halic Strait separating the two shores of Ottoman Istanbul, Turkish singers, dancers, poets, dervishes, a choir, and a full orchestra serenaded 5,000 politicians, VIPs, and journalists in a spectacle intended to underline the city’s multicultural heritage. At the show’s conclusion, guests streamed out into the rain to the strains of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” to take in a dazzling 15-minute fireworks display launched from the seven hills on which the city is built.

But Turkey’s uneasy coexistence with its minorities has drawn criticism of Istanbul’s city government from several sources: Gypsy populations are upset at being forced to leave a prime piece of real estate abutting the walls of Byzantium that they have inhabited for a millennium to make room for a residential development. Disenfranchised Kurds feel the city’s municipalities are not addressing their needs.

The opening ceremony represented Istanbul’s Gypsy population through a dance number titled “East Side Story,” featuring rival Gypsy gangs staging a choreographed brawl.

“We have double standards,” said Ali Murat Yel, a professor of sociology at Istanbul’s Fatih University. “On the one hand we say we’re tolerant of minorities and [are] multicultural, but as the Manisa events [in which a squabble over smoking spiraled into 1,000 locals attacking a Roma community] show, this is not the case. We have to know how to tolerate others who are different.”

Summer fireworks display

Display location:Detroit River
City:Detroit
State:MI
Date:Monday, June 21, starting at 10:06 p.m.
Display company:Zambelli Fireworks Internationale

Details: FIREWORKS DATE SET: The annual summer fireworks display over the Detroit River is scheduled for Monday, June 21, starting at 10:06 p.m., the Parade Co. and Target said Thursday. The fireworks, choreographed by Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, include more than 10,000 pyrotechnic effects lighting up the night sky.

Fireworks display to celebrate the 26th annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

Display location:Harbin
City:Harbin
Country: China
Date:January 3

Details: In frigid northeastern China, in the city of Harbin is hosting its 26th annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. Massive buildings built of ice from the frozen surface of the nearby Songhua River, large scale snow sculptures, ice slides, festival food and drinks can be found in several parks in the city. At night, visitors who endure the bitter cold will see the lights switched on, illuminating the sculptures from both inside and outside. This year's festival opened yesterday, January 5th, and will remain open until some time in February. Collected here are several photos from just before the festival, and of the opening night.

The annual Chain O' Lakes fireworks display

Display location:Fox Lake
City:Fox Lake
State:Illinois
Date:Fourth of July

Details: The annual Chain O' Lakes fireworks celebration in Fox Lake faces an uncertain future once again.

Fox Lake Mayor Ed Bender said he has learned the not-for-profit group Chain O' Lakes Fireworks may on the verge of disbanding, putting the annual display in jeopardy for the third time in as many years.

Bender added the hope is that either another group will step forward to take the reins, or that the village could somehow find the money in a tight budget to continue the celebration over the water.

"There are no answers on what will take place," he said. "Basically, a question for the village is, should the village take it over for good? And, if so, how do we raise money for it because the budget is tight?"

Bender said the village expected the not-for-profit group Chain O' Lakes Fireworks to continue putting on the display.

That group - formed in 2008 - raised the money needed and put on the $20,000 display on Fox Lake in 2009.

But Tim Triggs, former co-director of the group, said he was resigning due to "differences of opinion with people within the group."

The other co-director of Chain O' Lakes Fireworks, Noreen Michael, did not return phone calls Thursday seeking comment.

Bender said Michael also has not returned phone calls from the village regarding the status of the fireworks celebration.

Triggs said he is unsure whether Michael intends to continue the group or plans to fold it.

Chain O' Lakes Fireworks was formed after fireworks director Pete Jakstas, owner of the Mineola Marina and Lounge, stepped down from doing the annual display over the water, widely regarded as one of the best shows in the area. Jakstas formed his own not-for-profit group to raise money and put on the $60,000 display over Mineola Bay on Fox Lake. After more than two decades, Jakstas put on his last show in 2007.

In 2008, fireworks were held on land, on a village-owned site off Rollins Road. The show returned to the water in 2009.

Nancy Rogers, head of the village's parks and recreation department, said she would love to see the fireworks continue, but is unsure how to make it happen.

"We put calls in to a couple of organizations to see what is happening, but so far, no one has stepped up to continue the event," she said. "Right now, we are just exploring all options to see how we can get it done."

Fireworks Show on Fourth of July event at Waneka Lake

Display location: Waneka Lake
City:LAFAYETTE
State:Louisiana
Date:Forth of July
Show contact:303-473-1341 or boundsa@dailycamera.com

Details: LAFAYETTE -- Celebrate Lafayette, the city's oldest festival, may be on its way out.

The Lafayette Chamber of Commerce is proposing replacing September's downtown Celebrate Lafayette with a Fourth of July event at Waneka Lake.

"We have done everything that we can possibly do to make Celebrate Lafayette better," said Vicki Trumbo, the chamber's executive director. "We felt maybe it was time to make a change."

But the City Council, which heard the proposal this week, wants more time to consider the idea. Several council members said they're not sure a July 4 celebration would be the best replacement.

The chamber is asking the City Council, which has been Celebrate Lafayette's main sponsor, to continue contributing about $4,000 a year to a new event.

Council member Carolyn Cutler said she would like to wait to make any changes until 2011, especially since the city is working to better market its downtown.

"This deserves more thought and more discussion," she said.

Celebrate Lafayette, which started in 1956 as Lafayette Days, included a craft fair, community booths and a parade. Until the mid-1980s, it also featured a Miss Lafayette pageant.

Once the city's main community festival, it drew 10,000 participants at its peak in the 1990s. But attendance in the last few years has steadily dropped, down to less than 3,000 people last year.

Vendors also are losing interest because they're not making money. Then there's the decline in parade entries. Once, the parade could count on 100 floats, bands and other participants. Now, it's down to about 35 entries.

Celebrate Lafayette organizers have tried various strategies to spark interest in the event, from contests to themes to gourmet food. The festival one year offered lobsters flown in from Maine and another year tried a shrimp boil.

Organizers said the event has been overshadowed by the increasingly popular Peach Festival, which in 2009 drew a record-breaking 20,000-plus participants.

City Administrator Gary Klaphake said it's a timing issue. The Peach Fest is set in late August because that's when the Western Slope peaches are ripe. By September, "you've exhausted sponsors, volunteers and money."

Other possible reasons for the low turnout include the distraction of college football games and an increase in children's sports and other activities in the fall, organizers said.

To replace Celebrate Lafayette, the chamber is proposing an Independence Day celebration at Waneka Lake with fireworks and activities like sack races, a balloon toss and a pie-eating contest. Food would be simple -- hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream.

"It would be strictly family-oriented," Trumbo said.

She said Lafayette is the only area community without a Fourth of July event, making a local celebration a common resident request. She said the organizers would recruit sponsors and may ask for donations to cover the high cost of fireworks.

Council members said they're concerned about how well Lafayette could compete with more-established -- and better-funded -- fireworks shows in other communities.

But Lafayette resident Grant Swift, a regular at Celebrate Lafayette, said he likes the idea of a July 4 event. He said he usually watches the firework shows put on by other communities from a good vantage point in Lafayette.

"It would be cool to have our own fireworks," he said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Amy Bounds at 303-473-1341 or

boundsa@dailycamera.com

Fireworks Show at Ft. Lauderdale Beach Park

Display location:Ft. Lauderdale Beach Park
City:Fort Lauderdale
State:Fla.
Date:Saturday, Feb. 6

Details: FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Football League announced today that acclaimed multi-platinum pop-rock group Barenaked Ladies will co-headline with O.A.R. and join Grammy nominated phenom Robert Randolph & The Family Band on the bill of SUPER BOWL SATURDAY NIGHT, a free outdoor concert and fireworks spectacular on Ft. Lauderdale Beach Park, Saturday, Feb. 6, the night before Super Bowl XLIV.

Free and open to the public, SUPER BOWL SATURDAY NIGHT is a unique entertainment event celebrating an exciting year of football and the arrival of Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida. In addition to live performances by O.A.R., the Barenaked Ladies and Robert Randolph & The Family Band, the event will feature a Super Bowl Fireworks Spectacular to conclude the evening. It will take place at Ft. Lauderdale Beach Park, adjacent to the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel on A1A (Seabreeze Blvd.), just north of Holiday Drive.

Festivities will begin at 4 p.m. with a DJ set and video programming, followed by live music beginning at 6 p.m. and concluding with the Super Bowl Fireworks Spectacular at 9:40 p.m.

Gates open at 4 p.m. No tickets are required.

Enjoy low, flat rate parking in downtown Fort Lauderdale with free shuttle services to the beach. For all transportation options, go to www.NFL.com/superbowl.

Over the course of the past twenty-one years, the Barenaked Ladies have racked up eight Juno Awards and multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 14 million albums worldwide, written a plethora of hit singles (including "One Week," "Pinch Me" and "If I Had $1000000") and amassed an international fanbase whose members number in the millions. The band also wrote and recorded the theme song to the hit CBS television series, "The Big Bang Theory." The quartet is currently gearing up for the March 30th release of highly anticipated new album, ALL IN GOOD TIME, which features the new hit, "You Run Away."

Robert Randolph & The Family Band was formed by frontman and pedal steel guitar virtuoso Robert Randolph, who's listed among the "Top-100 Guitarists of All-Time " in "Rolling Stone." Randolph and his band have toured with the likes of Eric Clapton, who even made a guest appearance on their most recent album, "Colorblind." Their new release, coming later this year is produced by acclaimed producer, T. Bone Burnett.

For more information on Barenaked Ladies, please visit www.barenakedladies.com and for more information on Robert Randolph & The Family Band, please visit www.robertrandolph.net.

Fireworks Display included in 2010 Lehigh Valley IronPigs Promotions and Giveaway Days

Display location:Lehigh Valley
City:Lehigh Valley
State:Pennsylvania
Date:May 1 (6:35 p.m)&May 21 (7:05 pm)&June 4 (7:05 pm)&June 11 (7:05 pm)&June 18 (7:05 pm) &July 2 (7:05 pm)&July 4 (7:05 pm)&July 5 (7:05 pm)

Details: The tentative schedule of promotions:

WEEKLY PROMOTIONS

Tuesdays: TD Bank Ballpark Bingo

Saturdays: Happy Hour Concert Series (Gates open at 4:45 p.m.) featuring food and drink specials until 5:45 p.m. in the AT&T Plaza

Sundays: Tootsee the Clown and Friends appearance featuring three hours of free balloon animals for kids

NIGHTLY PROMOTIONS

April 14 (7:05 p.m.) – Opening Night presented by OAA

April 15 (7:05 p.m.) – Magnet Schedule giveaway (All fans) / Heroes Night No. 1

April 16 (7:05 p.m.) – Friday Night Fireworks

April 18 (1:35 p.m.) – Dog Day No. 1 (Bring Your Dog to the Park) / Dog Bowl giveaway, Lehigh Valley Animal Hospital (First 2,000 youth 17 and under)

April 22 (7:05 p.m.) – Earth Awareness Night

May 1 (6:35 p.m.) – Fireworks presented by Coors Light

May 2 (1:35 p.m.) – Tie-Dye Baseball giveaway, National MS Society (First 3,500 fans) / '60s Night

May 3 (7:05 p.m.) – Karate Night

May 4 (10:35 am) – Education Day No. 1 presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network

May 6 (7:05 pm) –Jerry "The King" Lawler appearance / Heroes Night No. 2

May 7 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks

May 8 (6:35 pm) – Travel Mug giveaway, Phoebe Ministries (First 5,000 fans) / Faith Night No. 1

May 9 (1:35 pm) – Mother's Day Pink Visor giveaway (First 2,000 women)

May 18 (7:05 p.m.) -- Dance Team Night No. 1

May 19 (7:05 pm) – Disco Baseball giveaway, Finish Line Running Store (First 3,500 fans) / '70s Night

May 20 (10:35 am) – Education Day No. 2 presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network

May 21 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks

May 23 (1:05 pm) – Youth Cap giveaway, Capital BlueCross (First 2,000 youth 17 and under)

May 25 (7:05 pm) – IronPigs Golf Umbrella giveaway, The Morning Call (First 3,000 adults 18 and over) / Dance Team Night No. 2

June 4 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks

June 6 (1:35 pm) – Red Hatter Day

June 8 (7:05 pm) – Team Photo and Autograph Session, People First Federal Credit Union (First 5,000 fans)

June 9 (7:05 pm) – Turn Back the Clock Night / Allentown Cardinals Throwback Cap giveaway, Service Electric Cable TV (First 3,000 adults 18 and over)

June 10 (7:05 pm) – Faith Night No. 2 / Lehigh Valley Health Network Health Fair Night

June 11 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks

June 17 (7:05 pm) – IronPigs Flip Flops giveaway, Air Products (First 2,000 youth 17 and under)

June 18 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks

June 19 (6:35 pm) – Reggy, "The Purple Party Dude" appearance

June 29 (7:05 pm) – Phillie Phanatic appearance

June 30 (7:05 pm) – Hispanic Heritage Night / IronPigs "Fiesta de Pigs" T-shirt giveaway, Coca-Cola (First 3,000 adults 18 and over)

July 1 (7:05 pm) – Red, White & Blue IronPigs Game Cap giveaway, Lutron Electronics (First 3,000 adults 18 and over)

July 2 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks presented by TD Bank

July 4 (7:05 pm) – 3-D Fireworks Extravaganza presented by AT&T (First 7,000 fans)

July 5 (7:05 pm) – Fireworks presented by Coors Light

July 23 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks presented by The Crayola Factory / Boy Scout Sleepover

July 25 (5:35 pm) – Youth T-shirt giveaway, Capital BlueCross (First 2,000 youth 12 and under)

July 26 (7:05 pm) – Andy Tracy Bobblehead giveaway, Nacci Printing (First 3,000 adults 18 and over)

July 27 (7:05 pm) – Magic 8 Baseball giveaway, A1 Towing (First 3,500 fans) / '80s Night

July 29 (11:05 am) – IronPigs Fan Hair giveaway, PA Dairy Association (First 3,500 youth 17 and under) / Camp Day

July 30 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks / Girl Scout Sleepover

Aug. 5 (7:05 pm) – K-Kids Brian Schneider Bobblehead giveaway, Lehigh Valley Health Network (First 3,000 adults 18 and over)

Aug. 6 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks / Boy Scout Sleepover

Aug. 7 (6:35pm) – Fireworks presented by CrossRoads Harley Davidson / BUELL / Hog Night

Aug. 9 (7:05 pm) – Dog Day No. 2 (Bring Your Dog to the Park) / Phillie Phanatic appearance presented by TD Bank

Aug. 12 (7:05 pm) – Japanese Heritage Night

Aug. 21 (6:35 pm) – Fireworks

Aug. 22 (7:05 pm) – Desktop Cap Bank giveaway, Toyota (First 2,000 youth 12 and under)

Aug. 24 (7:05 pm) – IronPigs Team Card Set giveaway, Verizon Wireless (First 2,000 youth 17 and under) / Irish Heritage Night

Aug. 25 (7:05 pm) – Football Night / Adult Cap giveaway, Harvey Building Products (First 3,000 adults 18 and over)

Aug. 30 (7:05 pm) – Italian Heritage Night / 2011 Wall Calendar giveaway, Nacci Printing (First 7,500 adults 18 and over)

Aug. 31 (7:05 pm) – 2011 Magnet Schedule giveaway, Sacred Heart Hospital (First 5,000 fans)

Sept. 3 (7:05 pm) – Friday Night Fireworks

Sept. 5 (5:35 pm) – Fireworks

Sept. 6 (1:35 pm) – Fan Appreciation Day

Winterlude to kick off with fireworks display and music

Display location:Ottawa
City:Ottawa
Country:Canada
Date:Feb. 5

Details: The National Capital Commission is kicking off Winterlude with 20 minutes worth of fireworks, along with musical performances and a light and video show to mark the opening night of the festival's 32nd season.

The show will take place at the Museum of Civilization on Feb. 5, kicking off three weeks of festivities.

While the festival will tie in the Winter Olympics, organizers will also use the first weekend to collect donations to help those affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

The NCC announced the festival's lineup on Tuesday. Activities will include skating on the Rideau Canal, an ice pond hockey tournament, snow sculpting at the Snowflake Kingdom and ice sculptures in the Crystal Gardens.

The Snowbowl venue, which had been used for concerts in the past, is not part of this year's lineup.

Winterlude is credited with bringing in about $82.5 million in economic spin-off for the national capital region, attracting an average of 650,000 visitors each year.

It's estimated one in three people who attend the festival are visitors from outside the region.

2010 Pirates individual tickets go on sale Saturday, including fireworks display

Display location:San Francisco
City:San Francisco
State:California
Date:April 16 & June 4 & June 5 & August 6
Display location: Zambelli Fireworks

Details: The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that individual game tickets for the 2010 season will go on sale on Saturday, January 30 at 10 a.m. At that time, all fans will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to all regular season games, including the Home Opener on Monday, April 5 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the tickets page at pirates.com, going to PirateFest, at the PNC Park Main Box Office, or by calling 1-877-893-BUCS.

The early on-sale date was chosen to coincide with the Pirates largest off-season event in Pittsburgh when the club hosts their 20th annual PirateFest from Friday, January 29 through Sunday, January 31 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Prices for tickets to individual games for the 2010 season remain the same at all price levels.

In addition to the home opener on April 5, the 2010 schedule features many intriguing home matchups, exciting promotions, and holiday games.

April 16 through 18 vs. Cincinnati Reds - includes the first Zambelli Fireworks show of the season after the game on Saturday, April 17.
May 7 through 9 vs. St. Louis Cardinals - includes a Mother's Day tilt on Sunday, May 9.
May 31 through June 2 vs. Chicago Cubs - the official start of summer begins with a Memorial Day game on Monday, May 31.
June 4 through 6 vs. San Francisco Giants - includes SkyBlast I featuring Zambelli Fireworks and Collective Soul in concert after the game on Saturday, June 5.
June 15 through 20 - Interleague play returns with the Chicago White Sox in town June 15 though 17. The rival Cleveland Indians return for a weekend series June 18 through 20, which will feature a 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Pirates' 1960 World Championship in addition to a Father's Day game on Sunday, June 20.
July 1 through 4 vs. Philadelphia Phillies - cross state rivals come to PNC Park for a four-game series during the Fourth of July weekend with Zambelli Fireworks on Saturday, July 3 after the game.
July 23 through 25 vs. the San Diego Padres - includes a post-game concert featuring Steve Miller Band on Saturday, July 24.
August 6 through 8 vs. Colorado Rockies - includes SkyBlast II featuring Zambelli Fireworks and George Thorogood in concert after the game Saturday, August 7.
August 20 thru 22 - former National League East rival New York Mets come to town for a weekend matchup.
September 6 through 8 - the Atlanta Braves play a three-game series at PNC Park, featuring a Labor Day game on Monday, September 6.
September 24 thru 26 - Fan Appreciation Weekend at PNC Park during the final regular season home weekend of the 2010 season as the Pirates take on the Astros. Saturday, September 25 will include a post-game concert featuring O.A.R.
For those fans who want to ensure that they get their desired seats for all of their select games, full season and partial season ticket plans are already available for purchase, including the popular value priced full season plans, 40-Game Plans, 20-Game Plans, and 10-Game plans. Value Season Ticket Plans, described below, make it extremely affordable to purchase full season packages at PNC Park.

$399 full season plan in the Left, Right and Outfield Grandstands. At less than $5 per game, this plan has been created to provide value for families.
$599 full season plan in the Bleacher Reserved. At $7.40 per game, this package allows fans to sit field level in Left Field at significant savings.
$799 full season plan in the Infield Grandstand. At less than $10 per game, these seats overlook the infield and will provide great views of the game, skyline and post-game fireworks.
$999 in the Outfield Box. At $12.33 per game, these field-level seats are located down the left and right field lines.
20-Game Season Ticket Plans - Starting as low as $140, fans choose from four distinct plans with great games and great promotions, or choose their own games in the 20-Game Pick-A-Plan.
10-Game Season Ticket Plan - Starting as low as $72, these 10-game plans allow fans to purchase any eight games they would like to attend and receive two additional bonus games at no extra cost.

Fireworks Display at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Display location:Bowling Green Ballpark.
City:Bowling Green
State:Ohio
Date:every Friday
Show contact: mcompton@bgdailynews.com/783-3247

Details: The Bowling Green Hot Rods’ approach to their second season of promotional giveaways is simple - stick with what worked in the first season.

An expanded fireworks schedule and a sequel to “What Could’ve Been Night” highlight the Hot Rods’ 2010 promotional schedule, which was released today. Bowling Green general manager/CEO Brad Taylor said he is excited about what is in store for fans this season at Bowling Green Ballpark.

“I think it is a very strong promotional schedule,” Taylor said. “This is a year we can have fun with our promotional schedule because we saw what took off last year and what the fans of southcentral Kentucky and Bowling Green like. At the end of the day, it is just added value for people when they buy a $5 or $10 ticket to get all this added value that goes with attending the Hot Rod game.”

Perhaps the most anticipated night of the season will be “What Could’ve Been Night 2” on Aug. 28, when the first 1,000 fans will receive a bobble-tail Cave Shrimp doll, a reference to the polarizing nickname suggestion for the Class A club.

“When you win national awards for ‘What Could Have Been Night,’ there has to be a Part 2,” Taylor said. “It’s going to have to be our perpetuating thing now. I think that is one of the fun and unique things you’ll see in Minor League Baseball this year.”

The Hot Rods will also offer fireworks after every Friday night home game, and fans who attend Agriculture Night on July 31 will receive a bobblehead honoring the team mascot, Axle.

Among the new giveaways this season will be school-themed days. Kids will get Hot Rod lunch boxes July 25 and Hot Rod backpacks Aug. 1.

There will also be a full-size skateboard deck giveaway on May 31.

“One of the things we saw at the winter meetings was the skate deck,” Taylor said. “When we found out that half of the (Major League Baseball) teams have signed on to do them, we took a good look at it. It was pretty easy for us with the skate park right behind the stadium.”

Taylor added that the Hot Rods might have a few more promotional days in the works.

“We’ve got some other stuff we are working on with some local partners to see what we can get going in the next 75 to 80 days before first pitch,” Taylor said.

Support fireworks show with 50/50 drawing

Display location:Willcox
City:Willcox
State:Arizona
Date:Fourth of July
Show contact: 384-4271, ext. 4201.

Details: Time is running out on the Willcox Rotary Club fundraiser for this year's Fourth of July fireworks show, with the drawing to be held toward the end of this month.

The cost is $20 per ticket, with sales limited to a total of 500 tickets, making the chances of winning one in 500 if all the tickets are sold.

"If we sell them all, we'll have a total of $10,000 -- $5,000 for each party," said City Manager Pat McCourt, explaining that half the money will go to the fire department for fireworks, while the other half will go to the winner of the drawing.

Checks should be made payable to the "Willcox Rotary."

Ticket sales will continue until the time of the drawing, but only cash will be accepted during the final week.

The Rotary Club plans to hold that drawing at its meeting at noon on Thursday, Jan. 28.

If the winner is not present, the Rotary president will make arrangements to present the winner a check from the club, said McCourt, who is in active Rotarian.

"The City of Willcox Fire Department has done fundraising and collecting money for the fireworks with varying degrees of success," he said.

"The community has been supportive, but it's getting tougher and tougher," McCourt told the Range News in November.

As a member of Rotary, McCourt had approached the Willcox club with the idea of a 50-50 raffle.

The Willcox City Council gave its unanimous approval to the fundraising effort at its Sept. 21 meeting.

For further information, contact any Willcox Rotarian or call Pat McCourt at 384-4271, ext. 4201.

Daily fireworks display and carnivals await residents for a colourful spectacle this DSF

Display location:beside Dubai Creek
City:Dubai
Country:the United Arab Emirates
Date:at 8:30pm,everyday

Details: Firework displays and carnivals stand to add colour to this year’s DSF as residents and visitors await the 15th edition of the Festival. The fireworks, sponsored by the Al Zarooni Group, will be held everyday throughout DSF at the Al Seef area beside Dubai Creek at 8:30pm.

Dubai Carnivals, also popular with residents and visitors, will enhance the festivities across the city with parades in shopping malls and the main street venues – Al Seef, Dhiyafah, Rigga, and The Walk at JBR. Around 150 performers, including jugglers, stilt walkers, unicyclists, and percussionists, are expected to take part in the carnivals. While groups of performers will parade in shopping malls through the week, all performers will get together on weekends at one venue for the ‘big carnival’.

Dubai Carnivals features a convergence of cultures and performances created to regale the crowds and spread the spirit of DSF across Dubai, and it celebrates different cultures and traditions with spectacular costumes and music.

Gasparilla returns Saturday with children's parade, fireworks display

Display location:Tampa
City:Tampa
State:Florida
Date:Jan.23

Details: Grab your eye patches, kids! It's time for Tampa's annual parade of G-rated pirates.

Parents and children from across the Bay area are expected to converge on Bayshore Boulevard on Saturday for the Children's Gasparilla Extravaganza & Parade, which will feature plenty of family-friendly activities and lots of bead-dazzling.

The fun starts at noon with a free Bicycle Safety Rodeo, where children will be fitted with helmets and get a chance to ride a provided bike through a fun course. Participants even get to keep the helmets (while supplies last, or course).

For those who prefer to keep their eyes on the skies, the Gasparilla Air Invasions will rev up the crowd at noon and 3 p.m. Spectators will get a chance to see vintage aircraft and the U.S. Special Operations Command Parachute Team.

The Bay area's tiniest pirates will take to the streets from 2 to 3 p.m. for the Preschooler's Stroll, which also follows Bayshore Boulevard, starting at Bay to Bay Boulevard and ending at Howard Avenue.

The main parade, which starts at Bay to Bay and ends at Watrous Avenue, kicks aff at 3:30 p.m. and is expected to wrap up at 6 p.m.

For those who are staying up past their bedtimes anyway, there's another air show at 6:30 p.m., followed by a "Piratechnic" show from 7 to 7:30 p.m.

For information on the whole shebang, go to Keyword: Gasparilla.

Orland Park's Independence Fireworks Show

Display location:Orland Park
City:Illinois
State:Illinois
Date:Fourth of July

Details: Orland Park's Independence Spectacular has been trimmed to one day this year, but Village trustees took preliminary steps last week to ensure the Fourth of July festival still goes out with a bang.

The Village's community events and outreach committee voted 2-1 on Monday, Jan. 11 to recommend the Village Board approve a three-year contract with Melrose Pyrotechnics for a fireworks display at the Independence Spectacular held July 4 at Centennial Park.

Under the terms of the contract, the Indiana-based pyro company will be paid $23,000 each of the next three years to set up and deploy the fireworks and synch the 25-minute show with music, Trustee Kathy Fenton said. The Village has used Melrose Pyrotechnics for its Fourth of July festival for the last 10 years, Fenton noted.

Trustee Bernard Murphy cast the lone vote against the contract. He asked if the Village should consider skipping the fireworks show this year to save money after the challenges Orland Park faced to adopt a balanced budget for 2010.

Assistant Village Manager Ellen Baer told Murphy the board could place a donation box on all water bills for those residents wanting to contribute and help offset the cost of the show.

Orland Park officials already approved reducing the Independence Spectacular from two days to one to trim staffing expenses. The cost of the fireworks display was included in this year's budget, Trustee Ed Schussler said.

"Trustee Murphy's comments are well-taken because this is going to be a difficult year and a tight year," Schussler said. "But we did already make cuts to the event and we already budgeted [for the fireworks show]."

Fenton, who serves as chairman of the community events and outreach committee, said she never considered eliminating the fireworks display from the festival.

"I think we figured we could reorganize the festival [to one day] to save funds," she said. "You can't have a Fourth of July festival without fireworks."

A vote on whether to approve the contract with Melrose Pyrotechnics was expected to take place at the Village Board meeting on Monday, Jan. 18.

The 2nd Sinulog Fireworks Display Competition

Display location: Cebu
City: Cebu
Country: the Philippines
Date:July 17.

Details:The night skies of Cebu City on the eve of the Sinulog were painted with light and color in the 2nd Sinulog Fireworks Competition held outside SM City.

Bulacan entries were the big winners.

Pyrohaven from Sta. Maria, Bulacan province bagged first place.

LF Fireworks, also from Bulacan, was first runner up and DSS Fireworks of Dumaguete City was second runner up.

“Wow!” was all the judges could say as seven groups took turns showing their pyrotechnic marvels.

The panel of judges came from the Culture and Arts Center of the Philippines and Sinulog Foundation.

They were Chris Milano, Shirly Halili-Cruz, Nestor Jardin, Marichu Tellano and choreographer Douglas Nierra.

This year's prize were P100,000 for the best, P80,000 and P60,000 for the runners up.

DSS fireworks was last year’s champion in the 1st Sinulog Fireworks Competition. Pyrohaven, on the other hand, was the first placer of the 2009 Sky Wizardry of Enchanted Kingdom in Laguna province.

Other contestants in this year's competition were ENB Fireworks (Dumaguete's Buglasan Festival champion), A.R.E. Fireworks from Laguna, Ganna Fireworks from Surigao City, Avila Fireworks from Babag, Lapu-Lapu City, and Tsing Tsang Fireworks from Cagayan de Oro City.

The competition ended with a grand fireworks demonstration synchronized with the Sinulog beat by Cebu's Pyroworks International.

The competition was organized by SM City Cebu, Pyroworks International and the Sinulog Foundation as a prelude to the Sinulog Grand Parade./ Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap

Fireworks display extravaganza over Aspen Mountain

Display location:over Aspen Mountain
City:Aspen
State:Colorado
Date:July.16 8:15 p.m.
Contact:csack@aspentimes.com

Details: ASPEN — Chamber officials are banking that the extra $15,000 kicked in by the city of Aspen for Wintersköl festivities will pay off at the corner of Galena Street and Cooper Avenue Saturday.

The monetary allocation was part of the Aspen City Council's “economic stimulus” funding that set aside $200,000 as seed money toward a host of new or existing special events. The goal is that the events will drive tourism, fuel the local economy and create memorable experiences for guests as an enticement for them to return.

The Aspen City Council earlier this month allocated $147,500 to a handful of events. The Aspen Chamber Resort Association's (ACRA) new Epic WinterFest to be held Saturday is the first one to be executed.

“We're the first one out of the gates,” said Debbie Braun, president and CEO of ACRA. “I don't know how it's all going to go, but I have a good feeling.”

More than 30 concepts with a total of $544,500 in requests were submitted to the city, which were vetted by a 12-member committee over the past few months. The committee's aim was that each event ought to “put heads in beds” or create vitality.

“WinterFest, funny enough, fell into both,” Braun said.

ACRA's destination marketing arm placed a significant ad buy in Denver to promote Wintersköl, hoping to drive business from the Front Range.

“Wintersköl has morphed into a repeat guest event,” Braun said of the local celebration that began 59 years ago to liven up the doldrums of winter. “People now make their trips around Wintersköl.”

Bill Tomcich, president of Stay Aspen Snowmass, a central reservations agency, said as of Dec. 31 — the date of the last occupancy snapshot — advance bookings for this weekend peaked at just more than 70 percent both Saturday and Sunday nights. However, there have been a lot of last-minute bookings since then, and the agency was fielding a number of last-minute requests Friday for arrival this weekend. Last year's peak occupancy for Wintersköl and Martin Luther King weekend peaked at 84 percent, he added.

“I wouldn't be surprised if we wind up very close to that if not exceed it this year,” Tomcich wrote in an e-mail. “Snowmass was also booked to just over 70 percent this weekend as of Dec. 31, and likewise, I wouldn't be surprised to see them break their peak weekend occupancy of 81 percent achieved last year, as well based on the last-minute booking activity we have seen.”

Braun submitted an invoice for WinterFest to the city on Wednesday, along with a detailed budget of WinterFest expenses.

While the traditional parade has been scrapped because of a lack of participation in recent years, ACRA's special events department came up with a replacement that they hope will attract more people downtown, and thus spend money in local shops and restaurants.

“We hope it keeps people in the downtown core from noon until the fireworks, and they'll go shopping and maybe even dinner at a restaurant later,” Braun said. “WinterFest is really just trying to tinker with what's already been the success of Wintersköl.”

During their deliberations on how to distribute the seed money, City Council members discussed the merits of re-inventing or “tinkering” with Wintersköl.

Councilman Steve Skadron suggested that perhaps the community is growing tired of always having to entertain its guests and too many special events or beefed-up activities will further contribute to the fatigue.

He questioned why more money should be put into Wintersköl, or why fireworks have to occur so often in Aspen.

Councilman Torre responded by saying Wintersköl fuels tourism in a month when more is needed than just the holidays and the Winter X Games.

“Business drops off and the bookends of January aren't enough,” he said, adding Wintersköl is designed to be a local celebration for guests to enjoy. “I'd take Wintersköl over X Games.”

Mayor Mick Ireland said trying something new with an existing event is worth the attempt.

“I think we ought to try this and see how it works out,” he said.

Saturday's events, which are new to the four-day celebration of winter, consist of several free activities, including a canine fashion show, live entertainment and music on the malls and streets, cookies and hot chocolate, and more.

There also will be a beer garden set up on Cooper Avenue in front of Bad Billy's. The street will be closed in the morning for the canine fashion show and then reopen from 2-5 p.m. The beer garden will be open from 6-8:30 p.m., with fireworks following.

The city's contribution doesn't cover all of WinterFest's costs and ACRA will pick up the difference, Braun said.

The bulk of the Wintersköl budget hovers around $30,000, which is paid mostly through sponsorships. Braun said $28,500 was raised this year through sponsorships from various Aspen businesses. The goal was $30,000.

“We almost made it, which is not bad considering,” the fragile economy, she said, adding in year's past the sponsorship goal was $40,000.

Fifteen businesses have contributed cash to Wintersköl this year, with $1,000, $500 and $250 donations. Dozens of others have contributed in other ways.

Braun said another significant contribution comes from local lodges, which puts up out-of-town performers in rooms for free or discounted rates. Lodges also contribute between $1,000 and $2,000 each to pay for Soupsköl, which is an annual soup making competition that was held Friday night with more than 20 participating restaurants.

Aspen Valley Hospital underwrites the Wintersköl buttons to the tune of $2,500 and 50 percent of the proceeds are then given back for AVH's helmet program.

Whatever overall costs aren't covered by sponsorships, ACRA pays for them out of its budget funded by membership dues, which is how the chamber's three main events — Fourth of July, Food & Wine and Wintersköl — are subsidized.

“This is not a revenue generating operation in our events department,” Braun said.

It's all hands on deck for ACRA this weekend because Wintersköl is one of the chamber's signature events and the extra effort is designed to ensure that WinterFest is indeed “epic.”

Friday morning Braun was picking up doughnuts for the U.S. Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps, who are scheduled to perform at 1 p.m. on the Cooper Avenue mall. And Saturday, Braun plans to be the one handing out balloons to the kids.

“I'm not too proud to do what it takes to get the job done,” she said.

Spectacular fireworks displays will mark the launch of Istanbul's year as one of three European Capitals of Culture.

Display location:İstanbul's historic Sultanahmet square
City:Istanbul
Country:Turkey
Date:Jan 16

Details: The prestigious title gives cities the opportunity and funding to showcase and enrich their cultural life.

For Turkey, which is struggling to fulfil its longstanding aim of becoming a member of the European Union, the title has particular significance.

But Istanbul's celebration is not without its problems.
Istanbul competed fiercely with the Ukrainian capital Kiev to win this title, the last time it will be offered to a non-EU member.

The two other winners were Pecs in Hungary and Essen in Germany.

With its rich heritage of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history and its pulsating contemporary urban life, Istanbul is already recognized as one of the world's great cultural capitals.

But the title means a great deal in a country which has for decades aspired to membership of the European Union.

The opening celebrations will be marked by a spectacular fireworks display choreographed by the French pyrotechnician Cristoph Berthonneau.

And by a series of cultural performances set against the backdrop of some of Istanbul's greatest landmarks.

But big questions hang over how effective the rest of the year's programme will be.

The organizing committee has been rocked by conflict between NGOs and government bureaucrats, with mass resignations last year.

There have been persistent allegations of corruption.

Critics say there has been too much focus on restoring well-known historical sites, and too little on contemporary culture.

And very little effort has been devoted to confronting the painful twentieth century legacy left by the mass expulsion of the Greek and Armenian communities, whose buildings, many of them derelict, still litter the city.

Fireworks display on the Crimson Tide's national championship

Display location:TUSCALOOSA
City:TUSCALOOSA
State:Ala.
Date:January 16

Details: TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Thousands of Alabama football fans came out to celebrate the Crimson Tide's national championship with fireworks and cheers on a chilly, damp Saturday, then headed home with a promise from coach Nick Saban.

Speaking from a stage erected at midfield of Bryant-Denny Stadium with the team behind him, Saban told a crowd estimated at 38,000 that he's not done winning at Alabama.

"I want everybody here to know this is not the end," Saban said. "This is the beginning."

Saban held aloft the crystal ball from the Bowl Championship Series trophy to thunderous applause and chants of "Roll Tide!" Fans went crazy when an announcer introduced six All-Americans, including running back Mark Ingram, the school's first Heisman Trophy winner.

The university staged the event to mark its undefeated season and national championship victory over Texas. Fireworks went off and the band played, but the biggest cheer came when Saban introduced the team.

"Because they are a team of champions, they were able to win the national championship," said Saban, whose speech was broadcast statewide.

Alan Britt got to the stadium 4½ hours early to be first in line, and hundreds of people were waiting behind him by the time the gates opened. Britt wouldn't have missed the celebration, despite gray skies and temperatures in the 50s.

"This doesn't happen everyday," Britt said. "It happens a lot more here than at other places, though. Roll Tide!"

The national championship meant money for Kelly Hester, who spends her falls selling T-shirts, caps and 'Bama trinkets outside Bryant-Denny. She had nine tables full of championship merchandise for the event, and fans weren't just browsing.

"People have been starved for this," Hester said.

Saban had an idea of what could be possible during his first spring scrimmage in 2007.

"I knew when I walked out that tunnel three springs ago and there were 92,000 people in this stadium that that kind of positive energy would allow us to achieve the highest expectations and goals we could have," he said.

As Saban spoke, construction workers expanding the stadium's capacity to 101,000 paused to watch from high above an end zone.

That's not the only work going on around the stadium. Athletic director Mal Moore said Alabama already is making plans to erect a statue of Saban near ones of the school's other national championship football coaches, including the late Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Postgame fireworks shows to draw more fans to the park

Display location:Ballpark
City:Arlington
State:Texas
Date:April 13 to 14
Event website:www.texasrangers.com
Show contact:972-726-4377.

Details: Individual ticket prices for Texas Rangers home games in 2010 will remain unchanged in all but two seating areas.

Prices are increasing in the corner box seats (from $33 to $40) and the lower reserved seats (from $25 to $30). Those sections account for less than 16 percent of the seating at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. It is the smallest percentage of increased seat prices since 2004.

In an effort to draw more fans to the park, the Rangers have increased their postgame fireworks shows from 13 to 14 and their promotional giveaways from 16 to 18. There also will be seven concerts, with the first a Clint Black postgame concert April 10.

Ticket programs from last season — total family tickets, all-you-can-eat seats and fireworks Fridays — are back along with an opening-week discount, Military Mondays and Active Senior Thursdays.

Ticket prices will increase from $5 to $10 for 19 premier games, which include Opening Day and series against the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Most regular home games will begin at 7:05 for night games, 1:05 for weekday day games and 2:05 for Sunday day games.

Individual game tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. March 6 at the first-base ticket office at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, at www.texasrangers.com, or by calling 972-726-4377.

WOODHAVEN: Four-day festival to be held in conjunction with fireworks display

Display location:Civic Center Park
City:WOODHAVEN
State:Michigan
Date:July 9 or 10.
Display compamy: Funfest Productions Inc

Details:WOODHAVEN — Summer fun in the city is heading in a new direction.

The City Council voted Tuesday to hold a community festival in July that will include a carnival, food, fireworks and concerts.

Funfest Productions Inc. got the nod to put on the show from July 8 through 11 at Civic Center Park.

Along with approving the four-day festival, the council agreed to hold its fireworks display during the event instead of on July 2 as it was last year. Kevin Cassidy, co-owner of Funfest Productions, requested the fireworks for July 9 or 10.

“It makes sense to pair up the fireworks and the festival,” Cassidy said.

He presented his plan and answered questions from the council. His company operates two longstanding festivals in Michigan, Stars and Stripes in Mount Clemens and the St. Clair River Fest.

Cassidy assured the council that Wade Shows Inc., which will run the carnival, will pull all of the necessary permits.

Mayor Patricia Odette said she is concerned with the costs for police and fire protection during the event.

“My partner did mention covering overtime the Police Department would have to put forward for the event,” Cassidy said.

He said he is willing to talk to the city administrator about it.

“We bring in our own bonded security company and we look at that as reducing the need (for police overtime),” he said. “We’ll step up and cover costs within reason.”

They also will bring in vendor and food booths, Cassidy said.

Funfest Productions Inc. carries a $5 million insurance policy throughout the year and Wade Shows Inc., which provides the carnival, also has its own insurance policy, he said.

Kathy D’Angelo, parks and recreation director, said the council should ensure that the city’s civic organizations contact Cassidy about working the booths. Those clubs and organizations will receive a percentage of the proceeds.

Cassidy said the city could make $5,000 on the carnival, depending on the weather.

He said his company raises funds for the festival by selling sponsorships and vendor, food and beverage booths, including alcoholic sales.

The city is not paying for the carnival, but is allowing the company to use the park for it. In exchange, the city will receive 5 percent on gross revenues.

“I’m excited about this,” D’Angelo said.

The city used to hold a fireworks display July 4 and a Harvest Moon festival in September, she said.

Because of the cost of the fireworks display July 4, it was moved to July 2 last year, and budget cuts eliminated the Harvest Moon festival.

With these arrangements, residents can have a fun event to attend and it won’t cost the city any money, D’Angelo said.

“This will be a community builder,” she said.

New Year's Eve Insanity: Lady Sees UFO While Watching Fireworks Display

Display location:Cheshunt
City:Waltham Cross
State: Hertfordshire
Country:UK
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: A CHESHUNT mum was 'freaked out' after spotting several pink UFOs in the skies..." Read More

UK tabloids have an obsession with UFO's, and I get a kick out of reading the eyewitness accounts of the strange goings on.

It should be noted that the lady who is identified only as "Gill" (she should have been identified as "Looney Tunes"), saw the UFO on New Year's Eve. Hello!!!!!!! I would bet my life savings that Gill celebrated the New Year by drinking a case of beer. It's not unusual for folks to report seeing not only UFO's but Elvis at Burger King on New Year's Eve.

The crazy lady saw the pink UFO as she and her brood were watching a fireworks display. Hello!!!!! I would bet my house and my car, that the "UFO" was part of the fireworks display.

I love the British Tabloids, thanks for giving me a hearty chuckle.

Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes

Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.

New Year's Eve fireworks display in Caracas

Display location:CARACAS
City:CARACAS
Country:VENEZUELA
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: CARACAS, VENEZUELA — As New Year's Eve fireworks blossomed in the darkness over every neighborhood of this city, I was sharing whiskey with a disillusioned Socialist named Armando.

Armando is a slim, graying, middle-aged Web site artist with an indecent sense of humor and a decent command of English left over from his years working in London two decades ago. He was explaining why he helped vote Hugo Chavez into the Venezuelan presidency in 1999 and has lived to regret it.

“I was hoping for a Swedish kind of socialism where everyone gets rich,” Armando said. “Instead, we are getting a Cuban kind of socialism where everyone will be poor.”

Armando and I had just met at a party hosted by mutual friends who live in a house perched on a hill overlooking the city. Like so many homes of the middle class in Caracas, this one stands behind a fence topped with razor wire in a neighborhood that can only be accessed through a guarded gate.

Increasingly, the people living in this and the many other gated communities of Venezuela's capital feel like prisoners behind their walls.

On the surface, Caracas is a modern city that would not look out of place in Southern California. There are supermarkets, shopping malls, high-rise office buildings, freeways choked with traffic, sleek restaurants and attractive neighborhoods of white stucco houses with red tile roofs, barbecues on the porches and American cars in the driveways.

But, throughout the city, bumping up against these pleasant neighborhoods are vast barrios of the poor. Like decrepit, rust-colored Lego blocks, they rise in chaotic piles up the steep hillsides, a home to millions. For too many of these urban poor, crime is their vocation and the people in the nice neighborhoods next door are their prey.

A U.S. State Department travel advisory lists Caracas as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It doesn't feel that way. Yet, over and over, I heard tales of people being robbed at gunpoint on the street or as they sat in cars stopped in traffic. Nights are perpetually balmy, but people now avoid evening strolls and outdoor restaurants. Jewelry, watches and cameras are left at home. Even during a daylight trek in the national park on the mountainside above the city, hikers glance warily over their shoulders to see who is coming up behind.

With oil money, gorgeous Caribbean beaches and fun-loving people, life should be good here, but, instead, it is going haywire. It is the fault of Hugo Chavez — at least that is what many of the people in the nice houses say. He has done nothing to defend them against the criminals from the barrios, they believe, because the barrios are his political base. In fact, they allege, Chavez has brought the mindset of the barrios to the government: Steal from the rich and keep it for yourself.

A bank scandal that erupted in December and cost the science and technology minister his job simply confirmed to critics of Chavez that his government is becoming increasingly corrupt, just like the right-wing governments of the past.

Corruption is not the most worrisome problem, though. A far bigger concern here is that freedom is being stolen. In August, the Chavez government forced 34 radio stations off the air and 200 more were under threat of closure. A new law has been proposed that would imprison journalists for publishing material that is deemed harmful to the government. And, over the course of his tenure as president, Chavez has relentlessly pushed to extend his powers and change the constitution so that he can stay in office indefinitely.

While seeking the spotlight on the world stage by confronting U.S. presidents and bonding with other bombastic renegades like Cuba's Fidel Castro and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Chavez maintains his base of support at home by stoking the fires of class hatred and war fever. In November, he urged the nation to prepare to defend the homeland against an imaginary attack from Colombia and the U.S.

Chavez is fast becoming another Latin American caudillo — a posturing autocrat intent on perpetuating his one-man rule. And yet, there are still many good people in Caracas who remain supportive of his cause.

I had dinner at the home of two such Chavistas — a husband and wife, both doctors, who entertained me graciously. While not unaware of their president's flaws, they continue to cling to the ideals that compelled so many to support him. After long centuries in which the privileged few amassed fortunes on the backs of the impoverished many, the rise of Chavez seemed to offer, at last, an opportunity to bring education, medical care and opportunity to the country's vast underclass. My hosts, along with many others, are not ready to relinquish that opportunity.

The most interesting conversation I had that evening was with Alicia, the 25-year-old daughter of the doctors. Alicia (I have changed her name, as I have “Armando's,” for the sake of privacy) works for one of five municipalities that run the civic affairs of Caracas. In her municipality of Chacao, the crime problem has been significantly abated through education, community development and professional policing, Alicia told me.

It is a success story that, one would think, the Chavez government would be eager to emulate, but Chacao is run by the opposition party, as are three of the other four municipalities. Instead of acknowledging the success, Chavez has opted to protect his power base in the one municipality his party runs by creating an extra-constitutional post from which a lackey can overrule the opposition-party mayor of Caracas.

Respectfully at odds with her parents' political sentiments, Alicia has chosen to keep working for the betterment of her city and country. In this, she seems at odds with many of her peers.

I spoke to a number of other young Venezuelans who expressed hopelessness about the future. They are college-educated, English-speaking sons and daughters of the middle class. Every one of them talked of leaving for Canada, Europe, the United States or other countries in South America.

Disembarking with me from my flight into Caracas, a young Venezuelan man pointed at the ubiquitous government propaganda posters in the airport, the giant photos of Chavez and a map of Venezuela printed in bold, socialist red. Despairing at what his country is becoming, the young man said if he didn't have his mother to care for, he'd pack up his family and follow his sister to Houston.

An hour after midnight on Jan. 1, the fireworks still were bursting like bombs over Caracas. Armando watched the explosions of light with melancholy eyes. Alluding to his time in London, he recalled observing that, after a millennium of religious strife, ideological conflict and too many ruthless men with big ideas, Europeans had finally learned from all their suffering.

“Venezuela is still a young country,” Armando said. “Maybe we haven't suffered enough.”

In the first uncertain days of a new year, many middle class Venezuelans fear suffering is on the horizon.

2010 the Urban Development Corporation's annual fireworks display

Display location:Kingston Harbour
City:Kingston
State:Jamaica
Date:December 31

Details: Thursday night, when fireworks lit up the skies over Kingston Harbour, Sylvester Johnson tightly held on to his son Kareem's legs - he was sitting on his shoulders. The youngster beamed with joy as the dazzling, coloured lights, accompanied by onomatopoeic explosions, created fleeting works of art above the polluted waters. But Sylvester was looking at the sea, which he had jumped into many times, years ago.

It was the late 1970s and Jamaica was in political turmoil. Sylvester was having his own maelstrom. A homeless boy he was, whose hobby was diving into the harbour several times a day. The waterfront was his home, other homeless boys his family. The streets were his school, and did he learn a lot. Now, the melange of good and bad memories had transported him from the present - he didn't hear the very loud climactic sounds that heralded in 2010.

The camaraderie with the other boys, the fights, the sharing of food afterwards, the deaths by drowning, the disappearances, the pursuits by the police. The men who drove by at nights trying to seduce them with gifts and money. The teacher woman who promised to school him, but kept him at home as a servant.

When he decided enough was enough and refused to wash her undies, she called the police to say he had broken into her house. The trip to the police station and the leap over a high wall after he bolted from the police car when the lone lawman got out to urinate along the road. Scenes of those and more he watched in the reflections of the lights from the calm waters.

But, it was when the face of the woman he saw at North Parade started to emerge from the glare that the sea became black once more and Kareem shook him from his reverie. He stooped as his 10-year-old burden of a son jumped from his broad shoulders. He held his hand and they headed to Parade via King Street.

More flashbacks

Sylvester's pace was fast. Tired, little Kareem struggled to keep up with him. "Can't we get a cab, Dad?" he whined. "Soon!" was the short response. He had to see her again.

The walk up King Street brought back more flashbacks. But, how much it had changed. Dirtier, it certainly was. Too many buildings in need of renovation, he thought. Where is Time Store? He wondered. He didn't see it on the way down. And all those fast-food stores.

At the top of King Street, at South Parade, he turned east, homeless people lined the sidewalk. His heart beat faster as he turned on to North Parade. He glanced about, but she was not around. He looked again, but the woman in the red head wrap was nowhere to be seen. People were all around heading back home.

At the taxi stand, in front of The Captain's Bakery, he boarded a cab. Kareem was first in. He rested his head on his father's leg and fell asleep immediately. Sylvester rested an arm around Kareem's waist, and his thoughts went back to the events of the day.

He was back in Jamaica after being away for years. Bitterness had kept the divorced, single father at bay. This year, however, he won over. He wanted to show his son his roots. From New York they had arrived two days before Christmas. They had a good time but, deep down, Sylvester hoped that he would have gone back to New York with a lighter heart.

Thursday, on his way to the waterfront he gave Kareem a tour of sections of downtown Kingston. At Parade, he circled the recently renovated St William Grant Park, as he told the wide-eyed Kareem about the place he had frequented as a homeless youth. He was about to tell him about the unsightly Ward Theatre, when he saw a woman leaning against the wall that enclosed the park, across from the Rollington Town taxis.

He stopped and stared at her. "You know her?" Kareem asked. "No," a confused-looking Sylvester replied. Kareem tugged his hand, and they continued down East Parade. Sylvester became silent no longer the upbeat tour guide he was. All the way down King Street the woman was on his mind - that face, her face was so familiar, only that it was older.

When the taxi reached his hotel, he brought the sleeping Kareem to their room. After tucking him in, he took a shower, had some ginger wine on the rocks, then went to bed. But all night he didn't sleep a wink. The face haunted him.

The meeting

Friday morning, he brought Kareem to stay by a long-time friend of his who, too, was vacationing in Kingston. Into another taxi he jumped. The woman's face was calling. Strange, but he was nervous. The journey seemed longer than usual. Upon arrival, he saw her, at the very spot she was the day before. As he approached her, his heart raced. He knew her, he was sure. But she was fatter and had aged, looking so much different from the last time he had set eyes upon her, over 30 years ago.

"Babsy?" Sylvester enquired timidly.

The woman raised her head. Her eyes were closed. Slanting her head to one side, she asked, "Who it is?" Her voice echoed in his skull, as it did many times before.

"A say, who it is? Yuh giving me something?" She was now holding on to the white cane resting on a thigh.

Sylvester stood speechless. His throat got tight. Then the tears, and the memories of Miss Babsy came in torrents. He fell to his knees and cried uncontrollably. He held her sore and swollen legs, and squeezed them.

"Clear off!" the woman cried out.

"Mama!, it's me, Sylvester!" he whispered through his sobs.

"Sylvester! Sylvester!?"

This time he answered her, unlike the day when she gave him the last beating.

"Sylvester! Sylvester!" she shouted - the meal of dumplings and butter was ready. It was after she gave him a sound spanking for coming back from the shop with steel wool that was 'married' to flour. But Sylvester was gone. Tired and weary Sylvester had gone, just as his 'father', the man who called him a 'jacket' had disappeared.

Now, he was at her gangrenous feet, weeping as a child. Miss Babsy held his balding head, which he rubbed against her knee and said, "Never mind, my son, never mind."

Boom, boom, pow! Fireworks Display in January

Display location: Catawba Meadows Park
City:Morganton
State:NC
Date:January 9

Details: Morganton, NC - Fireworks usually aren't a mid-winter treat, but on Saturday a group of pyrotechnic trainees lit the afternoon sky above Catawba Meadows Park during a certification and training course.
The group of approximately 50 fireworks professionals took part of a certification course to comply with a new North Carolina law that goes into effect Feb. 1. The law requires all pyrotechnicians to complete eight hours of training and a written exam administered by the N.C. Department of Insurance.
The law stems from a Fourth of July fireworks explosion on Ocracoke Island. Four workers from Melrose Pyrotechnics of York County, S.C., died in the blast.
The N.C. Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined Melrose Pyrotechnics of York County, S.C., almost $45,000 for safety violations, although the specific cause of the explosion is still unknown.
David Thompson, Table Rock Pyrotechnic Services, said previously, pyrotechnicians only needed a N.C. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms license.
Table Rock Pyrotechnic Services, a Burke County based fireworks operation, and Zambelli sponsored the Saturday morning class and afternoon live shooting course. Instructors came from Pennsylvania and Florida and participants came from across the state.
Rob Roegner, engineering services liaison with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, said the certification class covers the safety basics of working with pyrotechnics.
The live shooting course demonstrated shooting fireworks manually and electrically and included engineered accidents in a controlled environment, Roegner said. Professionals must complete six shootings to acquire certification, which is valid for three years.
Gregg Gettys, a member of Table Rock Pyrotechnic Services, said, "I think (the law) has been a long time coming. It should have been done earlier."
Thompson agreed, but said the quick implementation of the law has created a less than smooth ride.
The course on Saturday is one of the first in the state, Roegner said. Several more have been scheduled across the state in the upcoming weeks.
Thompson said Table Rock Pyrotechnic Services has about 70 members in the club who will need to be trained.
Table Rock Pyrotechnics began in 1982 and has provided the fireworks for the City of Morganton's Fourth of July and festival events, at local high schools and at various shows in the region.

Fireworks display to celetrate the opening of the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament

Display location:LUANDA
City:LUANDA
Country:Angola
Date:Jan.10.

Details: LUANDA, Angola — Fireworks lit up Luanda on Sunday as traditional and contemporary performers broke into interweaving dance in a ceremony to mark the opening of the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament.

The ceremony was held at a giant, Chinese-built stadium, just two days after an armed attack on the Togo team bus left three dead.

A minute's silence was due to be observed ahead of the Angola-Mali kick-off later Sunday.

"Despite the terrorist attack, Cabinda will remain a hosting city," Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos said in an opening speech. "There is no need to be afraid."

Several African heads of state were present, including President Ruphia Banda of Zambia and South Africa's Jacob Zuma, whose country will host the World Cup later this year.

Fireworks display on Burj Khalifa

Display location: Burj Khalifa
City: Dubai
Country: Dubai
Date: Dec.28

Details:Its launch was spectacular, but can the world’s tallest building draw tourists to Dubai, asks BERNICE HARRISON

IT WAS NEVER going to be an intimate party for a handful of the sheikh’s closest friends. For many reasons, the only way to launch the Burj Dubai, the tallest man-made structure on the planet, last Monday was with a jaw-dropping fireworks display in front of an estimated 5,000 guests.

The pyrotechnics were the finishing touches to an already spectacular evening that began for about 300 VIP guests with a drinks reception – water and juice – on the ground floor of the tower (burj is Arabic for tower), where, for most men, the dress code appeared to be immaculate white dishdashas and red-and-white headscarves; many of the relatively few women in the VIP section toted giant designer handbags to go with their jewel-hemmed abayas. Gold Louis Vuitton totes, as big as weekend cases, were the most spotted.

Once seated on squashy sofas in a viewing section – for a reason I can’t fathom I was only a dozen seats along from the party’s host, and Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum – the spectacle began.

Ten parachutists drifted down from the sky, carrying giant flags bearing the sheikh’s picture and looking like extras in a Bond movie, while a giant air balloon hovered for no apparent reason in the sky. The fountain in the man-made lake in front of the tower kicked off with a dazzling water display, shooting jets of water 30m into the sky in time to traditional Arabic music.

Rubberneckers in this part of the world aren’t discreet. Before the giant video screen giving the history of the project boomed into action, lines of men stood staring at the seated sheikh (who was flanked by his government ministers), as if being that close to him was simply enough.

The building’s vital statistics were kept a secret until the last minute – about 800m tall had always been the official figure – for fear the owners of some other skyscraper might stick a mast on top of their building and claim the glory. After seven years of construction Dubai wasn’t going to be trumped – but in reality no other building is even close, and there were gasps from the crowd as a counter on the screen clicked away until 828m was revealed as the height.

That announcement was expected, and it had people around me tweeting and blogging the news, but the revelation of a name change was a major surprise and even more newsworthy. It’s been the Burj Dubai since the first sod was turned, in 2003, but it is now the Burj Khalifa, after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, who is president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of nearby Abu Dhabi, which has been bailing out debt-ridden Dubai.

As the tower is going to be mostly a tourist attraction instead of a symbol of property development, the name change from the easy-to-Google Burj Dubai is going to be a less catchy sell.

Looking up at the astonishing structure as smoke from the fireworks wafted through the choreographed light show beaming out from the tower, it was easy to believe the dizzying statistics. Burj Khalifa, which can be seen from 95km away, has 28,000 windows, 1,044 apartments, 160 hotel rooms and 49 floors of offices.

The floor that will draw tourists like a magnet is the world’s loftiest observation deck, up at level 124, which has floor-to-ceiling glass panels giving 360-degree views. Those who want to test their head for heights can step out on to the terrace. The deck opened to the public on Tuesday with an entrance fee of about €17.

Access to the deck is via one of several lifts that are also record breakers. At 504m they have the highest elevator rise, although they cover that vertical ground in less than a minute.

The anchor tenant, the Armani Hotel, which will take up the first 37 floors of the building, is not due to open until March 18th, but the Italian designer promises a “lifestyle experience”, saying “with this hotel I am bringing the ‘Stay with Armani’ promise to reality.”

Industry analysts will be watching to see if his five-star hotel can command premium prices in a city crowded with five- and even so-called seven-star establishments that have had to drop their prices in the past 12 months.

The first residents of the Burj, the owners of the 140 apartments in the Armani Residences, will move in early next month; other residents and corporate tenants get their keys in March.

Despite the astonishing spectacle of the fireworks, a long-time Middle East commentator remarked to me, as we made our way out through the crowd, how restrained the whole event was – relative, that is, to the way it had been for the past 10 years, when this part of the world defined blinging excess. There was a time, he said, when entire planeloads of Hollywood A-listers would have been flown in for a launch of this magnitude. Not any more.

Fireworks display over downtown Grand Rapids

Display location:Grand Rapids
City:Grand Rapids
State:Michigan
Date:Jan.9

Details: GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) - A Hannah Montana look-alike from Holland is one of several performers in downtown Grand Rapids this weekend looking for work at the Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions Convention.

Delegates from more than 85 events are learning about everything, from food sanitation to shopping for entertainment.

The convention caps off Saturday night with a fireworks display over downtown Grand Rapids. The convention is not open to the public, but the fireworks will be viewable by anyone.

Grand Rapids may see fireworks show this weekend

Display location:GRAND RAPIDS
City:GRAND RAPIDS
State:Mich.
Date:Jan.9

Details: GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Grand Rapids could be getting a special display of fireworks this weekend.

Saturday night will wrap up the 125th Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions and the executive director wants to celebrate with a 15 to 20 minute fireworks display.

The city commission plans to meet Wednesday morning at 7:30 to decide whether to allow it or not.

Reno plans spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks display

Display location:Reno
City:Reno
State:Nevada
Date:New Year's Eve
Display conpany:Lantis Fireworks
Show contact:pinkletters@sfchronicle.com.

Details: Ten tons of pyrotechnics, bright new lights arching over the Virginia Street casino strip, ice skating and a variety of hotel parties will make for an explosive, if chilly, New Year's Eve in Reno.

Ken Lantis, owner of Lantis Fireworks and Lasers of Draper, Utah, says the aerial display, to be launched from the top of four hotel towers, will be more concentrated, the explosions closer together, than typical fireworks shows in Las Vegas which are spread out over a larger area. Canceled last year because of budget cuts, the reinstated midnight spectacular is sponsored by a handful of downtown casinos and the City of Reno.

Fireworks will be launched from the top of two Silver Legacy Hotel towers and the roofs of the Cal Neva and Harrah's. Pyrotechnics will be choreographed to the music of Michael Jackson, says Lantis, whose company has staged fireworks shows around the world.

The 15-minute display is an optimum time for the winter production, he says. "We want the show to bring people up and let them down, then bring them up again. When they walk back inside, they're exhausted at seeing fireworks," he says. "We want people to say they've never seen anything like it."

Boulevard celebrants will also see new lights that seem to twinkle brighter above Virginia Street - in the city's trademark arch. Some 2,076 incandescent bulbs were recently replaced with high-energy 2.5-watt LED bulbs as part of a city energy efficiency program.

The city's Rink on the River will also be open for ice skating, until 11 p.m. Next to the Truckee River, where it flows under the Virginia Street Bridge, the rink offers skate rentals and will be open, weather permitting. Heavy rain, snow or temperatures that are too warm for the ice, will close the rink, although the latter possibility is unlikely. The average low January temperature in Reno is 22 degrees. To keep visitors warm, hotel casinos have planned an assortment of New Year's Eve parties, listed above. {sbox}


Atlantis Hotel Casino:
3800 S. Virginia St. Live entertainment, casino-wide balloon drop, party hats, free cake and champagne toast. (800) 723-6500, www.atlantiscasino.com

El Dorado Hotel Casino:
345 N. Virginia St. Live Dave Reinhart concert starts at 10 p.m. for $10 at Brew Brothers and Abbacadabra performs the music of ABBA at 7 and 10 p.m. Tickets from $29.95. (800) 648-5966, www.eldoradoreno.com

Harrah's:
219 N. Center St. Motown group Patton Leatha performs at a 10:30 p.m. dance party. $45, champagne and party favors. (800) 427-7247, www.harrahsreno.com

John Ascuaga's Nugget:
1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks. Dance party featuring The Blasters with the Saddletramps 9:30 p.m. $35 includes party favors and champagne toast. (800) 648-1177, www.janugget.com

Peppermill Hotel Casino:
2707 Virginia St. Edge Nightclub's 2nd Annual Masquerade Ball 9 p.m. Victorian themed party, $60 including champagne toast and mask. (775) 232-8095, www.edgeofreno.com

Rink on the River:
10 N. Virginia Plaza. Adults, $7, children 3-12, $5. Rentals $2. (775) 334-6268, www.cityofreno.com

Silver Legacy Hotel Casino:
407 N. Virginia St. Three different party options range from $20 to $124.50, the latter including a filet mignon dinner show featuring the music of Hip Service. (800) 687-8733, www.Silverlegacyreno.com

E-mail the writer at pinkletters@sfchronicle.com.

New Year's Eve celebration to feature fireworks display

Display location:PEORIA
City:PEORIA
State:Illinois
Date:New Year Eve

Details: PEORIA — Red, white and ... Happy New Year?

An annual Fourth of July tradition matches up with New Year's Eve this month along Peoria's riverfront for a first-time event.

Pat Sullivan, co-owner of Kelleher's Irish Pub & Eatery, said a fireworks show, weather permitting, will take place about 9 p.m. Dec. 31 outside his restaurant at the Le Vieux Carre building.

"Plenty will be going on with the restaurants open, and we'll serve Irish coffee and hot chocolate," Sullivan said. "We want to light up the new year."

Sullivan said the fireworks show will be similar to displays often held after Peoria Chiefs baseball games. The show will be produced by Central States Fireworks out of Athens, Ill.

In addition, Sullivan said he plans to ask the city to close Water Street from State to Walnut streets to create a street festival-like atmosphere. A request for that has yet to be made to the city's public works or fire departments.

"I think we'd probably consider it," Public Works Director David Barber said. "We have not seen anything on it, though."

Sullivan said he might make the request early next week.

"I'm working on that," Sullivan added. "Just to close it (for the night) for people to get a feel for it."

He said liquor will not be sold outdoors during the fireworks show.

Sullivan wants to close Water Street on a more permanent basis next year. His proposal calls for closing the street from State to Walnut every night between 4 p.m. and midnight, allowing for outdoor entertainment and street dining. A request for that is expected to be heard before the liquor commission early next year.

As for New Year's Eve, Sullivan said wants it to serve as a "preview" for his more long-term plans.

"It's a preview of what we want to do with a beautiful setting and a great atmosphere," he said.

He also said it's important for Peoria businesses to find unique ways to draw visitors to Downtown during the winter months, when entertainment activities are less frequent than during the summer months.

"I've gone up in the wintertime to Milwaukee and Green Bay, and they have festivals year round," Sullivan said. "Peoria just starts in May and quits in August."

Sullivan also hopes this year's show leads to a bigger New Year's Eve fireworks show in the future. He said he wanted to have a bigger production this year but didn't have the time to plan for it all.

"We want to do four or five (different fireworks displays) simultaneously throughout the Peoria area and to be a state draw," he said. "We want to have people come here and spend money and see something they don't see in their own cities."

Fireworks display magic has Doha aglow

Display location:West Bay
City:Doha
State:Qatar
Date:Dec.18

Details: Spectacular fireworks illuminated the Corniche and the West Bay sky in a fitting finale to the week-long Qatar National Day celebrations yesterday evening.
The city’s most popular location was crowded with people gathering to witness the pyrotechnic show, an important part of the celebrations.
The evening was a true reflection of Qatar’s culture as men, women and children of all nationalities joined in celebrating the day.
The visitors were also impressed with the lighting and other decorations adorning the Corniche road and surrounding buildings.
The fireworks show was undoubtedly the jewel in the crown of yesterday’s programme as it was the event everyone was looking forward to. The Australians who staged the display did not disappoint the crowds who lined the Corniche and occupied rooftops.
For over a quarter of an hour, the sky was aglow with a riot of colours and the city echoed with the boom of fireworks.
As soon as the display got under way exactly at 8pm as promised, screams and cheers could be heard all along the Corniche.
Youngsters were the most vocal in their delight. Cars moving on the waterfront stopped for the show.
The scale of the show was incredible, and the colours over the Doha night sky provided a memorable sight that could be seen from all over the city.Organisers told Gulf Times they were “impressed” with the large number of people who attended the events on the National Day.
The image of the Corniche with its highly developed West Bay skyline being showered in gold was an appropriate finale to the day-long celebrations.
The excitement that overwhelmed the crowd was evident as cars with enthusiastic people waving flags filled the city’s roads.

New Year's Eve Fireworks Show

Display location:Inner Harbor
City: Baltimore
State:Maryland
Date: Jan. 1
Display company:Pyrotecnico

Details: Derek Valcourt has more on the preparations underway for the Ports of America fireworks celebration at the Inner Harbor.

There's a new company running the fireworks show this year and workers from Pyrotecnico are putting the finishing touches on what they promise will be one of Baltimore's best shows ever.

Same barges, same Inner Harbor, same holiday, but there's a different fireworks company. Pyrotecnico will bring their high-tech take on fireworks to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The award-winning company uses special computers to fire the show and synchronize each barge and the music to GPS satellite clocks.

There are three barges packed with more than 5,000 explosives.

"Within the first 30 seconds of the show, people are going to be like, `OK, we're in for something really good,'" said Rocco Vitale, Pyrotecnico.

Another new aspect to the show is something called the Pyrodome, invented by Pyrotecnico. It will be placed right in the Inner Harbor, and chances are it's like nothing you've ever seen before. It's been described as a giant wall of color with all kinds of special effects.

"I think you'll see things in our fireworks show that you've never seen before in Baltimore, so we're excited," said Tracey Baskerville, Baltimore Promotion and the Arts.

Workers spent all week preparing the barges, but they've been planning the show for months.

No matter where you are in the Inner Harbor, organizers say you are going to have a great view of the fireworks show. But perhaps the best seat is going to be on your own couch because WJZ is going to broadcast the entire show live at Smith's Shipyard in Curtis Bay.

Entertainment starts at the Inner Harbor Amphitheatre at 7 p.m. If the show can't go on because of the weather, it will launch Jan. 1 at 7 p.m.

For more information on Pyrotecnico, click here.

Special fireworks display effects will dazzle at Burj Dubai

Display location:Burj Dubai area
City:Dubai
State:Dubai
Date:Jan 04

Destails:Dubai The inauguration of Burj DubaiBurj Dubai — the world's tallest building — will feature a spectacular display of fireworks, light beams, choreographed water displays and sound and music effects that will portray the evolution of the world's most iconic new building in a breathtaking sensory journey.

In all, 868 high-powered stroboscope lights will be integrated into the facade of Burj DubaiBurj Dubai and the tower's spire — and each stroboscope will be operated individually to create a series of hypnotic lighting sequences.

The entire display is controlled by a sophisticated arrangement of ultra-high-tech IT systems, which choreograph at least 50 sequences of lighting, fireworks, water and sound effects.

Event experts from France, Britain and the United States collaborated on the project, demonstrating the global spirit of teamwork which defines Burj DubaiBurj Dubai itself.

Powerful strobelights will be fixed near the pinnacle of the tower, and six "narrow beam" searchlights will be positioned 700 metres up the tower.

The entire inauguration consists of a pre-show and three themed acts — From the Desert Flower to Burj DubaiBurj Dubai, Heart Beat, and From Dubai and the UAE to the World — and a fireworks finale.

A giant screen on Burj Park Island as well as several television screens located in Downtown Burj Dubai including the Waterfront Promenade, will convey the inauguration to the spectators.

The international media, including Dubai TV, will broadcast the event worldwide.

The public can watch the inauguration from the Waterfront Promenade adjacent to The Dubai Mall.

The inauguration begins with a short film depicting the story of Dubai and the evolution of the Burj DubaiBurj Dubai as the world's tallest building.

The carefully choreographed sound, light, water and fireworks display will follow.

The first act in the light and sound show, themed From the Desert Flower to Burj DubaiBurj Dubai, is a co-ordinated water, light and fireworks display.

Guests can watch the unfolding of the desert lily, Hymenocallis, the design inspiration of the Burj DubaiBurj Dubai.

The segment ends with a rhythmic water and fireworks show.

The second act, Heart Beat, captures the construction of the tower in a dynamic light show.

An astonishing example of technological innovation, the display recreates the effect of a beating heart and uses no fewer than 300 space cannon projectors to generate a shadow-like image of the tower.

In the third act, From Dubai and the UAE to the World, sky tracers envelop the tower in a strong halo of white light before reproducing the sunbeams of the developer's corporate logo.

These then expand in all directions as the lighting rig on the tower's spire activates.

In its spectacular finale, the show will feature an impressive show of 10,000 fireworks on and from the tower.

The sparkling display will illuminate the entire Downtown Burj Dubai area.

Fireworks displays in Central Park

Display location:Central Park
City:New York
State:Manhattan
Date:New Year’s Eve

Details: From deep inside a cubicle on the first official workday of 2010 for the hats-and-noisemakers crowd, a question came to mind: How did the people who worked while the rest of the city partied on New Year’s Eve spend their Monday? Were they still slaving away, if you can use that word about people who orchestrate ball drops in Times Square and mastermind fireworks displays in Central Park?

Jeffrey A. Straus, the chief executive of the company that produces the New Year’s Eve celebration at 1 Times Square, was not in his office, high above where it all happened as the clock ticked down the final moments of the old year. He was working, he said, but from home, in Armonk, N.Y.

“I’m working on getting people paid,” he said, a chore that he said involved going through invoices and budgets. “The last week of the year, so much stuff gets put to the side as far as paperwork goes,” he said, “and you wake up on Jan. 1 after you’ve slept for 18 hours, and you realize you’ve got to get that done.”

Except that the brand-new calendar said Monday was Jan. 4.

Mr. Straus’s Jan. 1 was Rip Van Winklish. He left Times Square at about 5:15 a.m., as he usually does after tidying up after the ball has dropped. “Typically, I’m up by late afternoon” on New Year’s Day, he said, “but this time, I got up, had a late lunch and went back to bed. It was that kind of a year.”

Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance, said he spent Monday “going through the piles of work which were deliciously deferred in December.” Some had been shoved aside, literally. He said that in anticipation of New Year’s Eve and a small crowd watching from his office, which has a view of guess what, he moved the things some people would have left in their inbox.

“I completely cleared all the surfaces and made the office very neat,” he said.

The revelers left traces of the night behind. He said there was a carpet of confetti when he arrived on Monday morning. “It adds a little color to the office,” he said. “It takes away from the gravitas.”

Ken Furstoss of Pyrotecnico, the fireworks company that staged the display in Central Park in connection with the New York Road Runners club’s four-mile midnight run, said that he spent Monday going over paperwork. “We do 35 percent of one year’s work in one weekend over the Fourth of July,” he said, “You have to get started on the contracts and the logistics early.”

Brian Carroll, a researcher for “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2010,” spent much of last week trying to find answers to questions from the writers on the show. On Monday, he said, “I’m not doing anything — I’m unemployed.”

“The job is over,” said Mr. Carroll, a freelancer who lives in the Los Angeles area, “and it wasn’t as late as you think on New Year’s Eve, because I’m on the West Coast. The people doing the writing were done at midnight East Coast time.”

He said he stayed up until about 2:30 a.m. “to see my name on the credits” at the end of the show.

Christmas Eve Fireworks Spectacular Show

Display location:Goondiwindi
City:Goondiwindi
Country:Australia
Date:Christmas Eve

Details: WHILE the Lions and helpers were working at Riddles Oval prior to the fireworks, Santa and his helpers distributed gifts to the residents of Kaloma and patients at the Hospital on Christmas Eve.
Father Christmas, his lovely assistants Isobella Anderson and Ainslie Bell, and the Lion’s Lion put a little Christmas cheer onto their faces as they patrolled the corridors seeking out those who had been good this year.

Once these visits were over, it was on to the oval where Santa and his crew distributed lollies to a huge crowd of children from his sleigh before the fireworks from Skyward Entertainment set the night alight with colour.

Wayne Banks from the Lions Club said there was a bigger crowd than usual at Riddles Oval this year.

“It was chock-a-block with people,” Wayne said.

Thirty-five members of the Lions Club, along with helpers from Rotary and Apex cooked almost 1200 steaks, 40kg of sausages, 40kg of Dagwood Dogs and 150kgs of chips.

The fact that all that was left over were a couple of trays of steak and a dozen bags of chips is a great indication of the size of the crowd.

“The Lions Club would like to thank the carollers for their efforts on the night.

The carollers were Rose Reeves-Sharpe, Stacey Otto, Eddie Campbell, Denis and Isis Nonan, Sam and Bonnie Jessen, and Leonardo Nonal, Terry Valmonte, Sherwin and Arnel with a special thanks to the boys from Weapon Head who looked after the sound equipment all night,” Wayne said.

THANKS Gundy! You have done yourself proud!

The Goondiwindi Lions Club would like to thank everyone who came to the Christmas Eve Fireworks Spectacular and especially for leaving the ovals and surrounding areas in such a clean and tidy condition.

Thank you all for your thoughtfulness.

The Lions Club members arrived back at 5a.m Christmas Day to clean up and were very impressed and appreciative of how clean the grounds were left after the record crowd that attended the celebrations the night before.

A great sight to see!

Also a big thank you to all the businesses and individuals who donated money towards the fireworks and to the many volunteers, our service clubs, Lions, Rotary and Apex, the Scout group, and also the parents and students from the High School Gallipoli Tour who helped on the night.

The success of the night was due to a lot of work from many different volunteers and we thank you all for a great family night in Goondiwindi.

Hope to see you all there again next year!

Peter Smith

(President)

The Goondiwindi Lions Club Inc.

Dazzling fireworks display light up world's tallest tower

Display location:Dubai
City:Dubai
Country:Dubai
Date:January 4.

Details: Burj Dubai, the world's tallest tower that stands at 828 metres high, was on Monday inaugurated by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad, who sprang a surpise by renaming the skyscraper 'Burj Khalifa', after the United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Khalifa.

Blazing fireworks and dazzling lights marked the opening of the world's tallest tower that pips all its nearest rivals, including the 101-storey high Taipei Tower in Taiwan.

Sheikh Mohammad inaugurated the tower in a colourful ceremony featuring dazzling laser lights, fireworks display and a choreographed water display on the Dubai fountains which stretch for 275 metres at the foot of the tower.

The 11-minute scenario consisted of a pre-show and three acts; the Hymenocalis flower, heart beat and the firework display finale. The extravaganza was managed by event architect company Prisme International, said its CEO Pierre Marcout.

The finale act saw a magnificent show of 10,000 firework effects on and from the tower, estimated to be the highest ever in the world reaching 850m in height and lasting three minutes.

The display was carefully designed by famous Christophe Berthonneau of the Groupe F Company who also produced the 1998 World Cup at Stade de France and the New Year's Eve 2000 by the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic Games in Athens. Click NEXT to read further. . .

Image: Fireworks explode around the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest tower, during the opening ceremony in Dubai on January 4.

New Year's fireworks show

Display location:Baltimore
City:Baltimore
State:Maryland
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: Baltimore's New Year's fireworks went off precisely at midnight, on time and on schedule, despite low attendance in a sputtering, cold rain and a dense fog that obscured the highest and brightest pyrotechnic displays as they exploded over the Inner Harbor.

Some residents are questioning the decision to shoot off the fireworks and not delay a day, as the city did the year before, when a stiff wind made it too dangerous to shoot explosives into the air. But the executive director of Baltimore's Office of Promotion and the Arts said the only reason to postpone the event is for public safety.

"It's unfortunate that the low ceiling did create a problem with the higher fireworks," said the director, Bill Gilmore, who watched the display from the deck of the Constellation. "But to call it off because the quality might not be what you want is not a good decision."

He estimated the Inner Harbor crowd to be about 30,000, down from a typical 100,000. He also said that though it was rainy and foggy, there was no wind, which also can create problems because the smoke from fireworks lingers instead of blowing away and offering a clearer view of the displays.

Fog seemed to move quickly into downtown just after the first bursts shot into the air. As the 18-minute show went on, fog obscured some of the tallest downtown buildings. From Federal Hill rooftops, the three barges were visible but rockets designed to fly high quickly disappeared, and at times only the bottom half of ball-shaped displays were visible. During the final minutes, the clouds lit up but even the colorful finale was shrouded.

Paul W. Robinson, the head of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, watched the display from his rooftop deck and from Federal Hill Park. "I'm sure it would've been much more impressive had it been a clear night," he said.

Cathy Strodel, who lives in Federal Hill, said she accompanied a group of friends down to the harbor minutes before midnight and ended up scoring a great spot because so few people were there. But they had a hard time seeing the fireworks.

"The fog just kind of cut them off; it was hard to see how beautiful they were," she said.

The decision to cancel or go ahead with the fireworks is made by representatives from the police and fire departments and the city's emergency management office, with input from Gilmore's office and officials from the company that provided the fireworks. Ports America, a harbor terminal operator, paid more than $100,000 for the display.

Gilmore said pushing the fireworks back a day would mean towing the three barges back to Curtis Bay and then putting them back out the next evening. The company would foot the bill - provisions to cover the cost of delays related to inclement weather are in the contract - but he said the city would have to pay to deploy extra police and fire personnel.

Not shooting off the fireworks, Gilmore said, "would disappoint the people who came down and weathered the storm. ... You would've gotten a whole lot of complaints if we didn't do the display. We're lucky we were able to continue the tradition this year."

Private funding for next year's New Year's display is not yet in place, he said.

Grand Rapids may see fireworks display this weekend

Display location:Grand Rapids
City:GRAND RAPIDS
State:Michigan
Date:Jan.9

Details: GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Grand Rapids could be getting a special display of fireworks this weekend.

Saturday night will wrap up the 125th Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions and the executive director wants to celebrate with a 15 to 20 minute fireworks display.

The city commission plans to meet Wednesday morning at 7:30 to decide whether to allow it or not.

Fun and fireworks show

Display location:Waikiki
City:Hilton Hawaiian Village
State:Hawaii
Date:every Friday night at 7:45
Event website:www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com.

Details: Waikiki is one of Hawaii's busiest tourist areas, with luxury hotels edging miles of white-sand beach on the edge of downtown Honolulu. But it's easy to find low-cost or free fun around Waikiki. Among the options:

• Hula shows on the beach. Lots of Hawaiian hotels stage luaus that include hula, and you can pay a lot to see them. Or you can enjoy the free, authentic Hawaiian music and hula shows by some of Hawaii's finest dance troupes and performers Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays (weather permitting) at the Kuhio Beach Hula Mound, near the Duke Kahanamoku statue, beachside at Uluniu and Kalakaua avenues in Waikiki. Opens with traditional blowing of a conch shell. It's 6:30-7:30 p.m. most of the year, or 6-7 p.m. November through January. Seating on the grass; beach chairs, mats, etc., OK and cameras are welcome. For information, call 808-843-8002.

• Music and movies on the beach. "Sunset on the Beach" is a series of free movie nights, usually a couple nights a month, with a large screen set up on Queen's Beach in Waikiki. Live musical performances precede the 7 p.m. movies, and dinner is available from local food wagons. Check the schedule at www.sunsetonthebeach.net.

• Band concerts at the palace. The Royal Hawaiian Band, founded in 1836 by King Kamehameha III and claiming today to be the only full-time municipal band in the United States, gives free concerts at noon most Fridays on the lawn in front of 'Iolani Palace, the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom's last two monarchs — King Kalakaua, who built the palace in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen Lili'uokalani. It's a short bus ride from Waikiki. More information: www.honolulu.gov/rhb.

• Tropical farmers market. Even if you don't spend a penny on fresh produce, flowers or breakfast from local vendors, the Saturday farmers market in the parking lot at Kapi'olani Community College, 4303 Diamond Head Road, is worth a wander to take in the sights, smells and spectacle. Instead of salmon and local apples like you'd find in Seattle, expect local papaya, fragrant white ginger flowers and apple bananas. Every Saturday, 7:30 to 11 a.m. Get there a half-hour before opening time, everyone else does. See www.hfbf.org/farmersMarket.shtml.

• A jungle hike. Hike to Manoa Falls, starting from a trailhead within a 20-minute drive of Waikiki, for a great (though muddy) introduction to wild Hawaiian forest — go ahead, call it jungle — complete with hanging vines and philodendron leaves the size of elephant ears. Two miles round trip.

If you don't mind the $5 suggested donation, and you're a fan of long, quiet trails lined with exotic flowers that make the place like an open-air perfume factory, a wander around nearby Lyon Arboretum is well worth your time, too. See www.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum.

• A free art museum. The Hawai'i State Art Museum, 250 S. Hotel St., across from 'Iolani Palace, presents a large collection of work by Hawaii artists. See http://hawaii.gov/sfca.

• Hula and ukulele lessons. Royal Hawaiian Center, 2201 Kalakaua Ave., one of Waikiki's main malls, offers free cultural enrichment alongside shopping at Cartier, Hermes and Ferragamo. See www.royalhawaiiancenter.com/hawaiian-heritage/cultural-classes for details.

• Friday fireworks. Hilton Hawaiian Village, 2005 Kalia Road, puts on a fireworks show every Friday night at 7:45. A poolside seat for the Rockin' Hawaiian Rainbow Revue, just before the show, is $15. But you can see the fireworks for free from the beach or most anywhere around Waikiki. Details: www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com.

Fireworks display at Sun Bowl Fan Fiesta

Display location: William F. Judson Convention Center
City:El Paso
State:Texas
Date: December 30

Details: EL PASO -- Several thousand people showed up at the Sun Bowl Fan Fiesta to get in the party spirit before tomorrow's big game.

"This is so much fun, we come every year," said El Pasoan Connie Hunt, 44. "My favorite part is the music."

The Fan Fiesta at the Judson F. Williams Convention Center.featured musical performances by mariachis and Disco band Fungi Mungle, a dance performance by Danza Azteca, and the Sun Bowl Fireworks Spectacular.

A lively battle of the bands between Stanford and Oklahoma was one of the most-watched demonstrations of the night, with the Stanford band's mascot, known as the Tree, leaving the performance area in the main hall to kiss the hands of the Sun Court princesses gathered on stage.

The Brut Sun Bowl begins at noon Thursday.

Fireworks Display at the Inner Harbor

Display location:Inner Harbor
City:Baltimore
State:Maryland
Date:Jan.1 at 7 p.m
Display company:Pyrotecnico

Details: Derek Valcourt has more on the preparations underway for the Ports of America fireworks celebration at the Inner Harbor.

There's a new company running the fireworks show this year and workers from Pyrotecnico are putting the finishing touches on what they promise will be one of Baltimore's best shows ever.

Same barges, same Inner Harbor, same holiday, but there's a different fireworks company. Pyrotecnico will bring their high-tech take on fireworks to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The award-winning company uses special computers to fire the show and synchronize each barge and the music to GPS satellite clocks.

There are three barges packed with more than 5,000 explosives.

"Within the first 30 seconds of the show, people are going to be like, `OK, we're in for something really good,'" said Rocco Vitale, Pyrotecnico.

Another new aspect to the show is something called the Pyrodome, invented by Pyrotecnico. It will be placed right in the Inner Harbor, and chances are it's like nothing you've ever seen before. It's been described as a giant wall of color with all kinds of special effects.

"I think you'll see things in our fireworks show that you've never seen before in Baltimore, so we're excited," said Tracey Baskerville, Baltimore Promotion and the Arts.

Workers spent all week preparing the barges, but they've been planning the show for months.

No matter where you are in the Inner Harbor, organizers say you are going to have a great view of the fireworks show. But perhaps the best seat is going to be on your own couch because WJZ is going to broadcast the entire show live at Smith's Shipyard in Curtis Bay.

Entertainment starts at the Inner Harbor Amphitheatre at 7 p.m. If the show can't go on because of the weather, it will launch Jan. 1 at 7 p.m.

Sydney Harbour fireworks display ,'best show on earth'

Display location:Sydney
City:Sydney
Country:Australia
Date:Dec 31

Details: Sydney's Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, says tonight's harbour fireworks display is now the largest and most advanced in the world, attracting bigger crowds than London or New York.

25,000 shooting comets will be let off during the 9:00pm and midnight shows.

Pyrotechnicians are using microchip technology for the first time meaning the firework bursts can be seen for up to fifteen seconds longer and there will be more blue sparks than ever before - the hardest colour to produce.

Clover Moore wants everyone harbour-side to wear a splash of blue to support the night's theme - Awakening the Spirit.

"I think it is very timely call to awaken our spirit, to change our ways, to nurture our environment, to save our planet and to provide for the future of our children and that's why we've chosen this year's charity partner, the Australian Conservation Foundation, we'll be asking people to turnover a new green leaf for 2010," she said.

The New South Wales Premier, Kristina Keneally, says tonight's harbourside fire works display will also pump $150 million dollars into the state's economy.

The Premier says the event will be broadcast to a billion people around the globe.

"I think it is something that the people of Sydney, and the people of New South Wales, wear with great pride that, when the rest of the world starts to celebrate the new year, they look here first, and we give them the best show on earth in the best city on earth."

Thousands of people have already claimed viewing spots around Sydney Harbour ready for tonight's fireworks.

Police are expecting a crowd of one million, and around 600,000 people are expected to travel to the city by public transport.

Gavin Cumming from Scotland is wearing a kilt and says he was advised to find his viewing spot in the Rocks early.

"It's just a word of mouth really along with the backpackers, we all speak together and we've all discussed this is the place to be and this is the time to be at," he said.

"It's just a tradition back home to wear a kilt and dress up a lot so I thought why not take the kilt with me and do the same here."

Fireworks display in Aberdeen

Display location:Edinburgh Castle
City:Aberdeen
Country:UK
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: Organisers of the city's street party decided to scrap the event following concerns from Northern Constabulary.

Meanwhile up to 80,000 gathered for Edinburgh's street party and revellers saw in the new year at events in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Stonehaven.

Heavy snow was forecast for the north-east, with freezing temperatures.

Airport closure

Police in the Highlands said they had rescued motorists stranded on the A9 southbound and urged people not to make unnecessary journeys.

Northern Constabulary Ch Insp Andrew MacLean, said: "The underfoot conditions in Inverness are extremely hazardous and the roads in the city and in the outlying areas are treacherous."

He said for public safety reasons they had recommended that organisers cancel the Hogmanay party.

Meanwhile Inverness airport was closed and several hundred passengers had to find overnight accommodation in the city.

Sixteen passengers, however, opted to stay in the terminal to bring in the new year with champagne and pizza.

Deacon Blue

In Aberdeen a fireworks display lit up the sky over His Majesty's Theatre while the streets of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire were illuminated by the 150-year-old fireball festival.

Elsewhere, Deacon Blue headlined the celebrations taking place in the centre of Glasgow.

In Edinburgh Madness headlined the Concert in the Gardens, while The Enemy, Frightened Rabbit, Stanley Odd and We Were Promised Jetpacks appeared on the Waverley stage.

The new year was heralded by a massive fireworks display above Edinburgh Castle before a laser and light display in Princes Street.

Crowds gathered at the esplanade of Stirling Castle saw in the new year with acts including Sandi Thom and the MacDonald Brothers.

New Year’s Eve fireworks shows

Display location:WORCESTER
City:WORCESTER
State:MA
Date:New Year’s Eve

Details: WORCESTER — An executive at a Worcester company that stepped forward to pay for Worcester’s New Year’s Eve fireworks shows says the company came up with the money after a Boston radio talk show host mocked the city.

First Night Worcester had canceled two fireworks shows because not enough corporate sponsors as in previous years had stepped up to fund them.

Christopher Crowley, executive vice president at Polar Beverages, tells The Telegram & Gazette that his company decided to contribute $15,000 for the shows when the radio host made fun of the city because organizers said they were replacing the fireworks with Bubble Wrap for children to step on.

First Night Executive Director Joyce Kressler says she’s "ecstatic and thrilled" by Polar’s generosity.

She says the Bubble Wrap event is still on.

New Years Fireworks Display in Jacksonville

Display location:St. John's River
City:Jacksonville
State:FL
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: When it comes to fireworks shows, the extravaganzas on New Year's Eve come in a close second to those on the fourth of July. It seems that nearly every city in the world has a show to offer. For those of you here on the First Coast, or anywhere else for that matter, why not avoid the crowds and go watch the show from on the water?

This year's fireworks show, will be launched right at midnight, from barges in the St. John's River. The city says they will be stretched from in front of the Landing down to Metropolitan Park. They can be viewed on land from either bank of the river. If you do choose to head out on the water to catch the show, then the best spot is just south of the Hart Bridge, where no buidings or bridges will obstruct your view. Make sure not to get too close to the barges though as they will certainly be cordoned off. Call (904) 630-3690 for more information or visit the city's website for more information: http://www.coj.net/Departments/Recreation+and+Community+Services/Special+Events/New+Years+Eve/default.htm

Taking your boat out to watch the fireworks has a number of advantages. First and foremost, you can avoid the crowds at the Landing or elsewhere and enjoy the show at your leisure. You don't have to fight for a good seat, listen to the annoying commentary of the people next to you, or sit in traffic to get back home. Second, the view is unparalleled. There are no nearby lights, trees, or buildings to obstruct your view, and you can get pretty close to the launching point. Finally, it is an easy way to take out the family, some friends, or just that special someone, relax and have a glass of wine, and enjoy the delights of boating while ringing in the new year. And really, is there a better way to celebrate the beginning of 2010 than that?

Fireworks Display at New Year's Eve festivities at La Villita

Display location:La Villita
City:La Villita
State:TX
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: Live music, food and family fun — capped off by a midnight fireworks display near the Tower of the Americas — will highlight this year's annual New Year's Eve festivities at La Villita.

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell, president of the San Antonio Parks Foundation, said an estimated 250,000 people are expected for the free downtown event, which the city and foundation have co-sponsored since 1997.

The extravaganza will offer live music — including international and rock 'n' roll — on four stages in and around La Villita, starting at 5 p.m.

“This free event features something for everyone including music ... and special entertainment areas for children and families,” Cockrell said.

The 14-minute fireworks show is once again expected to be the main draw, although the entire event is designed as family entertainment.

Many downtown hotels usually report running out of available rooms and restaurants operate at capacity during the annual event.

More information is available by calling the San Antonio Parks Foundation at (210) 212-8423 or visiting celebratesa.org.

Ring in 2010 with Fireworks Display at High Country Ski Resorts

Display location:Beech Mountain Resort
City:BOONE
State: N.C.
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: BOONE, N.C. - Winter sports enthusiasts are invited to ring in 2010 on the slopes in the High Country of North Carolina. Each of the three High Country ski resorts offers a fireworks extravaganza this New Year's Eve.

The festivities begin with a 10:30 p.m. fireworks show at Beech Mountain Resort, while Appalachian Ski Mountain and Sugar Mountain Resort light the skies at midnight.

Beech Mountain Resort provides night skiing until 10 p.m., followed by ice skating from 10 p.m. to midnight. Folks can watch the 10:30 p.m. fireworks display from the Viewhaus restaurant or anywhere in the Alpine village at the base of the slopes. There will also be live music in the Beech Tree Bar & Grill from Chasing Edison, a Charlotte-based rock band.

Sugar Mountain Resort has skiing, tubing and ice skating until 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve. At midnight, the public is invited to a combined torch light parade and fireworks show, while the Terry Batson Band provides live beach music and oldies in the lodge.

Appalachian Ski Mountain's alcohol-free celebration begins with night skiing at 6 p.m., followed by moonlight ice skating at 10 p.m. A torch light parade takes place at 11:45 p.m., with fireworks at the stroke of midnight. Breakfast is also available from 9 p.m. to midnight.

"We've provided fireworks on New Year's Eve since 1992. It's one of our best nights of the year," said general manager Brad Moretz. "They shoot them off on the slopes and people watch from the deck, or on the base of the slopes or the front porch."

For info on these three celebrations, call High Country Host at (800) 438-7500, or visit the website for each resort: www.appskimtn.com, www.skisugar.com and www.skibeech.com.

2 fireworks shows on New Year's Eve

Display location:APPLEWOLD
City:APPLEWOLD
State:Pennsylvania
Date:Dec.23
Display company: Katatumbo Fireworks

Details: APPLEWOLD — Everyone knows that Santa Claus is coming to town later this week, but he's making a special trip to the area Wednesday evening to spread Christmas joy.

Members of the Applewold Fire Department and the Kittanning Firemen's Band are teaming up to offer a little holiday spirit to those who can't wait until Friday by offering music, fun and fireworks.

Coordinator Mark Feeney said events will kick off at 6 p.m. featuring a small "parade" through Applewold, West Kittanning and Kittanning, featuring Applewold's fire truck, which is decorated with Christmas lights. Santa will be on board, handing out candy and small treats for kids.

Along with Santa, the fire department's truck will pull a trailer, loaded with 15 to 20 members of the Kittanning Firemen's Band, who will play Christmas carols at various stops along the way, Feeney said.

After the trek, Santa and the band will greet visitors at the town's fire hall until 8:45 p.m., when all eyes will turn to the sky for a nearly 20-minute fireworks display.

"It's going to be a nice time and something for the entire family," Feeney said. "We've talked about doing this for a couple years and this year we decided to get sponsors to help pay for it and we're hoping that people will enjoy something a little different."

The fireworks, being put off from Applewold's playground area by Katatumbo Fireworks of Ford City, will be able to be viewed from town, as well as from Riverfront Park in Kittanning, Feeney said.

Mike Totos of the firemen's band, said the members playing are looking forward to the festivities and plan to bundle up for the ride on the trailer.

"It's going to be cold, but we'll have fun," he said. "This is something different than a typical concert, so we hope that the community comes out and has fun with us."

Fireworks shows on New Years Eve

Display location:Delaware River
City:Philadelphia
State:PA
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation announced Tuesday it will produce not one but two fireworks shows this New Year's Eve.

In addition to the traditional show at midnight, there will now be an earlier show at 6 p.m.

Both shows will be choreographed to unique soundtracks and launched from barges in the middle of the Delaware River with clear views from both Philadelphia and Camden.

Visitors to both the Philadelphia and Camden waterfronts will be able to hear the synchronized soundtracks for the fireworks from speakers on the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing and Wiggins Park in Camden.

KYW Newsradio will broadcast the official soundtracks to both shows to allow revelers wherever they are watching to tune to 1060 AM to enjoy the fireworks displays with their coordinating soundtracks.

CBS 3 will televise the traditional fireworks show live at midnight, along with a special pre-show leading up to the countdown so the entire Greater Philadelphia region can ring in the New Year with a bang.

Bensalem Blvd. to close on weekdays

Bensalem

Aqua Pennsylvania will close Bensalem Boulevard between Gibson Road and Route 13 in Bensalem for work beginning Jan. 4, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.

The road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through April 30.

During construction, Bensalem Boulevard through traffic will be detoured over Gibson Road, Hulmeville Road and Route 132 (Street Road) and Route 13. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone.

Motorists are advised to allow extra time when traveling through the area.

Aqua Pennsylvania will complete the work under a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit.

Drivers can log onto 511pa.com or call 511 from any phone to check traffic conditions on major highways before heading out.

For more information, visit www.dot.state.pa.us/district6 or call 610.205.6700.

SEPTA holiday schedule

Philadelphia

SEPTA City and Suburban Transit Division bus, trolley and subway-elevated routes as well as Regional Rail lines will operate on weekday schedules on Christmas Eve, which is Thursday.

On Friday, Christmas Day, all SEPTA services will operate on Sunday or special schedules, said SEPTA press officer Gary Fairfax.

On Christmas Day, Suburban Transit Division bus Routes 120, 123, 129, 130 and 132 will not operate, Fairfax said. SEPTA Regional Rail service will operate on a special holiday (reduced Sunday) schedule with rail lines providing service about every two hours with the exceptions of the Airport R1 line, which will operate every half hour.

Trenton R7 will provide hourly service.

The revised SEPTA Christmas Day regional rail schedules are available now at www.septa.org

100 years ago in Bucks

The disheveled bard entered the weary-eyed editor's apartment.

"Is there an opening here for a poet?" he inquired.

"Yes, indeed," replied the editor, touching a button underneath his desk, and the next instant the poet disappeared through a trap door in the floor.

Humor in the Bucks County Gazette of December 1909

Fireworks show, ice sculptures and 54•40 downtown New Year’s Eve

Display location:Brampton
City:Brampton
Country:Canada
Date:New Year’s Eve
Event webiste:www.brampton.ca

A concert by 54•40, and fireworks at 9 p.m. and midnight are part of the New Year’s Eve celebration the city has planned in downtown Brampton.

Approximately 40,000 are expected to flock to Brampton’s downtown core for the music, entertainment, skating and fireworks.

The fun starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31 and doesn’t stop until 12:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day. In between, there will be fireworks off city hall at 9 p.m. and another fireworks display off the Rose Theatre at midnight.

There is something for everyone, with different zones set up through the downtown. The main stage is in Garden Square in front of the Rose Theatre, and it will feature Cure Gravity at 8 p.m., Pinup Saints at 9:30 p.m. and 54•40 taking to the stage at 10:45 p.m.

The city is also offering a VIP all access pass for $99 to get front row viewing of the concert, cash bar, buffet, and a chance to mingle with the artists.

For those with other interests, the city hall lobby will transformed into a cozy cafe where patrons can warm up and enjoy a hot beverage.

An Artist Avenue will also be set up with face painting, fortune telling, balloon artists and more.

Gage Park is the family entertainment area, with children’s entertainment starting at 7 p.m. including the Fairly Odd Parents, the Poynter Family Magic Show and a Hannah Montana tribute at 8:30 p.m.

Skating in Gage Park, an ice sculpture park, marshmallow roasting, a craft station, stilt walkers, magicians and other entertainment will also be offered free.

The tradition of Brampton’s New Year’s Eve celebration has been around for 20 years.

For more information and a full schedule, visit www.brampton.ca.

New Year's Eve Fireworks Display

Display location:Broadway Theatre
City:PHILADELPHIA
State: PA
Date:Dec.31

Details:New Year’s Eve — already a magical night on its own — could use a little more magic.

At least that’s what Blackwood resident and magician Al Belmont thought when he decided to organize a “Magical New Year’s Eve” celebration at the Broadway Theatre in Pitman.

The event boasts fun, dancing, singing, a live band and, of course, tons of magic.

A bite to eat, desserts and a coffee bar are also available at the show.

But, Belmont said, no alcohol will be served, making it a perfect New Year’s Eve outing for the whole family.
“Friends asked me, ‘Are you sure you want to do this show without alcohol?’” Belmont said. “But I think people want to come to a place where they don’t have to worry about someone being drunk around them.”

Belmont began his magical career after seeing a show in Philadelphia by The Great Blackstone. Harry Blackstone, a famous magician who started performing as a USO entertainer during World War II, was touring the country when Belmont first saw him. At 9, Belmont was enlisted to join the famous illusionist on stage.

“He gave me a rabbit wrapped in a newspaper and told me to take it home ... but he warned me not to squeeze it,” Belmont said. “Then Blackstone said ‘You squeezed it, didn’t you?’”

Lo and behold, the rabbit was gone, and a box of candy took its place.

“Then Blackstone folded a piece of papier-mâché to make it look like a rabbit, and the bunny was back. I took that very rabbit home with me ... he was so smart. He lived for six or seven years,” he said.

The next day, Belmont went to the library and took out a book on magic.

Soon after, he began performing at carnivals and fundraising events. He was encouraged to continue on this magical path by his friends and family and soon put on shows for soldiers at Fort Dix and was a regular on Philadelphia TV shows. He got his big break when he performed on Tony Grant’s “Stars of Tomorrow” on Atlantic City’s Steel Pier.

“I learned a lot from that show,” Belmont said of his time with Grant. “I was the only magician he brought back on his show ... I learned a lot about theater from him.”

Making a living as a magician hasn’t been easy, but it certainly has been rewarding. Shy as a child, Belmont said magic helped him open up to others.

“Magic is my first love and magic has been my way to reach out to people,” Belmont said.

And reaching out to people on New Year’s Eve seemed like a great idea to Belmont, who plans to amaze audience members at the Broadway Theatre this Dec. 31 with his “exciting” illusions.

“When people are cheering and standing, it’s like a thousand people are patting you on the back ... when an audience responds to what you do ... it’s a wonderful feeling. I just love making people happy,” Belmont said.

If you go:
A Magical New Year's Eve at the Broadway Theatre in Pitman offers four hours of entertainment starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person — $65 prior to Dec. 28. Information on group sales is available by calling (609) 217-2880. Tickets can be purchased by calling (856) 384-8381, at www.pitmanbroadwaytheatre.com or at the theater's box office Monday through Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. Also, $5 from every ticket sold will benefit the Parker Mother & Child Foundation. The foundation provides women all over the world with educational opportunities.
Other New Year’s Eve events for the whole family:

PHILADELPHIA — Fireworks at Penn’s Landing are a grand New Year’s Eve tradition and now there is twice the fun with two fireworks shows taking place on Dec. 31. The annual New Year’s Eve Party on Ice at the Blue Cross RiverRink from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., has always been fun-filled way to celebrate, so with the introduction of an earlier fireworks show at 6 p.m., there will be an additional New Year’s Eve Party on Ice to take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Both of these parties are great for all ages and ideal for families as a non-alcoholic way to ring in the New Year.
Seen easily along Philadelphia’s waterfront at Penn’s Landing at 6 p.m. and midnight, this year’s productions will weave a tapestry of color choreographed to different types of music.

Tickets to the Party on Ice are $30 for skaters and $20 for spectators. Tickets are limited and are available at riverrink.com through Ticket Philadelphia or by calling (215) 893-1999. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the Kimmel Center Box Office, located on Broad and Spruce streets in Philadelphia, and at the Blue Cross RiverRink during normal business hours. The Blue Cross RiverRink at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia’s only outdoor public ice rink, is located at Columbus Boulevard at Market Street.

CAMDEN — Experience the 6 p.m. fireworks display over the Delaware River from the region’s best vantage point — the decks of The Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial.

The Battleship will be opening her decks for both the 6 p.m. and midnight New Year’s Eve fireworks shows for people throughout the Delaware Valley. Families can spend the First Night of 2010 aboard the Battleship as part of the ship’s award-winning overnight encampment program.

Cost per person for the overnight encampment is $60.95. Call 1-866-877-6262 ext. 203 to reserve your bunk.

Reservations must be made in advance and include children between the ages of 6 and 18.

For those interested in coming aboard to just watch fireworks, the Battleship New Jersey will open at 4 p.m. for the 6 p.m. fireworks show, and 10 p.m. for the midnight fireworks show. Music, food and bar service (refreshments available for purchase) will be featured. Tickets are available for an $8 donation ($5 for members) and can be purchased at www.battleshipnewjersey.org, by calling 1-866-877-6262 ext 108. Tickets will also be available at the ship on New Year’s Eve.

The Battleship is also offering a special Tour and Fireworks combo for 6 p.m. fireworks show on New Year’s Eve. Guests can enjoy a self-guided tour of the ship, departing by 3 p.m., and then take their place at the forecastle of the Battleship for the 6 p.m. fireworks. The price is $18 for adults and $15 for children under 12. A special Family Tour and Fireworks combo will offer families two free children tour and fireworks combo tickets with the purchase of two adult tour and fireworks combo tickets. Tour and Fireworks combo tickets are available at the Battleship’s Ticket Office up to 3 p.m. on Dec. 31.

For more information on the ship’s many programs, visit www.battleshipnewjersey.org.
OCEAN CITY — First Night, Ocean City’s popular New Year’s Eve celebration, offers an economical, eight-hour celebration for all ages for just $14. Over 60 entertainment programs at 11 central locations are scheduled from 4 p.m. until midnight.

First Night kicks off at 4 p.m. with opening ceremonies at the Music Pier featuring the Harmony Show Choir, a high energy group of young adults whose talent appeals to all ages. There will also be face painters for the children and New Year’s give-aways.

Children will be able to enjoy the rides at Wonderland Pier from 5 to 9 p.m. and bounce Inflatables at the Sports and Civic Center, 6th Street off Boardwalk from 5 to 9 p.m. Gillian’s Adventure Golf will be open to First Night button holders from 4 p.m. until midnight. There will be a fireworks display at midnight to welcome the New Year.

First Night Admission buttons are available at Downtown Gillian’s, 838 Asbury Ave., seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Complete schedules are included with buttons making it easy to plan the evening. Buttons can also be ordered at www.firstnightocnj.com.

A buffet dinner prepared by local restaurant is available at the High School Cafeteria, 6th and Atlantic Avenue, from 4 to 9 p.m. and may be ordered when purchasing admission buttons. Price is $20 for adults and $8 for children.

PHILADELPHIA — Want to be a part of one of the most exciting New Year’s Eve parties in the area, but don’t want to keep the kids up late? Come to Please Touch Museum’s “Countdown to Noon” celebration on Thursday, Dec. 31, for a fun, festive alternative to keeping the little ones up past midnight. Countdowns will take place at noon and again at 1 p.m. to accommodate the large crowd of little party animals and their families.

Please Touch Museum is the perfect place to ring in the New Year by counting down the minutes to noon with music, Mummers, day-long interactive activities, and King Countdown, the museum’s official Countdown Marshal.

The museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and will be closed New Year’s Day.

CAPE MAY — If you love the impossible, then don’t miss Cape May Stage’s spellbinding “Intimate Evening of Grand Parlor Magic” featuring magicians Michael Russell Walsh and Johnny Mass. On Dec. 30 and 31 at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse, Mass and Walsh will mystify minds with their blend of sleight of hand magic and comedy.

“An Intimate Evening of Grand Parlor Magic” is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. and Thursday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. on the Otto Haas Stage at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse of the Cape May Stage. Tickets are $20. Call (609) 884-1341 for tickets and information or visit the theater’s Web site, www.capemaystage.com.

CHERRY HILL TWP. — Lucky kids from around South Jersey will be the first to welcome 2010 as they gather around a giant clock for a noontime countdown. This kid-style celebration happens way before bedtime on Thursday, Dec. 31 — and it’s so popular it happens three times.

New Year’s at Noon at the Garden State Discovery Museum puts top hats and tiaras in the tiny hands of children visitors. With confetti and streamers ready to fly into the air, they count down the minutes and seconds until noon. Pint-size party-goers celebrate early at 10 a.m., then at the stroke of noon, and again at 2 p.m.

The next day, smart but sleepy visitors will snag the year’s first bargain with no admission charged for anyone wearing pajamas who staggers through the door by noon. The Discovery Museum plans special operating hours of 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 1.

The Garden State Discovery Museum, 2040 Springdale Road in Cherry Hill, is an activity wonderland for infants through age 10. Admission is $9.95 for 12 months and older and $8.95 for seniors. The museum is open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, with an extended closing time of 8:30 p.m. Saturdays. (856) 424-1233, www.discoverymuseum.com.

Fireworks Display on The sixth Dubai International Film Festival

Display location:Dubai
City:Dubai
Country:Dubai
Date:14 Dec

Details: As the fireworks heralding the start of the sixth Dubai International Film Festival exploded above the city skyline last week, the message was clear: Dubai was still very much in business. After the surprise admission in late November that the property developer, Dubai World — a key player in the city’s construction boom of the 2000s, and therefore the city itself — couldn’t pay its debt, it appeared that one of the most audacious success stories of recent years had finally skidded to a screeching halt. Stocks worldwide plummeted, and as the festival opened it seemed that Dubai would soon be unable to raise so much as a dollar for a cup of coffee.

With blackly comic irony, the “crisis” (uttered with audible quotation marks) was the main item of conversation at the festival’s opening-night party at a beachside resort in the shadow of the towering Burj al-Arab hotel. Bejeweled ladies in impossibly high heels and chandelier earrings minded by their robed and watchful companions jiggled gently to house Muzak while the news media, industry types and hangers on knocked back endlessly refilled glasses of Champagne. The fireworks popped and crackled overhead, lighting up the emblem of the city’s hubris, the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island on which the new Atlantis hotel and fronds of close-packed villas stretch out into the Persian Gulf.

The festival’s program of 170 films emphasized new work from the Arab world, Asia and Africa, as well as some international heavy-hitters, including regional premieres of Pedro Almodovar’s “Broken Promises,” Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr Fox,” Rob Marshall’s “Nine” and James Cameron’s “Avatar.” One outstanding (and rare) example of local feature filmmaking at the festival was “City Of Life,” by the 28-year-old Emirati director Ali F. Mostafa, who made his first appearance at the festival three years ago with the short film “The Wheelbarrow.” The new film, proudly billed as the first domestically financed, multilingual Emirati feature, attempted the considerable task of putting the city’s warp-speed evolution into some kind of narrative context. It was generally a crowd-pleaser, but it will take some time for the local establishment to become accustomed to seeing itself, warts and all, depicted on the big screen. “With this film, I hope to change the global perception of Dubai,” Mostafa said before the screening. “I know, of late, there has been a tendency to bash up Dubai. I hope my film changes all that. The film shows us as a set of confident people — some good and some bad.”

There were some notable Moroccan entries, too. Merzak Allouache’s “Harragas” was an audience favorite, claiming the Jury, FIPRESCI and the Human Rights Film Network Award. A taut narrative of illegal migrants from North Africa seeking an escape route across the Straits to Spain, it demanded attention, not only for its bleakly realistic depiction but for the deft direction and superb performances of its cast.

Elsewhere, Palestinian film came of age with a series of powerful submissions from directors dealing, in diverse ways, with the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Two documentaries took on the Israeli military’s Operation Cast Lead of January 2009: Alberto Arce’s brutal film, “To Shoot an Elephant,” filmed by crews embedded with paramedics during the bombardment; and a depiction of life inside Gaza during the event called, simply, “Operation Cast Lead.” Julia Bacha’s “Budrus” was an account of a Palestinian West Bank villager’s struggle to peacefully resist the Israeli Army’s efforts to build a wall through his village’s olive groves. And the Palestinian director Michel Khleifi scooped the Muhr Arab prize with his nostalgic tale “Zindeeq,” about a Palestinian director who returns to his homeland to document the 1948 “nakba.”

The Palestinian programming attracted an overwhelmingly positive response from the film world at large; Michael Winterbottom, Emir Kusturica, Julian Schnabel and Andy Harries (who produced “The Queen”) have all announced projects set in and around Palestine. And over all, despite the problems the festival faced this year — the pressure of Abu Dhabi’s rival Middle East Film Festival and Doha’s TriBeCa satellite event, the rolling narrative of economic misery, three days of torrential rain — the mood at the closing awards ceremony was one of relief. News had come through the previous evening of a bailout from Abu Dhabi. The rain had stopped at around the same time. The closing party could take place after all.

Karaoke and indoor fireworks at Sparkling Celebration

Display location:Jing Fong restaurant,Chinatown
City:New York
State:New York
Date:Dec. 25

Details: Margaret Chin, the first Asian-American elected to represent Chinatown in the City Council, celebrated her swearing in to that office with what almost certainly were other inauguration firsts for a Councilmember: karaoke and indoor fireworks.

With two much more solemn oath-taking ceremonies behind her the day before, Chin did a rerun Wednesday evening, this time in high Chinatown style. She treated some 750 supporters, family members and friends to a 10-course feast at Jing Fong Restaurant on Elizabeth Street. Many of those present were members of her "family association," a group whose grassroots efforts in the Chinese-American community helped propell the candidate to victory in the September Democratic primary.

Following remarks by Comptroller-elect John Liu and State Senator Daniel Squadron, State Supreme Court Judge Doris Ling-Cohan spoke to the crowd.

“Many of us as Asian-American elected officials stand on the shoulders of Margaret Chin,” she said. “We have seen Margaret Chin stand on the streets of Chinatown registering voters for decades.”

Ling-Cohan swore in Chin, with husband Alan Tung and son Kevin at her side. Then the new City Coucilwoman, whose sprawling district runs from the tip of Manhattan to Greenwich Village, addressed her supporters in both Cantonese and English. While acknowledging the help of her Chinese-American supporters, who overwhelmingly filled the room, she pledged to represent all her constituents.

"I promise every single community in [Council] District 1 will be represented," said Chin, who officially takes office on Jan 1.

With three failed previous runs for the office, the Councilwoman-elect seemed to bask in the moment all the more.

“The journey has been long,” she told the gathering. “But the celebration is fantastic, isn’t it?”

Fireworks Display at this year's annual New Year's Eve festivities at La Villita

Display location:La Villita
City:San Antonio
State:Texas
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: Live music, food and family fun — capped off by a midnight fireworks display near the Tower of the Americas — will highlight this year's annual New Year's Eve festivities at La Villita.

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell, president of the San Antonio Parks Foundation, said an estimated 250,000 people are expected for the free downtown event, which the city and foundation have co-sponsored since 1997.

The extravaganza will offer live music — including international and rock 'n' roll — on four stages in and around La Villita, starting at 5 p.m.

“This free event features something for everyone including music ... and special entertainment areas for children and families,” Cockrell said.

The 14-minute fireworks show is once again expected to be the main draw, although the entire event is designed as family entertainment.

Many downtown hotels usually report running out of available rooms and restaurants operate at capacity during the annual event.

More information is available by calling the San Antonio Parks Foundation at (210) 212-8423 or visiting celebratesa.org.

Fireworks Display at this year's annual New Year's Eve festivities at La Villita

Display location:La Villita
City:San Antonio
State:Texas
Date:New Year's Eve

Details: Live music, food and family fun — capped off by a midnight fireworks display near the Tower of the Americas — will highlight this year's annual New Year's Eve festivities at La Villita.

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell, president of the San Antonio Parks Foundation, said an estimated 250,000 people are expected for the free downtown event, which the city and foundation have co-sponsored since 1997.

The extravaganza will offer live music — including international and rock 'n' roll — on four stages in and around La Villita, starting at 5 p.m.

“This free event features something for everyone including music ... and special entertainment areas for children and families,” Cockrell said.

The 14-minute fireworks show is once again expected to be the main draw, although the entire event is designed as family entertainment.

Many downtown hotels usually report running out of available rooms and restaurants operate at capacity during the annual event.

More information is available by calling the San Antonio Parks Foundation at (210) 212-8423 or visiting celebratesa.org.

The Fireworks Show mark the opening of CityCenter’s ARIA resort

Display location:LAS VEGAS
City:LAS VEGAS
State:Nevada
Date:11:05 p.m. Wednesday

Details: LAS VEGAS -- The fireworks launch at 11:05 p.m. Wednesday will mark the opening of CityCenter’s ARIA resort. Guests will get their first look inside before midnight and Las Vegas will have officially begun a new era on the Strip.

Related Link: World Awaits ARIA Opening

But the celebrations don’t end tonight. MGM-Mirage is making sure CityCenter stays in the national spotlight through the holidays, thanks to some New Year’s Eve exposure and even more scheduled openings in 2010.

Happy New Year

ARIA will be among the seven Strip resorts launching fireworks during the annual “America’s Party” celebrations on Dec. 31.

The decision to move the launch locations back onto hotel rooftops is likely to draw better reviews than in 2008, when safety concerns forced organizers to launch fireworks from the ground and hotel garages. The result was a display that was booed by tourists and locals.

Survey: Will CityCenter Turn Around The Las Vegas Economy?

Two of CityCenter’s celebrity attractions, the Eva Longoria-owned restaurant Beso and nightclub Eve, will also get nationwide publicity on New Year’s Eve when the actress makes an appearance on “Billboard’s New Year’s Eve Live.”

The show will be broadcast from Mandalay Bay Beach (another MGM-Mirage property) and air on FOX5.

Future Openings

While ARIA is the main attraction, there are other CityCenter towers that are noteworthy and will get the spotlight in the New Year.

The Veer Towers, two 37-story buildings that lean in opposite directions, will be open to residents in January. The towers feature 335 condominiums priced at $500,000 and up.

CityCenter’s next hotel project, the Harmon Hotel, isn’t expected to open in late 2010. When it does, the property is likely to become a hotspot for the “in crowd.”

Harmon will also live up to its billing as a boutique hotel. It features only 400 rooms, compared to ARIA’s 4,004.

Four Days, Two Fireworks Shows and Hundreds of Mummers Add Up to One Fun New Year's Celebration In Philly

Display location:Philly
City:Philly
State:Pennsylvania
Date:New Year's Eve ,6:00 p.m. and 12:00
Show contact:(215) 928-8801

Details: PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Philadelphia is going all out for the New Year's four-day weekend, making it the perfect destination for families who want a kid-friendly celebration and for adults ready to party into the wee hours of 2010. After New Year's Eve kicks off with Countdown to Noon at Please Touch Museum®, "Happy New Year!" will echo throughout the city twice when two colorful fireworks shows dazzle onlookers on both sides of the Delaware River. On New Year's Day, the Mummers strut their stuff for cheering crowds along Broad Street, while the Fancy Brigade entertains inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center. And with tons of other fun happenings in Philadelphia, including extra late hours for Diana: A Celebration, on view at the National Constitution Center, visitors can stay for the rest of the holiday weekend. Find all the details at gophila.com/newyears.

As part of the new With Love, Philadelphia XOXO(TM) campaign, people who book one of the 80 featured packages on gophila.com/withlove will receive a special gift at check-in. The giveaway includes a five-pack of With Love postcards, a With Love pin and the Official Philly Brag Book.

The Basics:

Happy New Year! Happy New Year! This year, partiers along the Delaware River in Philadelphia and Camden ring in 2010 with twice the fireworks and twice the fun. Dazzling shows will illuminate the night sky at 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight. Along Columbus Boulevard, (215) 928-8801, delawareriverevents.com
For a Philadelphia experience that's as traditional as cheesesteaks, a pilgrimage to the world-famous Mummers Parade on New Year's Day is a must. Dating back to 1901, the only-in-Philly celebration is a lively and colorful parade of costumed men, women and children who practice all year to strut, dance and play music up Broad Street. The parade begins at 9:00 a.m. at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue and proceeds to City Hall, followed by a ticketed competition at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Spectators should purchase tickets ahead of time to sit in the judging stand or get there early to find a spot along the parade route. The parade day ends with an unofficial party along 2nd Street--"Two Street" to locals. Convention Center, 12th & Arch Streets, mummers.com; tickets for bleacher seating outside City Hall available at the Independence Visitor Center, 6th & Market Streets, (215) 965-7676, independencevisitorcenter.com; tickets for the competition at the Convention Center available at (215) 893-1999, ticketphiladelphia.org
Family Fun:

With its prime location on Broad Street, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is the perfect place to warm up during the day-long Mummers Parade. Visitors can enjoy free entertainment in the Plaza, feast on brunch in the upper-level Cadence restaurant and purchase discounted tickets to select show for just $20.10. Broad & Spruce Streets, (215) 790-5800, kimmelcenter.org
Please Touch Museum® rings in 2010 early with Countdown to Noon on December 31. The museum opens at 9:00 a.m. and holds "Noon Year" party activities with music and confetti. Countdowns take place at 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. 4231 Avenue of the Republic, (215) 581-3181, pleasetouchmuseum.org
Winter sports enthusiasts celebrate at the Blue Cross RiverRink's New Year's Eve Party on Ice, a family-friendly affair that boasts one of the best views of the city's breathtaking fireworks displays over the Delaware River. Skaters can catch one of two sparkling shows during the early (5:00-7:00 p.m.) and late (11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.) parties. Tickets are $30 for skaters and $20 for spectators. Columbus Boulevard & Market Street, (215) 925-RINK, riverrink.com
A maritime New Year's Eve celebration is on deck at the Independence Seaport Museum along the Philadelphia waterfront. Those who arrive early can explore the museum, but just before 6:00 p.m., everyone will head outside to the second-floor terrace with their noisemakers, party hats and sparkling apple cider to watch the fireworks spectacular over the Delaware River. Penn's Landing, Columbus Boulevard at Walnut Street, (215) 413-8655, phillyseaport.org
Over on the other side of the river, revelers test their sea legs on the Battleship New Jersey, docked on the Camden waterfront. After dinner in the crew's mess, a ride in the flight simulator, a tour of the ship and a non-alcoholic toast during the midnight fireworks, guests can head down to the bunks for a navy-style sleepover. Those looking for just a great viewing spot without dinner and accommodations can pay for a low-cost ticket that includes prizes, music and bar service. 62 Battleship Place, (856) 1652, battleshipnewjersey.org
The Philadelphia Movie Sites Tour gets in on the theme of "two" with two New Year's Eve tour runs. As they watch clips from In Her Shoes, The Sixth Sense, Rocky, 12 Monkeys and more than 20 other films, participants will see the actual sites where the scenes were filmed. Both tours, 3:00-5:30 p.m. and 8:30-11:00 p.m., end at Penn's Landing in time for the two fireworks shows. (215) 625-7980, toursignup.com/movie
Parents raising aspiring Mummers can reserve their seats now for New Year's Eve at the Chart House Restaurant. During the all-ages event, taking place from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., families will meet a member of the Fancy Brigades, feast on a lavish buffet dinner and enjoy a great view of the 6:00 p.m. fireworks show. 555 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 625-8383, chart-house.com
Starting at 4:00 p.m., kids and adults dive in during the buffet dinner at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing. Even the pickiest eater in the crew can find a dish they'll love, and the carnival-themed dessert reception and the hot chocolate and smores bar are sure to get rave reviews. Children's movies, face painting and, of course, the 6:00 p.m. fireworks viewing make for a New Year's the whole family will remember. 201 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 521-6503, hyattregencyphiladelphia.com
Party Central:

After the kids have their party, the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing gears up for the 21-and-over festivities, starting at 9:00 p.m. Following the delicious four-course dinner, the bash moves to Keating's River Grill inside the hotel for a "dessert explosion" and cocktail and dance party. The DJ stops only for the 12:00 midnight fireworks and a champagne toast. 201 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 521-6503, hyattregencyphiladelphia.com
Those looking to take New Year's to the next level should plan to party at R2L, a super-swanky spot that won't even open to the public until January 2010. A DJ, a top-shelf open bar, hors d'oeuvres, sweets, party favors and panoramic views from 500 feet above the city make this a great place to toast the New Year. Two Liberty Place, 16th Street between Market & Chestnut Streets, 37th floor, (215) 564-5337, r2lrestaurant.com
At Nineteen (XIX) at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, the Rose Garden Celebration combines the elegance of the historic hotel with the fun and excitement of New Year's Eve. From 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., guests will enjoy musical entertainment and a midnight celebration. Admission to the party is included with a hotel or dinner package, or revelers can purchase party tickets only at ticketleap.com. Broad & Walnut Streets, (215) 893-1234, parkphiladelphia.hyatt.com
Located right on the waterfront, the Chart House Restaurant serves up a second, adults-only party from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Guests ring in the New Year right with appetizers, an elaborate buffet, a champagne toast at midnight, party favors and a wonderful view of the fireworks. 555 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 625-8383, chart-house.com
The 9:00 p.m. party at the sleek but cozy Sopra Lounge at Positano Coast includes a reserved couch, DJ, party favors, one champagne cocktail per guest and a champagne toast at midnight. Guests who want to make an entrance can stop in after 10:30 p.m. and pay no cover at the bar. 212 Walnut Street, 2nd floor, (215) 238-0499, positanocoast.net
Those in the mood for a holiday cruise can set sail on the Spirit of Philadelphia for one of two dinner cruises, 4:00-6:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Along with sweeping views of the fireworks and the city skyline, the night includes a dinner buffet, hors d'oeuvres, premium open bar, DJ music, dancing, party favors and a champagne toast. 401 S. Columbus Boulevard, (866) 455-3866, spiritofphiladelphia.com
Broadway star Audra McDonald joins the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts for its annual New Year's Eve Concert. A holiday favorite, this tradition gives culture vultures the chance to ring in the New Year their way. Broad & Spruce Streets, (215) 893-1999, philorch.org
Make It A Four-Day Weekend:

A fan favorite, Longwood Gardens' A Longwood Gardens Christmas runs through January 10. Hundreds of thousands of lights, strolling carolers, daily concerts, sing-alongs and ice skating performances brighten the gardens' vast grounds and conservatory. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, (610) 388-1000, longwoodgardens.org
A miniature winter wonderland amid the evergreens awaits visitors to Morris Arboretum, through January 3. The Holiday Garden Railway display is a quarter mile of model-train track featuring seven loops, 15 different rail lines, two cable cars, nine bridges and bustling trains that cruise past scaled replicas of historic monuments and Philadelphia-area landmarks made from all-natural materials. 100 Northwestern Avenue, (215) 247-5777, ext. 121, morrisarboretum.org
Even night owls can enjoy Diana: A Celebration at the National Constitution Center. For the last three days of the exhibition's run, January 1-3, visitors can take advantage of special extended hours, 9:30 a.m.-12:00 midnight, and explore Diana's childhood, her engagement to Prince Charles, her lavish royal wedding and her works as a global humanitarian. 525 Arch Street, (215) 409-6700, constitutioncenter.org
Barkley Hendricks' strong and powerful images created a whole new level of cool. Through January 3, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts presents Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool, which includes 57 stunning works by the trendsetting Civil Rights-era artist who set the standard for hip, in-your-face images that celebrate the beauty and complexity of black identity. 118-128 N. Broad Street, (215) 972-7600, pafa.org
Visitors to The Franklin Institute uncover the incredible intricacies of human anatomy during Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds 2 & The Brain, on view through February 21. More than 200 specimens, including 20 whole bodies, healthy and unhealthy organs and body sections, provide an unprecedented view inside the human body. 222 N. 20th Street, (215) 448-1200, fi.edu
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region's vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit gophila.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to Hear Philly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676.

Four Days, Two Fireworks Shows and Hundreds of Mummers Add Up to One Fun New Year's Celebration In Philly

Display location:Philly
City:Philly
State:Pennsylvania
Date:New Year's Eve ,6:00 p.m. and 12:00
Show contact:(215) 928-8801

Details: PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Philadelphia is going all out for the New Year's four-day weekend, making it the perfect destination for families who want a kid-friendly celebration and for adults ready to party into the wee hours of 2010. After New Year's Eve kicks off with Countdown to Noon at Please Touch Museum®, "Happy New Year!" will echo throughout the city twice when two colorful fireworks shows dazzle onlookers on both sides of the Delaware River. On New Year's Day, the Mummers strut their stuff for cheering crowds along Broad Street, while the Fancy Brigade entertains inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center. And with tons of other fun happenings in Philadelphia, including extra late hours for Diana: A Celebration, on view at the National Constitution Center, visitors can stay for the rest of the holiday weekend. Find all the details at gophila.com/newyears.

As part of the new With Love, Philadelphia XOXO(TM) campaign, people who book one of the 80 featured packages on gophila.com/withlove will receive a special gift at check-in. The giveaway includes a five-pack of With Love postcards, a With Love pin and the Official Philly Brag Book.

The Basics:

Happy New Year! Happy New Year! This year, partiers along the Delaware River in Philadelphia and Camden ring in 2010 with twice the fireworks and twice the fun. Dazzling shows will illuminate the night sky at 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight. Along Columbus Boulevard, (215) 928-8801, delawareriverevents.com
For a Philadelphia experience that's as traditional as cheesesteaks, a pilgrimage to the world-famous Mummers Parade on New Year's Day is a must. Dating back to 1901, the only-in-Philly celebration is a lively and colorful parade of costumed men, women and children who practice all year to strut, dance and play music up Broad Street. The parade begins at 9:00 a.m. at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue and proceeds to City Hall, followed by a ticketed competition at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Spectators should purchase tickets ahead of time to sit in the judging stand or get there early to find a spot along the parade route. The parade day ends with an unofficial party along 2nd Street--"Two Street" to locals. Convention Center, 12th & Arch Streets, mummers.com; tickets for bleacher seating outside City Hall available at the Independence Visitor Center, 6th & Market Streets, (215) 965-7676, independencevisitorcenter.com; tickets for the competition at the Convention Center available at (215) 893-1999, ticketphiladelphia.org
Family Fun:

With its prime location on Broad Street, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is the perfect place to warm up during the day-long Mummers Parade. Visitors can enjoy free entertainment in the Plaza, feast on brunch in the upper-level Cadence restaurant and purchase discounted tickets to select show for just $20.10. Broad & Spruce Streets, (215) 790-5800, kimmelcenter.org
Please Touch Museum® rings in 2010 early with Countdown to Noon on December 31. The museum opens at 9:00 a.m. and holds "Noon Year" party activities with music and confetti. Countdowns take place at 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. 4231 Avenue of the Republic, (215) 581-3181, pleasetouchmuseum.org
Winter sports enthusiasts celebrate at the Blue Cross RiverRink's New Year's Eve Party on Ice, a family-friendly affair that boasts one of the best views of the city's breathtaking fireworks displays over the Delaware River. Skaters can catch one of two sparkling shows during the early (5:00-7:00 p.m.) and late (11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.) parties. Tickets are $30 for skaters and $20 for spectators. Columbus Boulevard & Market Street, (215) 925-RINK, riverrink.com
A maritime New Year's Eve celebration is on deck at the Independence Seaport Museum along the Philadelphia waterfront. Those who arrive early can explore the museum, but just before 6:00 p.m., everyone will head outside to the second-floor terrace with their noisemakers, party hats and sparkling apple cider to watch the fireworks spectacular over the Delaware River. Penn's Landing, Columbus Boulevard at Walnut Street, (215) 413-8655, phillyseaport.org
Over on the other side of the river, revelers test their sea legs on the Battleship New Jersey, docked on the Camden waterfront. After dinner in the crew's mess, a ride in the flight simulator, a tour of the ship and a non-alcoholic toast during the midnight fireworks, guests can head down to the bunks for a navy-style sleepover. Those looking for just a great viewing spot without dinner and accommodations can pay for a low-cost ticket that includes prizes, music and bar service. 62 Battleship Place, (856) 1652, battleshipnewjersey.org
The Philadelphia Movie Sites Tour gets in on the theme of "two" with two New Year's Eve tour runs. As they watch clips from In Her Shoes, The Sixth Sense, Rocky, 12 Monkeys and more than 20 other films, participants will see the actual sites where the scenes were filmed. Both tours, 3:00-5:30 p.m. and 8:30-11:00 p.m., end at Penn's Landing in time for the two fireworks shows. (215) 625-7980, toursignup.com/movie
Parents raising aspiring Mummers can reserve their seats now for New Year's Eve at the Chart House Restaurant. During the all-ages event, taking place from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., families will meet a member of the Fancy Brigades, feast on a lavish buffet dinner and enjoy a great view of the 6:00 p.m. fireworks show. 555 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 625-8383, chart-house.com
Starting at 4:00 p.m., kids and adults dive in during the buffet dinner at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing. Even the pickiest eater in the crew can find a dish they'll love, and the carnival-themed dessert reception and the hot chocolate and smores bar are sure to get rave reviews. Children's movies, face painting and, of course, the 6:00 p.m. fireworks viewing make for a New Year's the whole family will remember. 201 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 521-6503, hyattregencyphiladelphia.com
Party Central:

After the kids have their party, the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing gears up for the 21-and-over festivities, starting at 9:00 p.m. Following the delicious four-course dinner, the bash moves to Keating's River Grill inside the hotel for a "dessert explosion" and cocktail and dance party. The DJ stops only for the 12:00 midnight fireworks and a champagne toast. 201 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 521-6503, hyattregencyphiladelphia.com
Those looking to take New Year's to the next level should plan to party at R2L, a super-swanky spot that won't even open to the public until January 2010. A DJ, a top-shelf open bar, hors d'oeuvres, sweets, party favors and panoramic views from 500 feet above the city make this a great place to toast the New Year. Two Liberty Place, 16th Street between Market & Chestnut Streets, 37th floor, (215) 564-5337, r2lrestaurant.com
At Nineteen (XIX) at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, the Rose Garden Celebration combines the elegance of the historic hotel with the fun and excitement of New Year's Eve. From 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., guests will enjoy musical entertainment and a midnight celebration. Admission to the party is included with a hotel or dinner package, or revelers can purchase party tickets only at ticketleap.com. Broad & Walnut Streets, (215) 893-1234, parkphiladelphia.hyatt.com
Located right on the waterfront, the Chart House Restaurant serves up a second, adults-only party from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Guests ring in the New Year right with appetizers, an elaborate buffet, a champagne toast at midnight, party favors and a wonderful view of the fireworks. 555 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 625-8383, chart-house.com
The 9:00 p.m. party at the sleek but cozy Sopra Lounge at Positano Coast includes a reserved couch, DJ, party favors, one champagne cocktail per guest and a champagne toast at midnight. Guests who want to make an entrance can stop in after 10:30 p.m. and pay no cover at the bar. 212 Walnut Street, 2nd floor, (215) 238-0499, positanocoast.net
Those in the mood for a holiday cruise can set sail on the Spirit of Philadelphia for one of two dinner cruises, 4:00-6:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Along with sweeping views of the fireworks and the city skyline, the night includes a dinner buffet, hors d'oeuvres, premium open bar, DJ music, dancing, party favors and a champagne toast. 401 S. Columbus Boulevard, (866) 455-3866, spiritofphiladelphia.com
Broadway star Audra McDonald joins the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts for its annual New Year's Eve Concert. A holiday favorite, this tradition gives culture vultures the chance to ring in the New Year their way. Broad & Spruce Streets, (215) 893-1999, philorch.org
Make It A Four-Day Weekend:

A fan favorite, Longwood Gardens' A Longwood Gardens Christmas runs through January 10. Hundreds of thousands of lights, strolling carolers, daily concerts, sing-alongs and ice skating performances brighten the gardens' vast grounds and conservatory. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, (610) 388-1000, longwoodgardens.org
A miniature winter wonderland amid the evergreens awaits visitors to Morris Arboretum, through January 3. The Holiday Garden Railway display is a quarter mile of model-train track featuring seven loops, 15 different rail lines, two cable cars, nine bridges and bustling trains that cruise past scaled replicas of historic monuments and Philadelphia-area landmarks made from all-natural materials. 100 Northwestern Avenue, (215) 247-5777, ext. 121, morrisarboretum.org
Even night owls can enjoy Diana: A Celebration at the National Constitution Center. For the last three days of the exhibition's run, January 1-3, visitors can take advantage of special extended hours, 9:30 a.m.-12:00 midnight, and explore Diana's childhood, her engagement to Prince Charles, her lavish royal wedding and her works as a global humanitarian. 525 Arch Street, (215) 409-6700, constitutioncenter.org
Barkley Hendricks' strong and powerful images created a whole new level of cool. Through January 3, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts presents Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool, which includes 57 stunning works by the trendsetting Civil Rights-era artist who set the standard for hip, in-your-face images that celebrate the beauty and complexity of black identity. 118-128 N. Broad Street, (215) 972-7600, pafa.org
Visitors to The Franklin Institute uncover the incredible intricacies of human anatomy during Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds 2 & The Brain, on view through February 21. More than 200 specimens, including 20 whole bodies, healthy and unhealthy organs and body sections, provide an unprecedented view inside the human body. 222 N. 20th Street, (215) 448-1200, fi.edu
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region's vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit gophila.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to Hear Philly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676.

Fireworks Show to Kick Off 2 Exhibitions at Phila. Museum of Art

Display location:Philadelphia Museum
City:Philadelphia
State:PA
Date:11 December

Details:A fireworks display was scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to kick off two unique exhibitions of the work of one of the world's most prominent contemporary artists.

Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project kicks off at 4pm on the East Terrace of the Philadelphia Art Museum - a fireworks display in the shape of a blossoming flower. The artist - Cai Guo Qiang - designed the fireworks for the Beijing Olympics.

Through his translator, he explains the idea of a work of art that will last less than a minute:

"Because explosions as we know are a physics phenomenon. They're a transformation of energy from one form to another and they never last very long. And that's the beauty that fascinates him."

The fireworks kick off two exhibitions at the Art Museum and the Fabric Workshop and Museum. Fabric Museum Founder director Marion Boulton Stroud.

"Gunpowder drawings, installations."

The artist's sketch above depicts what the scene may look like.

First Night Newtown to explode with fireworks show, entertainment and much more

Display location:
City: Newtown
State:CT
Date:Dec. 31.

Details: First Night Newtown will explode with fireworks, entertainment, good food and plenty of family fun on Thursday evening, Dec. 31.

This year's event celebrates the literary arts and the 250th anniversary of the Newtown Library, beginning at 5 p.m. and continuing until 10 p.m. when fireworks light up the sky over Newtown.

Entertainment will continue throughout the night at Council Rock North High School on Swamp Road, Chandler Hall (Wright Meeting Hall), the Zebra-Striped Whale on South State, the Chancellor Center on Chancellor Street and at St. Mark's AME Zion Church on Congress Street.

First Night Newtown is the only New Year's Eve festival of its kind in Bucks County.

Launched every Dec. 31 in cities around the country, First Night is a family-oriented, alcohol-free, arts-based and community-wide New Year's Eve celebration that offers a fun and cultural evening to spend with family and friends of all ages.

Since its inception in 1999, First Night Newtown has attracted thousands as families, friends and the entire community as it comes together with one common goal: to celebrate the arts on the eve of a new year. First Night Newtown typically hosts crowds of 1,000 adults and children between 5 and 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

Entertainment will be ongoing throughout the evening. New additions this year include a a Teen Dance Party at 8 p.m. and horse and carriage rides between the venues from 5 to 9 p.m.

Returning this year will be the popular Newtown Idol Contest scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Council Rock High School North Auditorium.

The Nest Dance Company will launch the festivities at 5 p.m. with "The Nutcracker Suite" inside the high school auditorium. Also at 5 p.m. singer/songwriter Lisa Jones will be performing tracks from her soon-to-be-released album, "Songs from the Heavens," at the Zebra-Striped Whale.

The high school line up includes: a caricaturist from 5:30 to 7 p.m. (cafeteria), magician Gustav the Great at 6 and 8 p.m. (auditorium), children's music band Cool Beans at 6 and 8 p.m. (gym), photographs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. (cafeteria), skateboard competition at 6 p.m. (auxiliary gym), Newtown Idol at 7 p.m. (auditorium), Teen Dance Party at 8 p.m. (auxiliary gym), and jazz saxophonist Donald Williams at 9 p.m. (auditorium)

Appearing at Chandler Hall (Wright Meeting Hall) will be the Bucks County Singers at 6 and 7:30 p.m. and Faith & Practice playing an eclectic mix of folk songs, bluegrass, gospel, pop, and original songs at 6:45 and 8:15 p.m.

Performing at the Chancellor Center are singer, songwriter and guitarist Chelsea Mitchell of Newtown at 6 p.m., guitarist and Newtown resident Trevor Leonard at 7 p.m., and Doylestown singer and songwriter Christy Jefferson at 8 p.m.

The evening also includes a Gospel Rap Concert from 9 to 10 p.m. at St. Mark's Church.

KidsFest takes place at the Council Rock High School-North gymnasium from 5 to 9 p.m. Kids are invited to bring their parents and grandparents to this fun-filled activity venue. Cool Beans will perform at 6 and 8 p.m.

The KidsFest also includes the popular inflatables (open until 8:45 p.m.) and the Crafting Corner where kids can make their own winter-themed crafts and decorate cellophane hats to wear in the procession.

At 9:30 p.m., the First Night Procession will form at Council Rock High School North and travel to the fireworks at the Newtown Middle School.

Led by Belgian horses and First Night essay contest winners and their families, the procession will travel the short distance between venues while singing, dancing, and enjoying the New Year spirit.

First Night Buttons at $10 a piece are available at the following locations: 3rd Federal Bank, 950 Newtown-Yardley Road; Action Karate, 11 Penns Trail, Suite 500; First Federal Bank, 295 N. Sycamore Street; First National Bank, 40 South State Street; Newtown Athletic Club, 209 Penns Trail; Newtown Book & Record Exchange, 102 South State Street; Newtown Hardware House, 108 South State Street; Shady Brook Farm Market, 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley; The Temperance House, 5 South State Street; TD Bank Newtown North Branch, 1 West Road, Newtown; TD Bank Bypass Branch, 90 Upper Silver Lake Road; and the Zebra-Striped Whale.

The buttons not only provide entrance to First Night venues, they entitle bearers to discounts and specials at numerous business locations in the Newtown area between now and Dec. 31. For a list of button rewards locations, visit www.firstnightnewtown.org, click the Button Sales link at the top of the page and scroll down to button rewards.

For additional information about First Night and a list of fund-raisers being held to support the event, visit www.firstnightnewtown.org.

Flower made of fireworks will be displayed at Art Museum

Display location:Philadelphia Art Museum
City:Philadelphia
State:PA
Date:Dec.11

Details: At dusk on Friday evening, the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum will light up with an image of a flower made from fire. But look sharp – it will last for exactly one minute.

The pyrotechnic display will be in memory of the Museum's late director.

Cai Guo-Qiang is a Chinese artist whose medium is gunpowder. He was invited by Art Museum director Anne d'Harnoncourt to create an exhibit. In 2008 she suddenly passed away. The work – called "Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project" – is one part of a multi-site exhibit about memory and the passage of time.

In 2008 Cai designed the spectacular fireworks display for the Olympics in Beijing. Here he has designed a flower-shaped explosion on the steps of the Museum.

Guo-Qiang: The first section with be a gunpowder fuse – last four seconds, it will start at the center and move to periphery. The second section will be made of miniature flares sending white sparklers, make a white flower for 50 seconds. Last section will be made with explosion that sounds like thunder. It will be a continuous blow off for five seconds.

The explosion will take place Friday afternoon, around 4:15 p.m. Other, more stable works are on display at the Art Museum and the Fabric Workshop and Museum on Arch Street.

Fireworks Show at Navy Beats Army for the 8th Year in a Row

Display location:South Philadelphia
City:South Philadelphia
State:PA
Date:13 December

Details: Navy has continued its recent dominance of Army by beating the Black Knights for the eighth straight year, 17-3 at the 110th army/ navy game in South Philadelphia.

Towards the end of the came confident midshipmen burst out in a traditional chant “I believe that we will win.” Then fireworks lit up the night sky. Navy winning 17 to 3. Civilians rooting for Navy were all smiles:

"I said that Navy was just going to give them a three point lead and let them go with it and then they were going to stomp on them and that's what they did.They 've been doing that for years and they'll be doing it for more years.”

After the game in the parking lots there were army and navy fans feasting together in spots (see related story). Doug Gieb of Bucks County was at the grill:

" We have hot beef, hot turkey hot dogs and mac and cheese, hot and sweet sausage with peppers and onions, a little bit of liquid beverages. And no hard feelings, it’s comfort food no matter whose side it is.”

New Year’s Eve concert at Marsden Cove marina plus fireworks display

Display location: marina
City:Marina
State:CA
Date:New Year’s Eve

Details: Marsden Cove is putting on a free New Year’s Eve concert in the marina with a great fireworks display.
Live bands including renowned Soul / Blues guitarist Billy TK Junior will be performing on a floating stage. It will be a great place to safely moor and enjoy the music.

The licensed Waterline bar and café will be open late along with the off licence store.

Another major development at the cove is the expansion into section two of the canal structure planned before Christmas. A large lock is being constructed which will be the tidal buffer for the rest of the canal properties and beaches as the marine township continues to take shape. Once finished this lock will be the largest lock in the Southern Hemisphere having been constructed by Hopper Developments with the door systems having been made overseas.

A great offer was promoted at the Northland Boat Show to get a Sea Nymph 580 runabout worth $60,000 for free when purchasing a canal front section before Christmas. This offer is limited to the first three canal front sections sold before Christmas.

More events news to follow…

Holiday festival closes with well-lit parade and fireworks show

Display location:Roosevelt Park
City:LONGMONT
State:CO
Date:13.Dec.
Show contact:303-684-5220 or srochat@times-call.com.

Details: LONGMONT — There were lights in the street and lights in the sky. And for a lot of residents, it marked a brilliant end to the annual Longmont Lights holiday festival.

“I love the parades here,” said Carleen Burch, who made sure to stake out a good spot in front of her store Divine Divas before the crowds arrived Saturday night. “That’s the fun thing about Longmont. It makes it more of a community.”

The Christmas parade down Main and Coffman streets was the showpiece Saturday, drawing at least 3,000 or 4,000 people to the downtown. About 64 entries passed by in the hourlong parade, with Christmas lights placed anywhere that would hold them — cars, bicycles, even saxophones in the band.

Several entries evoked loud responses from the crowd, including the Colorado Saint Bernard Rescue (“Awwww!”), a Grinch from the city parks department, using construction equipment to haul away trees and presents (“Booo!”) and even a recording of “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!”

“... But not tonight!” someone in the crowd called out in response.

This was the second time out to the parade for Jason and Melissa Garner of Lafayette, who brought their 3-year-old twins with them to see the show.

“They like the floats and the lights,” Jason Garner said. “And they can’t wait to see Santa.”

Santa they got. Both he and Mrs. Claus were in their accustomed spot at the back of the parade, the jolly old elf bellowing “Ho, ho, ho’s” through a handheld microphone to the eager kids nearby.

The parade was followed with a brief fireworks show over Roosevelt Park that lasted about three minutes or so. And with that, Longmont Lights was over for another year.

For Steve Wilkinson, who came to watch the parade with his 2-year-old grandson, it was the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit.

“I think it’s just the time of year,” Wilkinson said. “The family comes out; we do the camaraderie. We remind ourselves it’s Christmas and what the season’s all about.”

Scott Rochat can be reached at 303-684-5220 or srochat@times-call.com.

The 38th National Day culminated in a large fireworks display

Display location: Corniche
City:Abu Dhabi
Country:United Arab Emirates
Date:December 02

Details: ABU DHABI // Thousands of people crowded onto the Corniche last night as the celebrations for the 38th National Day culminated in a large fireworks display.

Crowds gathered on the beach, on the breakwater and in cars, lined up bumper to bumper, to watch the pyrotechnic display light up the horizon in front of the Emirates Palace.

“I love UAE,” screamed eight-year-old Shamsa from the open sun roof of her father’s SUV as she waved a large flag.

Her brother, Hamed, 11, sprayed onlookers with foam from a can. The family, Emiratis from Abu Dhabi who planned to drive their car around all evening, said this was how they celebrated National Day every year.

The streets, lined with decorative lights depicting the figures 38, for the number of years since the founding of the country and 7 for the number of emirates, were full of people. Drivers were sounding their horns, passengers wearing wigs and hats were throwing confetti and other spectators were waving pom-poms and banners bearing the national flag.

Children leaning out of the window of one car were holding a live falcon, and another had a giant teddy bear wearing national colours strapped to the roof.

Alaa and Fatima Fadhy, from Egypt, who were in the family area with their children Mahra, six, and Mazin, eight, said they came to celebrate because although they had been in the country for only four years it was like a second home.

“We come because we want to see the local people and celebrate with them,” Mr Fadhy said. “Also our daughter is learning the UAE history at school so it’s good for her to come. It is a very beautiful day.” The celebrations began at around 4.30pm with an opening ceremony on a temporary stage set up in the car park of the Federal National Council building next to the Hilton hotel. Groups of tribal dancers from five of the seven emirates gathered for traditional drumming and chanting. In the family area, there was a painting competition for the children and a reading corner.

Next to this, was a larger stage and seating for 10,000 people expected for concerts by Sherine Abdel Wahab, Fadel Shaker and Al Wassmy after the fireworks display.

Simultaneous concerts, hosted by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach), were planned for Al Ain and Al Gharbia, with stars including Nancy Ajram, Eidha al Menhali and Abdul Menem al Ameri.

Sara and Mohamed Abdul Aziz said they were at the Corniche especially for the concerts. “We came because we love music and songs. It’s great to see the traditional Emirati dance, and later we are looking forward to Sherine Abdel Wahab.”

Rana Hattar, 23, from Jordan, commented on the diverse crowds.

“I loved it today,” she said. “I felt like the entire city became one spirit. There was a sense of unity.”

Imad Nabulsi, 44, also from Jordan, said he enjoyed the gathering of different nationalities.

“Hopefully it will make people more united, in the same way that the emirates were united 38 years ago,” he said. “National Day is so important to celebrate because many people living here do not know about the history of the UAE and how Sheikh Zayed brought all the tribes together. A ceremony of this kind will encourage people to ask questions and find out.”

Skating, fireworks show welcome holiday season at Lock 3 Park

Display location:Lock 3 Park
City: Akron
State:OH
Date:Nov. 27

Details: DOWNTOWN AKRON — The city of Akron’s tree lighting ceremony lit up Lock 3 Park the evening of Nov. 27. A large crowd, shown at left bottom, turned out for the annual event, which for the first time took place in the park rather than on South Main Street.

The program featured ice skaters from The University of Akron’s Figure Skating Club. Shown at left top is Kylie Papp on the ice. Skater Gabrielle Hatch is pictured at left bottom.

Those who attended also enjoyed seeing the skies light up with fireworks during the event, as shown at right bottom.

Brendan Henry, 3, of Cuyahoga Falls, was among those who bundled up for the evening’s activities. He is pictured at right top with a cup of hot chocolate.

While city budget cuts have streamlined the offerings at Lock 3 this season, the city is still offering free ice skating at the rink throughout December. The Chriskindl Market also is up and running with three German vendors and local participants. For more information on activities at Lock 3, located at 200 S. Main St., go to www.lock3live.com.

UPDATE: Corporate fireworks display at Altec Lansing

Display location:MILFORD
City:MILFORD
State:CT
Date:Dec. 1

Details: MILFORD-Fireworks, pictured from Wheatfied Drive, were going off over Altec Lansing’s Headquarters Tuesday night in celebration of its Dec. 1 sale by Plantronics, Inc., to a Texas-based profit equity firm, Prophet Equity LP, a company spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.

CNN reported the sale price at $16.2 million, plus or minus pending bookkeeping adjustments.

Altec Lansing spokeswoman Angel Barnard said the company, now returning to private ownership, will stay in Milford.

With roots dating to the late 1920s, when founding engineers help pioneer sound in the Hollywood motion picture industry, the company first established a Altec Lansing Consumer Products in Milford in 1986. The company was renamed Altec Lansing Technologies, Inc. in 1996. Production facilities are located in Dongguan, China. Altec Lansing has been the leading supplier of PC computer audio components for the past decade.

Vicki Marion has been company president for more than two years. Altec Lansing employs about 70 persons at the corporate headquarters in Milford.

Tree lighting tradition continues tonight with fireworks display

Display location: Boston Common
City:Boston
State:MA
Date:Dec.3

Details: Fireworks flanked the Boston Common Christmas tree after Mayor Thomas M. Menino threw the switch in December 2008. Menino's wife, Angela, will take his place this evening.

The city's official Christmas tree -- a 46-foot white spruce from Nova Scotia -- will be illuminated this evening on Boston Common during a celebration replete with song, dance, holiday decorations, and fireworks.

The annual festival, however, will be missing one familiar face: Mayor Thomas M. Menino will not be on hand to throw the switch on the tree's lights with Santa Claus. Menino remains at home in Hyde Park with his left leg immobilized in a brace as he recovers from a knee injury he suffered Nov. 8. His wife, Angela, will take the mayor's place tonight on Boston Common for the tree lighting, which has long been a staple of the mayor's calendar and among his favorite aspects of the job.

The festivities run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and include entertainment from R&B singing Brian McKnight; "American Idol" Season 6 third place finalist Melinda Doolittle; the Boston Arts Academy Dance Troupe: the Masquerade cabaret troupe; and Magic 106.7 Nancy Quill and Mike Addams.

The 46-foot white spruce was a gift to the city from Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Shatford of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. The province donates a tree to Boston every Christmas as thanks for the doctors and supplies the city sent after an explosion killed almost 2,000 in Halifax in 1917. To see photographs of when the tree was cut down and ceremonies in Nova Scotia.

New Year's Eve in downtown Nashville to include live music and fireworks show

Display location:Lower Broadway
City:Nashville
State:TN
Date:Dec. 27

Details: The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau announced plans to hold a New Year's Eve bash this year on Lower Broadway with fireworks and four to five hours of live music on the street.
The free event ends a two-year hiatus of a major New Year's Eve concert downtown, said Butch Spyridon, the bureau's president on Thursday. Spyridon said the idea is to match up the event with the Dec. 27 Music City Bowl and give visitors a reason to come and stay longer.

"Let's grow this to be Nashville's version of Times Square," Spyridon said, adding he hopes the bureau's event will become an annual one.

Spyridon said number of attendees for the event can reach up to 10,000 people. Hard Rock Cafe Nashville is the title sponsor of the event and the bureau could spend six figures on the event.

News of the downtown concert comes a year after many New Year’s Eve events in Middle Tennessee were canceled or scaled back amid harsh economic times last year — a dull end to what was an economically disastrous 2008.

So few people ticket buyers stepped up for a planned Sommet Center concert with Trace Adkins and Lynyrd Skynyrd, for example, with tickets priced up to $250 apiece that the New Year's Eve bash was scrapped last year here.

Other partygoers traded champagne dinners for beer and pretzels at home.

Fireworks Display on Annual Nashville Christmas Parade

Display location:Downtown Nashville
City:NASHVILLE
State: Tenn.
Date: Dec.4; 7 p.m

Details: NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Downtown Nashville will once again take part in a 57-year-old tradition. On Friday night, the city will host the Annual Nashville Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting ceremony.

The 2009 theme is "Share the Warmth of the Holidays." Volunteers spent most of Thursday getting floats ready for the big night.

The Piedmont Natural Gas float features everything from the nutcracker to castles.

Festivities kick off Friday at 6 p.m. when Mayor Karl Dean and Parade Grand Marshal John Rich light the Nashville Christmas Tree at the public square. Then fireworks will light up the sky at 7 p.m., followed by the parade.

The parade will cause road closures starting at 4 p.m. The route begins at 6th and Broadway, heads towards the river, then down 2nd Avenue before crossing the Woodland Street Bridge to LP Field.

Fireworks Display, Village Light Up Holidays

Display location:Elk Grove Village
City:Elk Grove
State:California
Date:Nov.27

Details: About 1,000 people gathered on the Elk Grove Village Green to celebrate the start of the holiday season last Friday with one of the biggest displays ever mounted.

Fireworks lit up the night sky after Mayor Craig Johnson and retiring public works employee Jack Gray flipped the switch to turn on the lights adorning the village's Christmas tree.

Santa Claus rode in on a fire truck and spent time with each child who waited hearing gift requests with his wife Mrs. Claus.

Gray was picked to help flip the switch as he is retiring after 27 years with the public works department and was a key player in mounting the holiday festivities.

He was called "Mr. Christmas" by many in the village for his role as a key planner for holiday celebrations and tree lightings for as long as they had been going on.

Johnson said he and Gray would begin planning for the annual event in May.

"Just when everyone else was enjoying the spring Jack and I started talking about Christmas," said Johnson. "We were like two little kids going through catalogues (to plan the event)."

Power used to be a problem before the new Village Green was completed, said Johnson. He and Gray used to plan how to route power and maximize the lights and attractions while staying within budgets and physical limits of the system.

Moving forward, Johnson said the new Village Green will afford more power for bigger better light displays.

Gray was a key planner on Village Green renovations completed this year.

This year's fireworks display was bigger than in past years. Earlier this year the village's Rotary Fest was rained out and fireworks that would have been shot off at that event were used at the Tour of Elk Grove and Friday's tree lighting.

East Asian Games (EAG) Opening Ceremony and fireworks display

Display location:Hong Kong
City:Hong Kong
Country:China
Date:December 5 from 9.15pm to 9.30pm

Details:Hong Kong (HKSAR) - Police will implement special crowd management and traffic arrangements on both sides of Victoria Harbour tomorrow (December 5) to facilitate members of the public to participate at the East Asian Games (EAG) Opening Ceremony and fireworks display. The fireworks display will be held from 9.15pm to 9.30pm. To suit the proceeding of the ceremonial rituals, there will be seven intermittent release of fireworks between 8pm and 9.15pm.

To avoid overcrowding along the waterfronts on both sides of the harbour, a number of roads in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, Central and Wan Chai will be closed or re-routed. Police will close any viewing areas when they are full of spectators to ensure public safety. Spectators should follow police advice and messages on posters or given by loudspeaker broadcasts on that evening.

People are urged to follow the advice and instructions given by police officers who may direct spectators to leave from places which have already been overcrowded. They are also strongly advised to make full use of public transport for going to the waterfront areas and not to wait at the concourses and exits of MTR stations. (I) Road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented in phases on the Kowloon side as follows: (A) Phase One ------------------- The following road closures will be implemented at 5pm: 1.

Star Ferry Bus Terminus; 2. A section of westbound Salisbury Road between Kowloon Park Drive and Canton Road; 3. A section of the first lane of westbound Salisbury Road between the entrance of Hong Kong Culture Centre pick-up/drop-off lay-by area and Kowloon Park Drive, including the pick-up/drop-off lay-by area; and 4.

The unnamed access road between Austin Road West and West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade. (B) Phase Two ------------------- The following road closures will be implemented at 6pm: 1. A section of westbound Hung Hom Bypass starting from its junction with Hung Hom Road; 2.

A section of southbound Hung Hom Bypass starting from its junction with Metropolis Drive; 3. A section of eastbound Hung Hom Bypass starting from its junction with Mody Lane; 4. A section of westbound Salisbury Road between Hung Hom Bypass and Chatham Road South; 5.

The U-turn slip-road outside Nikko Hotel leading from eastbound Salisbury Road onto westbound Salisbury Road; 6. Southbound Salisbury Elevated Road; 7. Hong Wan Path; 8.

A section of Austin Road West between Wui Man Road and Nga Cheung Road; 9. A section of Nga Cheung Road Flyover between podium level Private Road (North) of Kowloon Station and its exit on Austin Road West; 10. A section of Lin Cheung Road between Wui Cheung Road and Austin Road West; and 11.

A section of Nga Cheung Road between ground level Station Perimeter Road (South) and Austin Road West. (C) Phase Three ------------------- The following road closures will be implemented at 7pm: 1. A section of Canton Road between Kowloon Park Drive and Salisbury Road; 2.

A section of northbound Nathan Road between Bowring Street and Salisbury Road; 3. A section of southbound Nathan Road between Granville Road and Salisbury Road; 4. A section of Carnarvon Road between Granville Road and Nathan Road; 5.

A section of northbound Chatham Road South between Granville Road and Salisbury Road; 6. A section of southbound Chatham Road South between Mody Road and Salisbury Road; 7. A section of Granville Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road; 8.

A section of Mody Road between Chatham Road South and Nathan Road; 9. A section of westbound Mody Road between Science Museum Road and Chatham Road South; 10. A section of eastbound Salisbury Road between Science Museum Road and Canton Road; 11.

A section of westbound Salisbury Road between Kowloon Park Drive and Chatham Road South; 12. Kowloon Park Drive, Ashley Road, Hankow Road, Lock Road, Bristol Avenue, Hanoi Road, Hart Avenue, Minden Row, Blenheim Avenue, Middle Road, Science Museum Path, Granville Square, Hau Fook Street, Cameron Lane, Cameron Road, Prat Avenue, Humphreys Avenue, Minden Avenue, Peking Road, and Haiphong Road; and 13. A section of Granville Road at the east of Chatham Road South will be re-routed to one way eastbound and restricted for the use of franchised buses and minibuses only.

(D) Phase Four ------------------- The following road closures will be implemented at 9.15pm: 1. A section of Austin Road Westbetween Wui Man Road and Canton Road; 2. A section of northbound Nathan Road between Jordan Road and Bowring Street; 3.

A section of southbound Nathan Road between Jordan Road and Granville Road; 4. A section of Bowring Street between Pilkem Street and Nathan Road; 5. A section of Granville Road between Nathan Road and Chatham Road South; 6.

A section of Carnarvon Road between Kimberley Road and Granville Road; 7. A section of northbound Chatham Road South between Granville Road and Observatory Road; 8. A section of southbound Chatham Road South between Cheong Wan Road and Mody Road, except franchised buses and green mini-buses; 9.

A section of eastbound Mody Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road; 10. A section of southbound Salisbury Road between Hong Chong Road and Science Museum Road; and 11. Wui Man Road, Pine Tree Hill Road, Hillwood Road, Kimberley Road, Kimberley Street, Shun Yee Street, Granville Circuit, and Mody Square.

Suspension of Bus and mini-bus terminus -------------------------------------------------- All franchised buses terminus, bus stops, green mini-bus stops within the above area will be suspended.Bus stops will be re-located to either Wui Cheung Road Bus Terminus or Granville Road Tsim Sha Tsui East Temporary Bus Terminus.Details as follow: 1. Service of Star Ferry Bus Terminus will be suspended at 5pm; 2. franchised buses on southbound Nathan Road will be truncated or diverted onto westbound Public Square Street and Jordan Road; 3.

Buses along westbound Jordan Road cannot turn left onto southbound Canton Road but go straight to Wui Cheung Road Bus Terminus via Lin Cheung Road.Buses along southbound Ferry Street can still proceed onto southbound Canton Road and turn right onto Wui Cheung Road Bus Terminus; 4. Service of Wing On Public Transport Interchange will be suspended at 7pm; 5. All franchised buses along southboundChatham Road South will be diverted onto eastbound Granville Road at 7pm where a temporary bus terminus will be set-up; 6.

Service of East Tsim Sha Tsui MTRC Station Public Transport Interchange will be suspended; and 7. Depending on the crowd situation, bus services outside China Hong Kong City will become circular route and all temporary bus stops will be suspended. Hotel Access ---------------- Vehicular access to and from hotels within the affected area will not be permitted during the period of road closure.Vehicles bearing a hotel logo will only be allowed to drop off passengers at the following locations: 1.

At the junction of Kowloon Park Drive and Peking Road (Before Phase 3); and 2. At the junction of Chatham Road South and Mody Road (Before Phase 4). Car Park Access -------------------- Car parks within the above area will be closed at the same time when the respective phases of road closure commences, and will remain closed for the duration of the road closures.

On-street Parking ---------------------- All on-street parking in the southern area of Tsim Sha Tsui, (i.e. the south of Austin Road and Cheong Wan Road) and all metered parking spaces at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade will be suspended between 2pm tomorrow and 1am on Sunday (December 6). All illegally parked vehicles will be towed away.

Crowd management measures in Tsim Sha Tsui ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. Spectators can stand along the promenade of the Cultural Centre, the Avenue of Stars, the Tsim Sha Tsui East promenade and West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade to watch the spectacular.The public carpark on West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade will be closed during the road closure period and public wishing to watch the spectacular on West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade are urged to use public transport. 2.

Road closure will be implemented by phases starting 5pm.Majority of roads in Tsim Sha Tsui area will be pedestrianised.Vehicles are also prohibited to enter southbound Chatham Road South, southbound Kowloon Park Drive and westbound Hung Hom Bypass. Spectators are allowed to stand on the eastbound Hung Hom Bypass after 7pm.However, the westbound carriageway of Hung Hom Bypass and Salisbury Road will be reserved for the use of emergency vehicles only. 3.

Members of the public who want to cross Salisbury Road are advised to use either the crossing at the junction of Salisbury Road and Canton Road, or subways on Nathan Road, Kowloon Park Drive and outside the New World Centre. 4. There are a number of road works and construction sites in various Tsim Sha Tsui areas.

Spectators are advised not to approach areas with road works and not to attempt to climb or lean against the hoarding/fence. 5. The Kowloon public pier will be closed from 2.30pm until the end of the fireworks for the sake of public safety.Marine Department will also implement marine traffic control measures which will affect berthing of vessels at the pier for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers thereat.

Vessel operators should pay attention to the associated Marine Department Notice. 6. Spectators should follow police advice, posters and loudspeaker broadcasts on the evenings concerned.

(II) Road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented in phases on Hong Kong Island as follows: (A) Phase One ------------------ The following road closures will be implemented at 5pm: Central Area 1. The slip road outside Lower Peak Tram Station (i.e. the slip road leading from Garden Road to World Wild Fund For Natural) will be closed to all vehicular traffic except buses and taxis.

(B) Phase Two ------------------ The following road closures will be implemented at 7pm: Wan Chai North 1. Lung Wui Road; 2. Tim Wa Avenue (except PLA vehicles); 3.

Tim Mei Avenue; 4. Performing Arts Avenue; 5. Fenwick Pier Street; 6.

Lung King Street; 7. Fenwick Street northbound between Gloucester Road and Harbour Road; 8.Expo Drive; 9. Expo Drive Central; 10.

Expo Drive East; 11. Convention Avenue; 12. Harbour Road (A section of the westbound carriageway between Fleming Road and Fenwick Street will remain open until 8.45pm and that between Tonnochy Road and Fleming Road will remain open until 9pm); 13.

A section of northbound Fleming Road between Harbour Road and Convention Avenue; 14. Fleming Road Flyover; 15. A section of Tonnochy Road between Harbour Road and Hung Hing Road; 16.

A section of Marsh Road between Gloucester Road and Hung Hing Road; 17. Hung Hing Road; 18. Hung Hing Road flyover; 19.

Wan Shing Street; 20. Wan Ying Street; 21. Marsh Road flyover; and 22.

The lay-by at Victoria Park Road eastbound outside of Typhoon Shelter. Wan Chai South 1. A section of northbound Percival Street between Jaffe Road and Gloucester Road service road may be closed if necessary.Traffic on eastbound Jaffe Road will have to turn right onto southbound Percival Street; 2.

A section of Marsh Road between Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road; and 3. A section of Tonnochy Road between Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road. The following traffic arrangements will be implemented if necessary: 1.

A section of Gloucester Road service road between Percival Street and Canal Road West will be closed; 2. Traffic on Gloucester Road westbound will be prohibited from entering Gloucester Road service road at its junction with O¡¦Brien Road; and 3. A section of southbound Percival Street between Gloucester Road service road and Lockhart Road may be closed; traffic on Jaffe Road eastbound will be diverted via Canal Road West onto Gloucester Road service road.

Central Area 1. Edinburgh Place East (Except vehicles exiting from City Hall Car Park and Central Barracks). 2.

A section of Chung Kong Road between Shun Tak Centre and Rumsey Street; 3. Man Kwong Street; 4. Man Chiu Street; 5.

Man Fai Street; 6. A section of Man Yiu Street between Man Kwong Street and Man Cheung Street; 7. Rumsey Street flyover extension leading to Man Po Street; 8.

Finance Street; 9. Edinburgh Place; and 10. Loading and unloading area outside Central Ferry Piers, 7, 8 and 9.

Peak Area 1. The uphill section of Stubbs Road beyond the Stubbs Road roundabout will be closed to all goods vehicles with gross vehicle weight over 5.5 tonnes; 2. Peak Road northbound beyond the car park entrance at the Peak Galleria except for local residents¡¦ vehicles; 3.

Lugard Road (except with permits); 4. Harlech Road (except with permits); 5. Mount Austin Road except for local residents¡¦ vehicles; 6.

Barker Road except for local residents¡¦ vehicles; and 7. Laybys along Stubbs Road between Peak Road and Stubbs Road roundabout, and along Magazine Gap Road between Peak Road and May Road. (C) Phase Three -------------------- The following road closures will be implemented at 7.55pm: Traffic on Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) westbound between Victoria Park Road andMan Hong Street, except for franchised buses, will be held intermittently.

The following traffic arrangements will be implemented: 1. Traffic along IEC westbound will be diverted onto Man Hong Street; and 2. Slip roads leading to IEC westbound from Healthy Street Central and Tong Shui Road will be closed.

(D) Phase Four ------------------ The following road closures will be implemented at 9pm: 1. Tonnochy Road flyover and a section of Tonnochy Road between Gloucester Road and Harbour Road (E) Phase Five ------------------ The following road closures will be implemented at 9.10pm: Traffic on Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) westbound between Victoria Park Road and Man Hong Street, except for franchised buses, will be held. The following traffic arrangements will be implemented: 1.

Traffic along IEC westbound will be diverted onto Man Hong Street; and 2. Slip roads leading to IEC westbound from Healthy Street Central and Tong Shui Road will be closed. (F) Phase Six ------------------- The following road closures will be implemented at 9.15pm: 1.

A section of Fleming Road between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road; 2. A section of Lockhart Road between Percival Street and Luard Road; 3. A section of Jaffe Road between Percival Street and Luard Road; 4.

O¡¦Brien Road; 5. Steward Road; 6. A section of Tonnochy Road between Gloucester Road and Lockhart Road; 7.

A section of Marsh Road between Gloucester Road and Lockhart Road; 8. A section of Canal Road West between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road); and 9. A section of Canal Road East between Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road.

Suspension of parking spaces, parking meter spaces and motorcycle parking spaces -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All on-street metered parking spaces and parking spaces for motorcycles on the slip road outside Lower Peak Tram Station will be suspended from 3pm to 11pm. The parking spaces, parking meter spaces and motorcycle parking spaces (including disable parking space) at the following locations will be suspended from 5.30pm to 11pm. 1.

Edinburgh Place; 2. Gloucester Road service road; 3. A section of Stewart Road between Jaffe Road and Gloucester Road service road; 4.

A section of the northern kerbside lane of Jaffe Road between Fleming Road and Stewart Road; 5. A section of Marsh Road between Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road; 6. A section of Jaffe Road between Percival Street and Canal Road East; 7.

Lung King Street; 8. Hung Hing Road; and 9. Expo Drive East.

Suspension of taxi stands, PLB stands and GMB stands -------------------------------------------------------------------- The taxi stands at the following locations will be suspended from the time specified below: The taxi stand on the slip road outside Lower Peak Tram Station will be suspended. A temporary taxi stand will be designated at the lay-by on Garden Road outside Lower Peak Tram Station from 5pm until the road closure is lifted. The taxi stands at the following locations will be suspended from 7pm until the road closure is lifted.

1. Expo Drive East; 2. Tim Mei Avenue 3.

Harbour Road; 4. Wanchai Ferry Pier Transport Interchange; 5. Outside Central Ferry Piers 6,7 & 8; 6.

Man Kwong Street; 7. Edinburgh Place; 8. A section of Jaffe Road between Percival Street and Canal Road East; 9.

Lockhart Road near O¡¦Brien Road; 10. Lockhart Road before the junction with Marsh Road; 11. Stewart Road; and 12.

Tonnochy Road. The PLB stand at Lockhart Road near Canal Road West will be suspended from 9.15pm to 11pm. The following GMB stands at the following locations will be suspended from 9.15pm to 11pm.: 1.

Lockhart Road; 2. Jaffe Road; and 3. Stewart Road.

Restrictions on access to/exit from carparks and hotels on closed roads ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vehicles parked in carparks within the closed areas will not be permitted to leave/enter the carparks during the road closure periods until the roads are re-opened for normal traffic; and The carparks on a section of Gloucester Road service road westbound between Paterson Street and Percival Street will be closed at short notice if the police consider it necessary. Crowd management measures on Hong Kong Island -------------------------------------------- Spectators may go to the northern shore of Hong Kong Island to watch the fireworks display by footbridges in Central or Wan Chai North. However, they are not allowed to stay on the footbridges, which will be temporarily closed during the fireworks display.

Signage will be placed at the footbridge entrances and spectators are advised to follow the instructions of the police officers on site. Depending on the crowd situation, the footbridges will also be subject to immediate closure to ensure public safety and order. Police Report No.

Fireworks display to celebrate the Christmas

Display location:Akron
City:Akron
State:OH
Date:25.Dec.

Details: What's Christmas without a little fun, and what's Christmas without Santa Claus?

Budget cuts in the city have caused downsizing, but the city is not canceling Christmas, thanks to downtown merchants and area businesses.

''The holidays are alive and well in downtown Akron and we want to continue our big holiday presence,'' Kimberlee McKee, president of the Downtown Akron Partnership, said Monday. ''The Holidayfest and Chriskindl Market will both take place at Lock 3, just on a smaller scale.''

In a publicity stunt Monday, McKee filed a missing person's report for Santa Claus, just to make sure he isn't under the impression festivities are canceled and he's not needed for the traditional lighting of the city's Christmas tree at 7
p.m., Friday, as well as the Welcome Santa Parade at noon Saturday in downtown Akron.

''It's become an annual tradition to kick off the holidays in downtown with fireworks and the lighting of our Christmas tree,'' McKee said. ''Unless we find Santa Claus before Friday, the holidays in downtown Akron just won't be the same.''

Akron police Chief Craig Gilbride took the missing person's report, vowing that Santa Claus, aka Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or St. Nick, will be found in time for the holiday events. In fact, the report states he was last seen at Lock 3 in Akron on Dec. 25, 2008, and ''never misses the festivities.''

McKee said the Downtown Akron Partnership contributed $8,000 for Friday night's lighting ceremony and fireworks display. Other donations came from the Knight Foundation, the Akron Community Foundation, FirstMerit Bank, Goodyear, Bridgestone and a dozen other businesses.

Three Chemnitz, Germany, vendors will return to the city on their own, even though the city is not able to support the sister-city exchange. It will be the sixth year at Lock 3 for Mario Hausdorfer (glass ornaments), Frank Kuhnert (wooden items) and Georg Wolfe (ceramics). This year they will be joined at Chriskindl Market by local artisans, artists and craftsmen.

McKee said there will be different local vendors each weekend, so people are encouraged to visit often.

A new feature at this year's market is the Everything Akron store operated by the Akron-Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will sell Akron hats, mugs, shirts, bags and office products.

Skating will still be available at Lock 3 for free. Skate rental is $2. The ice rink will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7:30 to 10 p.m. the day after Thanksgiving, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. It will remain open into January. Times vary and are listed on the city's Web site, along with all other downtown festivities, at http://www.downtownakron.com or http://www.lock3live.com.

''Downtown Akron hosting the holidays in downtown Akron is such a great tradition, we just wanted to continue it,'' McKee said. ''It should be a very fun evening for everyone.''

Fireworks display and snow will be part of switch-on in Gosport

Display location:Discovery Centre
City:Gosport.
Country:UK
Date:December 3

Details: The sky will be filled with fireworks and snow when the Christmas lights are switched on in Gosport.
The borough council has booked a snow machine to give event in Lawrence Square a festive feeling.

And as the lights are turned on, fireworks will shoot up from the roof of the Discovery Centre.

The switch-on will take place on Thursday, December 3, from 5pm.

The lights will be turned on at 6.30pm by Gosport mayor Councillor Diane Searle.

She will be joined by two panto stars who are taking part in the production of Snow White at Ferneham Hall, Fareham.

Cllr Searle said: 'We hope that everyone will come along and join us.

'As well as carols and a truly wonderful atmosphere, we will have lots more happening to get your Christmas started.'

The crowd will be warmed up by festive music and performances by the Big Noise Samba Band and the Portsmouth Cheerleaders.

Concord, NH to hold tree lighting ceremony and celebrated with fireworks display

Display location:
City:CONCORD
State:N.H.
Date:Nov.27

Details: CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire's capital city is lighting its Christmas tree and setting off fireworks.

It's a tradition in Concord to light its Christmas tree in front of the Statehouse the day after Thanksgiving.

Activities start at 4 p.m. There also will be collections for Toys for Tots and canned food items.

The tree lighting ceremony starts at 6 p.m., followed by fireworks.

Lighting Ceremony, Concert and Fireworks Show

Display location:Cleveland
City:Cleveland
State:OH
Date:November 28th

Details:On Saturday, November 28th, kick off the holiday season in downtown Cleveland with Winterfest. There will be lots of free family events and activities. Here's some things you can expect:

Free horse-drawn carriage rides from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.: Stop in front of Old Stone Church to take a ride through the city.

WInterfest Village from 3:00 - 7:30 p.m.: There will be crafts, activities, food and beverages. Located on the southwest quadrant of Public Square.
Winterfest Stage Show and Radio Disney Appearance from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.: Local bands will play Holiday music and Radio Disney will host family-friendly games, dancing and karaoke. And dont miss Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer which will be played on the large Public Square screen.

Lighting Ceremony, Concert and Fireworks from 6:00 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.: Join Mayor Jackson as over 500,000 lights and the Public Square Christmas tree get turned on for the holiday season. Then there will be a firework display set to live music.
Public After-Party from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Higbee Building: Come for pictures with Santa, free refreshments and live music.

For more information, visit cleveland.com/winterfest

First weekend in December filled with fireworks display

Display location: Williamsburg
City: Williamsburg
State:Virginia
Date:December 6

Detail: Next weekend Hollydazzle at City Center in Newport News begins at 6 p.m. Friday, December 4 with free make-and-take holiday crafts, costume characters and holiday entertainment at indoor and outdoor locations. The classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," will be shown. At 8:45 p.m. the "Fountains of Light Show" fireworks show will be held. Food will be available for purchase. There's free parking at the City Center's three parking garages and at a satellite lot at Canon Virginia, with free shuttle bus service to the event area. 926-1400.

The Downtown Hampton Lighted Boat Parade sails back into townSaturday, December 5. Beginning at 7:15 p.m., the parade of illuminated power and sail boats will be visible from anywhere along the Hampton River. To hear the narration, find a spot near the former Cousteau Society building (now the Hampton Maritime Center). Spectators interested in riding on the Miss Hampton II should make reservations at 722-9102. Admission is an unwrapped toy that will be donated to Toys for Tots. 727-1271.

Also on Saturday, Phoebus hosts An Olde Time Christmas Celebration and Open House at noon. The event includes strolling musicians, holiday treats by area businesses and at 3:30 p.m., "An Olde Fashion Christmas Dance" at the Phoebus Ultra Lounge. Though free, tickets are required and can be obtained by visiting the Kiwanis by The Bay volunteers during festival hours, located at the Phoebus Town Clock. The event will happen along Mellen Street in the Phoebus section of Hampton. Call 570-4147 or 240-8630 for information.

On Sunday, December 6, Williamsburg ushers in the holiday season with candles, fireworks and music during the annual Grand Illumination. The event begins at 4:45, with 18th century music provided by Colonial Williamsburg's Fifes and Drums on outdoor stages, and costumed performers presenting holiday entertainment. The Fifes and Drums will signal the beginning of the Grand Illumination at 6:15, when candles are lit in public buildings, shops and homes, and fireworks are launched from the Governor's Palace, Magazine and Capitol. Entertainment resumes after the fireworks, until 7:30 p.m.

Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony Tomorrow with Fireworks Show

Display location:Elk Grove Village
City:Elk Grove Village
State:IL
Date:Nov.27

Detail:The sky over Elk Grove Village will light up Friday night with fireworks and Christmas lights at the 12th Annual Elk Grove Village Holiday Tree Lighting celebration on the village green near village hall.

Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. with songs from Elk Grove and Conant high school choirs.

A secret guest will help Mayor Craig Johnson flip the switch to turn on lights on a large Christmas tree donated by the Hennessey family.

Following the lighting of the tree, an extra large fireworks display will light up the night sky.

Joining the mayor and his secret guest on stage to turn on the light will be the Hennessey and Juhas families, both of Elk Grove Village).

The Juhas family donated a tree from their property that was to be used as the official holiday tree by the village. However, it was damaged in transit sending village staffers scrambling to find the Hennessey family who donated a tree from their property at the last minute.

For many years, the village has used trees donated by residents for the holiday.

The village removes the trees from resident's property free of charge who volunteer to be part of the program.

Once the tree is lit, Santa Claus is expected to arrive on a ladder truck with the help of the Elk Grove Village Fire Dept.

Santa, Mrs. Claus and several elves will pass out candy canes and hot chocolate to kids, coffee to adults and hear requests from kids for the Jolly Old Elf's deliveries to village homes on Christmas Eve.

Santa's reindeer will also be on hand that kids will be able to meet and pet.

This year's fireworks display will be larger than in past year's.

Last summer's Rotary Fest fireworks display was canceled because of heavy rain. Left over fireworks from that event will be shot off at the tree lighting.

The event costs the village about $35,000. Johnson said many other communities have scaled back or canceled similar celebrations.

Johnson said in rough economic times these kinds of free family friendly events are more important than ever to bring a community together.

Amelia Island Lights Tree, Sets Off Fireworks Show

Display location:AMELIA ISLAND
City:AMELIA ISLAND
State:Fla.
Date:Nov.25

Detail:AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- Christmas is just around the corner and Amelia Island is getting ready to celebrate with a little color.

This evening, Amelia Island lit its tree with thousands of lights. There also were refreshments and music, and Santa Claus will arrives in a horse-drawn carriage.

Immediately following the tree lighting, dinner will be served and Santa, his elves and reindeer will all be there to enjoy it with you!

The tree lighting is free, but the dinner will cost you $49 for adults and $25 for children ages 5-12, and includes a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The event is at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, 4750 Amelia Island Parkway

Fireworks display in Beaver Creek

Display location: Park Hyatt
City:Beaver Creek
State:Ohio
Date:Nov.27
Event website:www.beavercreek.com.

Details:BEAVER CREEK — Beaver Creek kicks off the holidays today with a Fantasy Gingerbread Competition and tree lighting ceremony and fireworks display in the village.

Elaborate gingerbread creations will be on display at the Park Hyatt and 100 percent of silent auction proceeds will go to Court Appointed Special Advocates, a local organization serving abused and neglected children in Eagle, Summit, Lake and Clear Creek counties.

There also will be a special “Kids' Holiday Wish for a Better World Poetry Contest” and the contest winner will read his or her poem at the Tree lighting Ceremony and will have the honor of lighting Beaver Creek's holiday tree. Local judges will select poems that best reflect the spirit of the holiday season.

Here is the schedule:

• 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.: Free public viewing and silent auction of gingerbread creations in the Gerald R. Ford Hall at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa.

• 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Tree lighting ceremony on Beaver Creek Plaza with musical performances, fireworks and a visit from Santa Claus.

• 6:30-7 p.m.: Hot chocolate and cookies served in the lobby of the Vilar Performing Arts Center.

• 7 p.m.: Free family movie viewing of “Fred Claus” at the Vilar Performing Arts Center. Seating available on a first-come, first-served basis, with tickets available beginning at 5 p.m. at the Vilar Center box office.

• 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Complimentary ice skating after the event on the Black Family Ice Rink. There will be no skating from 4:30-7 p.m. in order to accommodate the ceremony.

For more information visit www.beavercreek.com.

Fireworks, Christmas parade set for Dec. 4

Display location:Winnsboro
City:Winnsboro
State:Texas
Date:Dec.4

Details:The annual Winnsboro Franklin Parish Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade promises to light up both the streets and the skies as the annual nighttime parade rolls through downtown Winnsboro starting at 7 p.m. Dec. 4. When the parade ends, a fireworks show begins.

Grand marshals for the parade are area veterans organizations, Diamond Hawthorne American Legion Post No. 84, Scott Dupree American Legion Post No. 559, Hanna Richardson VFW Post No. 3155 and the Oakley Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution.

Members of the local Louisiana National Guard unit under the leadership of Sgt. Michael Lacour will escort members of these groups in military vehicles this year.

Antique car and truck enthusiasts to join the parade by decorating their vehicle for the event.

To register an antique car for the parade, call the chamber at 435-4488.

For refreshments at the parade and fireworks show, a number of non-profit groups will be offering hot food and hot drinks at various points along the parade route.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees open the 2010 season with fireworks display

Display location:Moosic
City:Moosic
State:PA
Date:31.Dec.09

Details: Moosic,Moosic - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees open the 2010 season with nine straight games at PNC Field as the team looks for its fourth consecutive International League North Division title. Opening night 2010 is Thursday, April 8th with a 7:05 PM first pitch vs. the Buffalo Bisons; the triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. Following the game the skies above PNC Field will illuminate with the first fireworks show of the season.
Following the four game season opening series with the Bisons, April 18th- 11th, the Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins), will be in for a pair of games, April 12th and 13th. The season opening home stand concludes with three straight games vs. the Syracuse Chiefs (Washington Nationals), April 14th, 15th and 16th. All games on the opening home stand will begin at 7:05 PM with the exception of Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th, which both begin at 1:05 PM.

"Opening night is always a special event and the 2010 home opener will be no different," said Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees President Kristen Rose. "We get the opportunity to welcome home the most successful team in the International League over the last three seasons as well as begin the push for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees fourth straight division title and second Governors' Cup championship in three seasons."

The 2010 season will feature 10 post game fireworks shows. Every Friday night home game at PNC Field beginning with the May 14th game vs. the Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox) will wrap up with a post game fireworks display. The Yankees will celebrate the Independence Day holiday on July 3rd with fireworks following the 7:05 PM game with Syracuse. The other non-Friday firework's game takes place following the final regular season home game on Saturday, September 4th vs. the Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox).

2010 will feature special group days at PNC Field recognizing various community organizations. Two dates have been set aside for the younger Yankees fans, with school days at PNC Field on Thursday, April 29th and Thursday, May 13th, both dates feature special start times of 11:05 AM. Standard start times for the 2010 season are 7:05 PM for games Monday through Saturday and 1:05 PM for Sunday games in April, May and July. Sunday games in June and August will start at 5:05 PM.

Rivalry games fill a big portion of the 2010 schedule as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will play a total of 24 games against three of the Yankees biggest rivals. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has dominated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies triple-A affiliate, taking 10 of 16 games in 2009 and 24 of 32 games all time with the franchise from Allentown. The Yankees host Lehigh Valley on April 23rd through April 26th. The IronPigs are back at PNC Field prior to the IL All-Star break on July 10th and 11th and then wrap up their regular season visits on August 26th and 27th.

The Pawtucket Red Sox make three appearances at PNC Field in 2010: June 21st through the 24th, August 9th and 10th and the final two home games of the regular season at PNC Field, September 3rd and 4th. Both games on September 3rd and 4th will feature post game fireworks.

The New York Mets top affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons and the Yankees will play triple-A's version of the "Subway Series" over the Bisons three 2010 trips to Northeast Pennsylvania. After opening the season against Buffalo, the Yankees host the Bisons on August 11th and 12th and August 28th and 29th.

Once again in 2010, PNC Field will also play host to some of the hottest entertainment acts in Minor League Baseball, which will be announced at a later date.

Individuals and groups seeking information about Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees season ticket packages, group tickets and sponsorship opportunities or information on booking a Yankees speaker are encouraged to contact the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees by calling (570) 969-2255 or find the Yankees on the web at www.swbyankees.com.

Fireworks display battle blasts off in Lanarkshire skies

Display location:Strathclyde Park
City:Scotland
Country:UK
Show contact:andrew.waite@peninsulaclarion.com.
Date:29.Nov.

Details: Pyrotechnic experts have been battling it out in the skies over Lanarkshire for the title of the Scottish Fireworks Champion 2009.

Organisers hoped to attract 20,000 people to the event at Strathclyde Park, which was part of the Homecoming Scotland finale weekend.

Reaction Fireworks fought off stiff competition from Fireworx Scotland, and Midnight Storm to scoop the title.

About 20,000 explosives were detonated in just one hour.

There was live music, a fun fair and other family entertainment.

Children and their parents also took take part in the Wee Willie Winkie charity fun walk around Strathclyde Loch with money raised going to the St Andrew's Hospice in Airdrie.

Reaction Fireworks will now go on to compete in the British Fireworks Championships next August.

Prague’s New Year Fireworks Show

Display location:Letna
City:Paague
Country:Czech
Date:New Year’s Eve
Show Contact:tom.sheppard@laterooms.com +44 (0)161 607 3460

Details: People looking for some excitement this New Year’s Eve may want to travel to the Czech capital to witness the spectacular firework displays.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, November 28, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ — New Year’s Eve in Prague is characterised by its extravagant fireworks display, visible across the city. Several fireworks displays are organised for midnight on New Year’s Eve, when revellers can choose to brave the cold and watch them from one of the bridges over the river, or select a warm bar or restaurant that overlooks the waterway. Top spots to get a good view of the brightly-coloured displays include the Charles Bridge or Prague Castle. Many of the river boats also take tours out, offering an unusual option for New Year’s tourists. People staying in Prague hotels will be up until the early hours of the morning celebrating the New Year with the locals. More adventurous tourists may want to spend midnight in one of the city’s famous squares. In both the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, locals gather to set off their own fireworks and see the New Year in with style. Those staying in Prague hotels with small children do not have to miss out on the fun. A fireworks display also takes place on New Year’s Day at 18:00 local time. Any little angels that did not stay up for the evening’s festivities can watch the spectacular aerial display. Visitors can get the best views from the city centre or the riverside, as the fireworks are set off from Letna, on the Prague Castle side of the capital. Jessica Reading, head of marketing for LateRooms, commented: “Demand for New Year in Prague is always significant and we recommend that anyone considering attending should book their hotels in Prague as early as possible”. Editors notes : LateRooms is one of the UK’s leading online accommodation sites offering late availability deals in over 22,000 properties worldwide, ranging from bed and breakfasts to five star luxury hotels. LateRooms offers customers a saving of up to 70 per cent off the normal room rate for a variety of independent and branded hotels. Customers can book by phone or online 24/7, whether booking 12 months or 12 minutes in advance – whatever time, whatever day. LateRooms arm the customer with information to help them choose the right hotel. Users can read from over 350,000 true hotel reviews, written by customers who have booked through LateRooms and actually stayed at the hotel. LateRooms is the first online site to use VisitBritain’s official national classification system to rate its hotels, bed and breakfasts and guest houses. This ensures customers know the standards of quality they can expect when making a reservation. For further editorial information please contact: tom.sheppard@laterooms.com +44 (0)161 607 3460 Website: http://www.laterooms.com — Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com

Fireworks Display Light up Lorain

Display location:Veterans Park
City:Lorain
State:OH
Date:November 28

Details: Downtown Lorain will be transformed into a Christmas holiday wonderland starting this afternoon.

Live toy soldiers, fireworks, musical lights dancing across City Hall, horse-drawn carriages and trackless trolleys cruising Broadway are among the attractions being offered by "Light Up Lorain."

The holiday extravaganza is the brainchild of downtown businessman Joe Skodney and other members of The Downtown Lorain Christmas Decoration Council. They spent much of the year planning activities, recruiting sponsors and raising funds to turn Lorain's downtown into a unique northern Ohio holiday destination area.

From noon to 1:30 p.m., Santa will talk to children at the Lorain Palace Theatre. A craft bazaar, under the auspices of the Lorain Port Authority, takes place from 3 to 8 p.m. at Black River Landing.

At 4 p.m., a parade, with Santa as the guest of honor, traverses Broadway to Veterans Memorial Park, where a Light-Up ceremony begins at 5 p.m. All downtown Christmas lights, including the animated light display on City Hall, will go on when Mayor Anthony Krasienko flicks the switch at 5:45 p.m. Children's choirs from area schools will sing Christmas carols. At 8:30 p.m., fireworks will conclude the Veterans Park festivities.

The sights and sounds of Broadway will feature Santa's Workshop and Mrs. Claus' Kitchen and the return of a Faroh's Candy store to downtown Lorain, along with other holiday shops.

Come downtown today, and throughout the Christmas season, to take advantage of what we hope becomes a uniquely Lorain tradition for years to come.

Fireworks display at Moncton

Display location:New Brunswick
City:MONCTON
Country:Canada
Date:Nov.24

Details: MONCTON, N.B. — The Olympic torch will make its way to New Brunswick today, crossing the Confederation Bridge after spending the weekend on P.E.I.

The flame will pass through Port Elgin, Cap-Pele and stop in Shediac for a community celebration before moving on to Sackville, Memramcook and Dieppe.

It will then figure prominently in opening ceremonies for the new stadium at University of Moncton.

Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc promises the inaugural event will be "one to remember" with stage entertainment reflecting the city's cultural diversity, as well as a massive fireworks display.

The torch will be carried onto the Olympic Stage by Special Olympian Chris Briggs.

Fireworks displays illuminated at Hotel Sorella opening

Display location:Houston's main square at CityCentre
City: Houston
State:TX
Date:Nov.22

Details: The Hotel Sorella opened with a bang Saturday night as several outdoor fireworks displays illuminated the main square at CityCentre and dancers twirled fire batons and hoops to herald the biggest thing to hit Houston's west side in a long time.

Although the temperature outside was cool, the temperature inside was red hot as more than 2,000 guests jammed the hotel, spreading across the lobby and fanning out beside the cabana-lined swimming pool into the Monna Lisa lounge, where revelers danced around a fire pit - do we detect a theme here?

Guests were granted a VIP peak at the plush penthouse suites on the 11th and 12th floor, causing long waits at the elevators. On the main floor, Alex Brennan-Martin was all smiles as his Bistro Alex was packed.

A lot of people who live in the area seemed particularly pleased to have a new open-air development with the chic boutique hotel (owned by the Valencia Group), restaurants and shops where Town & Country mall once stood. The CityCentre complex has a gigantic Anthropologie shop, a Studio Movie Grill theater, and such trendy restaurants as Straits and Ra Sushi.

Seen in the crowd: Susan and Mike Plank, Deanna LeBlanc-Anon, Fox Sports' Steve McNair and wife Paula, Mauney Mafrige, Blake Tartt, Tami Dias and Ceron.

Christmas in the Park opens Wednesday with fireworks show

Display location:Longview Lake Park
City:KANSAS
State:MO
Date:Nov.25

Details: KANSAS CITY, Mo.--- Christmas in the Park, located in the Longview Campgrounds at Longview Lake, is a favorite for Kansas City residents and visitors.

With more than 300,000 lights and 175 animated figures, guests will need to make sure they have plenty of gas and time to experience the whole trip.

Christmas in the Park opens for its 22nd year Wednesday Nov. 25 and runs through Dec. 31. Hours are Sunday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.. Friday and Saturday hours are 5:30 p.m. to 11p.m. Admission is free, but donations for local charities are accepted.

Wednesday’s opening night will be celebrated with Christmas in the Sky. This event will include live music, a holiday stage show, and conclude with fireworks.

Gates open at 5 p.m. There is no charge for this event. Hot chocolate is available in the tent. This program is located at the Longview Lake Beach in Longview Lake Park.

To get to Christmas in the Park, follow Highway 50 west to Lee’s Summit. Take the Third Street exit. Turn left onto Third Street. Continue on 3rd Street, which becomes SW Longview Road. Follow local signs that say “Christmas in the Park.”

To get to Christmas in the Sky, follow Highway 50 west to Lee’s Summit. Take the 3rd Street exit. Turn left onto 3rd Street. From Third Street, turn right onto View High Drive. Turn left onto E. 109th Street. Then turn left onto Raytown Road. Follow local signs to beach area.

For more information about Christmas in the Sky and Christmas in the Park, you may visit http://www.jacksongov.org/content/3279/3737/3759/default.aspx.

Fireworks Show at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Display location:Homestead-Miami Speedway
City:HOMESTEAD
State: Fla.
Date:Nov.22

Details: HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The fireworks that filled the night-time sky following the end of the Ford 400 weren't the only ones to go off Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The others blasted off much earlier during the 267-lap race at the 1.5-mile track, when drivers Juan Montoya and Tony Stewart bumped and banged and wrecked each other on two different occasions, providing the most entertaining moments of Jimmie Johnson's championship-clinching run.

Those fireworks started on Lap 116 when it appeared Montoya, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet, bumped Stewart's No. 14 Chevy from behind. Stewart almost immediately seemed to retaliate by turning down into Montoya's car, causing the right-front tire of the No. 42 to go flat, sending it into the wall (watch video).

That tore up the right side of Montoya's machine and sent him to the garage to get it fixed. When he returned 30 laps later, it seemed he quickly set his sights on getting even with Stewart.

Chad Knaus, crew chief for Johnson, even told the No. 48 team's spotter, Earl Barban, to find out where Montoya and Johnson were on the track and instructed Johnson to give the frisky pair a wide berth as soon as Montoya emerged from the garage and got back into the fray.

"Earl, keep an eye on the 42 and the 14. The 42 is back on the race track and the 14 is unfortunately ahead of us," Knaus told Barban.

Brian Pattie, Montoya's crew chief, later admitted: "If we had been going for a championship and I saw all that stuff happening, I would have told my driver the same thing."

On Lap 155, Pattie's driver booted Stewart from behind, sending the No. 14, which had been in contention for a strong finish and possibly even the win, spinning off into oblivion. Although Stewart wasn't penalized for the first portion of the incident, Montoya was black-flagged by NASCAR and parked for two laps

The scuffles ruined the nights of both drivers. Montoya ended up finishing 38th and dropped two spots to eighth in the final Chase standings. Stewart, who lost one lap and fell to 33rd after getting spun and having to pit under green, eventually did gain his lap and several positions back, but had to settle for a 22nd-place finish that dropped him to sixth in the final standings.

As irony would have it, the two entered the race fifth and sixth in points, respectively -- meaning their haulers were parked right next to each other all weekend in the garage. But there were no additional post-race fireworks from either driver -- at least not that the public could see or hear.

Montoya drove in after the race first and quickly stormed off after climbing from his car. Stewart came in next and lingered only a little before disappearing into his hauler. He sent word through a spokesman about 10 minutes later that he would not be discussing the incidents with reporters.

That left the crew chiefs to try to explain what happened. Unfortunately, they more or less said they didn't have a clue.

"I haven't seen all the replays, so I don't know what exactly happened when," said Darian Grubb, crew chief for Stewart. "But they were racing each other hard, and they both got frustrated."

Pattie smiled and added: "I asked the crew chief on the 14 what happened, and he said he didn't know, either. So we'll just have to go back and look at the tape like we always do, and try to see what happened. All I saw was the right side [of the 42] went flat, he got into the wall, and we were headed to the garage.

"We'll figure it out. We definitely don't need this stuff heading into next year."

The two crew chiefs did end up speaking with each other afterward. Eventually, they shrugged shoulders and had a laugh about it after agreeing that any lingering bad feelings between the drivers needs to be flushed from all systems before the 2010 season opens with the Daytona 500 next February.

"It didn't help us; it didn't help him," Pattie said. "We fell a couple of spots in the points; he ended up out of the top five, when both of us had a fighting chance to finish there. I don't know. We'll see what happens. I mean, Tony is a friend of mine so we'll see what happens."

Both crew chiefs also agreed that the two cars were fast before the fireworks exploded in their collective faces.

"We were going to go out on a high note," Grubb said. "We wanted to win this race and we had the car to do it. We led some laps. We fell back a couple of times because of pit sequences or whatever, and we were always able to drive right back up to the front.

"We were really hopeful. Then the sun went down, the track got a little cooler, and our car started getting off a little bit while others started picking it up a bit. We just got the best we could out of it at that point."

Well, it didn't help getting turned by Montoya. Then again, Pattie said he thought his camp had a top-five car as well before the beating and banging with Stewart commenced.

"We're still building. We're still a new team, when you think about it. It's only my first full-time year in the Cup Series," said Pattie, who was on the pit box for 19 poles and 18 wins in the Nationwide Series before moving to Cup late last season. "If I knew it was going to be like this all the time, I should have switched a long time ago.

"[Juan] buys into the system. We've changed some stuff and started clicking this season, but I don't want to be a one-hit wonder. We do a lot of things and we're pretty meticulous about what we do, so we can perform the second time around [at tracks] even better [than the first]. I think we proved that in the second half of this season, and we'll try to carry that over to all of the tracks next season. I want to take what we had the last 15, 18 races and build on it. This was a brand-new race car that easily had another top-five [finish] in it."

Pattie said the only thing he said to Montoya while the car was in the garage getting fixed was to remind him to keep it at the minimum speed. But he also later admitted that he was not all that surprised when his driver tangled a second time with Stewart.

"That's not a very good recipe, to be honest with you," Pattie said. "We'll watch the tape and see that it doesn't happen again."

Pattie added that he was not too upset with Montoya.

"It shows you that he wants to be here, and that he's not going to be pushed around," Pattie said. "He's fiery, and he's going to stay that way. It's in there; it's in him. We just calmed him down to get him points racing [earlier this season]. He didn't start it [with Stewart], I don't think. He just finished it."

Grubb added: "It's just racers racin' hard. A lot of common sense goes out the window when you're racing as hard as you can. We weren't thinking about points, we were thinking about winning the race -- and we thought Juan was racing a little too hard right there. That happens. Juan's a great race-car driver and so is Tony. Both of their common senses went out the window altogether there."

Fireworks Show to the NFL Game

Display location:Cleveland Browns Stadium
City: Cleveland
State: Ohio.
Date:November 16

Details: Everyone from the announcers to the media to the fans were ragging on our Ravens about the boring, unoriginal and "flat" play last night in their 16-0 shutout victory over the woeful Cleveland Browns. The offense could only muster a little under 300 yards of total offense that was giving up an average of over 400 yards per game. They joined the Browns in combining to have the only non-scoring first half in the 2009 NFL season thus far. The Ravens could only muster 9 points of scoring offense all game, and scored 13 of their 16 points in a 17 second span of the third quarter.

But as the title suggests, perhaps the Ravens played "flat" on purpose for a reason that borders on strategy with a side helping of over confidence?



Everyone knew the Ravens were clearly the better team going into the game and it wouldn't be surprising to know that the team was likely already looking ahead to their next two opponents, much less the remainder of the season. While the team knew it desperately needed a win to remain in the hunt for a post season berth, they probably figured that just short of showing up was going to be good enough to pull out a win, as ugly as it may look to the rest of the football world watching last night.

I'm sure the team knew what it had to do to win the game, and only opened the playbook far enough to get the job done. Without revealing anything in that binder of formations that the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers could practice to prevent, the Ravens just concentrated in bullying the Browns enough to score more points while playing solid defense. Hence the game totals in plays ran from scrimmage, 36 rushing versus only 19 passes. The 19 passing attempts include an ill-timed 3rd down trick play with Ray Rice trying to get the ball downfield to a wide open Todd Heap, underthrowing him for an incompletion. Why they even brought out that play, much less on a third and two where they could have probably just ran the ball for the first down with the game in hand at that point confounded me as well as the announcers.

So before you decide to go off on the team for its bland game plan, try to see that the coaching staff couldn't care less what everyone thinks about their strategy as long as it ends with a victory, which it did. They may be a lot smarter than they are given credit for, as they got the win without revealing anything unusual about the game plan that the Colts and Steelers can take away from the game. However, the defense did shut out an NFL team, which has only happened a handful of times this season and is still a sense of pride regardless of the team they beat. This defense needed this shutout and can use the solid play from many of the guys who have not gotten a lot of reps this year, such as Dwan Edwards, Lardarius Webb, Jameel McClain and even Paul Kruger. Both corners played well, especially Fabian Washington against the run. Terrell Suggs has every reason to be angry at Brady Quinn, who had no reason whatsoever to be blocking Suggs after throwing an interception, much less below the knees and his post game excuse was obviously lame. Losing Suggs for the next stretch of games will hurt this team, as well as the loss of safety Haruki Nakamura, who broke his right ankle on the opening kickoff and should miss the rest of the season. Get well props to both of them, along with Tavares Gooden who suffered another concussion and Todd Heap, who bruised his chest late in the game.

On the Browns side, here's hoping return man Josh Cribbs is okay after taking a hard shot on the game's final play, although Dwan Edwards hit was legal and besides, the play was a stupid one for a team trailing by 16 points.

Finally, we can't end this post without mentioning the pathetic job our placekicker has done all season. Sorry to call you out Steven Hauschka, but when you put on the team's colors, you are in the spotlight and are only as good as your kicks, which have been hooking left since the first game of the season. Missing those easy ones will keep the talk about letting Matt Stover go fresh on the tongues on your detractors. While I was in favor of replacing Stover, he was money inside the 40 but was shaky beyond that. You are missing wide left regardless of the distance and have pretty much proven that the pressure of kicking in the NFL is well beyond your capabilities. Now the team should be signing someone else as they have tried out other kickers but for some reason decideed to give you another chance, which you blew big time last night. While the readers of The Beatdown know whom I'd like to see here, at this point I'm sure everyone agrees that anyone other than you will be an upgrade, as there can't be a single person over at One Winning Drive that secretly or openly has any confidence when you trot onto the field.

Other than that, I'm not discouraged, I'm satisfied that we are where we needed to be before last night to set us up for the next two games which will absolutely define our season and with that, our post season.

Gardendale Christmas parade to feature fireworks show

Display location: Gardendale Christmas parade,north Jefferson County
City:Jefferson,
State:MI
Date:Dec.3 at 6pm
Show contact:alan@tcronline.org or cal at 631-9195

Details:The largest parade in north Jefferson County will offer a new and explosive twist this year.

A huge fireworks show will kick off the Gardendale Christmas parade on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.

The fireworks will be shot a safe distance from the parade crowd, but Alan Hall said that everyone will be able to see the show from their spot along the parade route.

Jeff Dennis Jewelers is sponsoring the fireworks.

The parade will start immediately following the fireworks.

This year’s theme is “A Cartoon Christmas” and is meant to make the parade special for children.

“We’re really pushing for schools, daycares and churches to be involved,” said Hall. “We want this to be something that everybody will enjoy.”

The cost to enter the parade is $50 for businesses and $35 for nonprofit organizations. Deadline to enter is Dec. 1.

For more information, email Hall at alan@tcronline.org or call the chamber office at 631-9195 and leave a message.

Fireworks Show and rock as Czechs celebrate Velvet Revolution

Display location: Prague
City: Prague
Country:Czech
Date:Nov.17

Details: Prague, Czech Republic (CNN) -- Fireworks and rock 'n' roll echoed across central Prague on Tuesday as thousands of marchers commemorated the 20th anniversary of the "Velvet Revolution" that toppled Communist rule.

The peaceful 1989 uprising began with a student march to mark a 1939 clampdown on opposition in what was then Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. It drew 15,000 people -- students as well as teachers, professors and ordinary Czechs who had grown weary of state control.

Ivan Pilip, one of the students who took part, said the march "was very different" from previous demonstrations he had joined.

"There was a different group of people," he said. "We feel that people that participated in such events before had come, and they're ready to do something. And it was more and more visible every minute."



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The protest was held a week after the opening of the Berlin Wall, as pressure was building on the Communist governments of Eastern Europe. When the demonstrators tried to divert the march to central Prague's Wenceslas Square, they were attacked by police -- a response that led tens of thousands more people to join mass demonstrations that lasted another 10 days.

"My kids cannot understand today what was moving our minds and hearts that day 20 years ago," Pilip's wife, Lucie, said Tuesday. "We watched television today to show them what we had come through these 20 years, and I think it's an enormous success."

The protests led to talks between government officials and the Civic Forum, a group of dissidents led by playwright Vaclav Havel. The Communist Party ceded power in December, and Havel became president.

"Many of our citizens who took part in the democratic changes died already with a feeling that they contributed to something that meant a lot," Havel said Tuesday. "In our ordinary, daily lives, we tend to forget our friends of that time -- our comrades, free-thinking individuals."

The anniversary march was capped by a concert that featured dissident musicians of the day, along with American folk singer Joan Baez.

Havel himself appeared onstage with a guitar, but told the crowd, "Don't worry, the guitar doesn't mean I'm going to play today."

Musicians, actors and other artists played major roles in the protests. Michael Kocab, now the Czech Republic government's human rights minister, was a rock singer who became the revolutionaries' key negotiator.

"In the beginning there was many times this idea, 'What am I doing here,'" Kocab told CNN recently. "I knew in the future I'd get used to it. And five or 10 days later, I forgot I was a musician and I submerged myself in political negotiations. And I liked it."

The celebration was organized by Opona, a nonprofit group established to observe the milestone anniversary of the dismantling of the Iron Curtain.

"Our inspiration to do this was from our memories -- we still remember the times that preceded the events," said David Gaydecka, one of the organizers. "We believe that the changes in those 20 years have been positive despite all those maladies which came along with the freedom."

Disney World Fireworks Show

Display location:Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station
City:Orlando
State:Florida
Date: December 31
Show contact:1-407-WDW-INFO.

Details: For the first time, Disney World guests who celebrate New Year's Eve at the Magic Kingdom can enjoy an exclusive dining experience that culminates with reserved seating for the holiday Wishes! fireworks show.

Disney World and Orlando vacation ideas, deals, and steals
This special New Year's Eve package includes a two-hour, all-you-can-eat dinner with dessert, according to the official Disney Parks Blog. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on December 31 at the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station, located to the east of Main Street, U.S.A. The restaurant's outdoor patio offers one of the best views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.

One reason to take advantage of this offer is that the sit-down dinner gives park guests a break from the intense New Year's Eve crowds at the Magic Kingdom. Additionally, guests can feast upon fresh fruits, assorted cheeses, sushi, salads, seared tuna, artisan breads, beef short-ribs, and carved pork. Popular kids foods such as macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets will also be available. The meal also includes a festive dessert table and non-alcoholic sparkling beverages.

The Magic Kingdom does not serve alcohol, but Disney World's other three theme parks, resort hotels, and Downtown Disney offer champagne, spirits, gourmet beer, and wine to ring in the New Year.

The Magic Kingdom's New Year's Eve Wishes! dining experience costs $139.99 for guests age 10 and up and $69.99 for guests ages 3 to 9. Children under 3 can dine for free.

The Magic Kingdom also offers the Fantasy in the Sky Dessert Party at 9:50 p.m., which includes a deluxe buffet with a variety of desserts and non-alcoholic beverages. The dessert party costs $35.99 for guests age 10 and up and $19.99 for guests ages 3 to 9. It offers a tasty opportunity to escape the crowds and celebrate the New Year.

Theme park admission is required for both events, and Disney Dining Plan entitlements may not be used toward the purchase of event packages. Both events must be prepaid at the time of reservation.

For more information, call 1-407-WDW-INFO.

View more photos of Walt Disney World at photographer James Chapman's official Web site.

For the latest Walt Disney World news and advice, sign up for a free subscription to the only daily Walt Disney World column.

200,000 expected for Pittsburgh's Fireworks Show Light Up Night

Display location:Roberto Clemente Bridge
City:PITTSBURGH
State:PA
Date:9:10 p.m. Friday Nov.20

Details: PITTSBURGH - About 200,000 people are expected in downtown Pittsburgh for Light Up Night, which marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

Various arts attractions, and a party on the Roberto Clemente Bridge, are part of the festivities. Marching bands, the traditional unveiling of Macy's department store window display are also on tap. A fireworks display at 9:10 p.m. Friday caps off the celebration.

With daytime temperatures forecast in the mid-50s, organizers say the crowd could be larger this year. The temperature is supposed to remain in the 40s throughout the evening.

Fireworks Show on Sunday's American Music Awards

Display location:LOS ANGELES
City:LOS ANGELES
State:CA
Date:Nov.22

Details: LOS ANGELES — Jennifer Lopez plans to include a boxing ring, fireworks and an on-stage costume change in her performance. "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert will incorporate leather, chains and handcuffs into his.

Each will perform their new singles on Sunday's American Music Awards, which honors the year's top-selling artists in eight popular genres.

Broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre, the show is to feature performances by more than a dozen artists, including Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Green Day, Lil' Wayne, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z and Carrie Underwood.

Janet Jackson will open the program with a medley of songs, but producer Larry Klein wouldn't say whether her performance would be a tribute to Michael Jackson. Said Klein: "It's a surprise."

Fireworks Show on BALLARAT GOLF CLUB

Display location:Ballarat
City:Ballarat
Country: Australia
Date:Nov.19

Details: FIREWORKS held as part of the Ballarat Golf Club's opening celebrations on Thursday night were strictly monitored, according to the CFA.
The Courier Yesterday received several complaints from Alfredton residents, concerned that fireworks were allowed on a day of total fire ban.

However, a CFA spokesman said 30 to 40 exemption permits were issued in the Ballarat region, and hundreds around the state, under section 40 of the CFA Act, which states that "permits may be issued

for essential work purposes on days of total fire ban".

Activities allowed include welding, cutting and/or grinding, heating and spreading of bitumen, industrial heat testing, cooking in the open for catering purposes, lighting a fire for public entertainment

purposes and using LPG burners for hot-air ballooning

The act also states that: "These permits are not automatically granted and if granted, the user will have to abide by strict conditions that are set out on the permit. If these conditions are not followed,

the permit will be revoked and may be subject to criminal charges."

The CFA spokesman said the operations manager can also revoke the permit if there are extreme fire dangers.

The spokesman said the fireworks company applied for the permit once a day of total fire ban was declared.

"The incident controller inspected the site. The fireworks were held in the middle of a golfing fairway and a sprinkler system was used immediately afterwards," the spokesman said.

"The weather conditions were checked and there was no wind.

"Even though it was a day of total fire ban, the Ballarat region hasn't entered its fire danger period yet."

The spokesman said a public notice had also been placed in The Courier.

"The process is very stringent and it was followed to the letter."

Fireworks display set to go off at 10 a.m. Thursday when Macks, Hilltoppers meet

Display location:Camp Randall Stadium
City:Madison
State:WI
Date:Nov.19
Show contact:paul.huset@lee.net

Details: If there’s one word to describe Thursday’s WIAA Division 7 state title game between McDonell and Burlington Catholic, it’s dynamic.

Whether it’s about javascript:void(0)the run and pass games of McDonell or the arm and feet of Burlington Catholic quarterback Brian Fliess, the word seems to apply.

“It creates a problem,” Burlington Catholic coach Tom Aldrich said. “I mean, you never know what they’re going to do. The defense, they just got to trust their keys and play football. You can’t just tell yourself, ‘OK, we know they’re going to run on this play or going to pass.’ It keeps you on our toes and keeps you honest.”

He added that he has faced only one team with McDonell’s balance this season as his squad goes for a second straight state championship and its 27th win in 28 tries Thursday at 10 a.m. in Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

Aldrich said that the multi-dimensional offense comes down to three main players — quarterback Andy Davis, receiver Derek Watton and running back Alex Hiess.

“They’ve got a three-headed monster,” he said. “We can’t just focus on one or the other. It’s a dilemma we have on defense.”

The Macks have certainly made the most of all those offensive weapons lately, especially with starting running back Hiess back to full-time duty.

Hiess played the whole game at running game in the state semifinal against Gilman, collecting 156 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first full contest at running back since he strained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) on Oct. 16, though he has seen extensive play at linebacker.

Aldrich said that his team is stronger versus the run than the pass.

“We’ve been pretty stout against the run with the exception of one game,” he said. “With passing, we’re daring teams to throw.”

Odds are the Macks take them up on that dare.

Davis has found Watton for big plays in the playoffs and with Burlington Catholic putting plenty of men in the box against the run, Watton will have opportunities against cornerbacks.

“We isolate them, they put them on an island,” Aldrich said. “They play man-to-man, we hug the line of scrimmage from the start of the play so they’re definitely on an island and they got to make sure they can cover.”

For the McDonell defense, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news comes from the size advantage the line has. While McDonell has a few starters tipping the scales at 200 pounds, the Hilltoppers have none.

“In my honest opinion, I don’t think they’ve seen a defensive line like ours,” McDonell coach Todd Brown said.

The bad news comes from a crucial injury at linebacker. Brown said that top tackler and team leader Landon Bresina will be out of the state final after tearing his MCL against Gilman. Brown speculated the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) could have gone too.

Brown said Lucas Roth will now fill in and go to the outside with Jake Bohl on the inside.

Zach Feldhake and Clint Abramczak will fill in on offense, where Bresina plays back.

“We lose something on both sides with Landon out but we hope guys step up,’ Brown said.

Defensively, the Macks will be going against a spread option offense that it hasn’t seen much of this season.

Brown compared it to the offenses of conference foes Marathon and Phillips, teams McDonell lost to 21-20 and beat 14-12, respectively.

At the helm of the Burlington Catholic offense is the dynamic Fliess. Fliess is the team’s leading rusher with 1,128 yards and 17 touchdowns to go with his 1,762 passing yards and 22 scoring throws.

“Fliess is such a good runner,” Brown said. “He’s quick and he’s shifty. We just got to be aware of him, that’s the first and foremost thing.”

Will Paulus has been Fliess’ deep threat with 698 yards and 14 touchdowns while Sam Wagner is the top running back with 925 yards and 18 touchdowns. Wagner’s 2009 campaign saw him miss four games with a fractured thumb.

With an offense that runs a lot of misdirection, Brown said his big defensive line will have to control the gaps at the line of scrimmage to be successful.

While that line and the team overall has the size advantage, Brown said that doesn’t necessarily give Burlington Catholic the edge when it comes to speed.

“Nobody thought we could match Gilman’s speed either,” he said. “We played fast teams all year. Edgar, Marathon, Gilman, Plum City — all fast.”

Another possible Burlington Catholic edge that Aldrich ruled out was state experience.

His Hilltoppers won the Division 7 state title game last year with a 37-14 win over Hilbert while McDonell is making its first trip to state since joining the WIAA in 2000.

Aldrich said that familiarity with the setting and atmosphere won’t make a difference.

“Everyone has nerves,” he said. “It’s the game you prepare for all offseason and dream of during the season. They’ll all have nerves but when the game starts, they go away and it’s all up to the kids.”

A small fireworks diaplay at Clark County

Display location: Clark County
City:KAHOKA
State:Mo.
Date:Nov.21

Details: KAHOKA, Mo. — Just prior to kickoff, Clark County treated fans in attendance at the Class 2 quarterfinals to a small fireworks display on Saturday afternoon.

A few minutes later, visiting Centralia provided its own fireworks. The Panthers opened the game with a 75-yard scoring pass which sparked a 34-6 victory over the Indians, who saw their 27-game winning streak snapped.

Centralia quarterback Scott Rodgers hit a streaking Holden Meyers up the right sideline just 14 seconds into the game for a 7-0 lead.

"We were supposed to run a short route that time," said Rodgers, who finished 12 of 22 passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns. "We just read the defense and they tried to play up close on our receivers ... so we just threw it deep and scored on the play."

Clark County coach Matt Smith didn't think the play should have come as a surprise.

"We knew they were going to come out and throw it deep early and often," Smith said. "We let them get behind us and you can't let that happen."

The score was the first of three in the first quarter for the top-ranked Panthers (13-0). Dane Bramon scored on a 5-yard run with 1:31 left in the quarter. Following an Indians fumble, Rodgers scampered 11 yards for another touchdown on the final play of the quarter for a 19-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Jeremy Logsdon intercepted a Rodgers pass at the Panthers' 35-yard line, seemingly bringing new life to the Indians.

However, on the next play Indians quarterback Justin Oilar was intercepted on a deep pas. Centralia turned that into points when Ethan Massey capped a 10-play, 78-yard drive with 26-yard touchdown reception from Rodgers for a 27-0 lead that stood at halftime.

"We try to be really aggressive and try not conservative when we can..." Smith said. "...We try to go for the throat when we can and my thinking has always been in a sudden change situation. They get a turnover and their heads are down a little bit, let's take a shot.

"The thing about the second quarter was our kids kept fighting, we didn't let 19 to nothing turn into 38 to nothing. We held them to 27."

Things stayed quiet until an early fourth-quarter drive by Clark County was stopped at the 1-yard line after a fumble by Oilar. It didn't take long for Centralia to counter as Bramon ripped off a 68-yard touchdown run giving the Panthers a 34-0 lead.

With 6 minutes remaining, Ryan Whiston caught a 55-yard Oilar pass up the right sideline for a touchdown. The Indians would recover the ensuing onside kick, but a four-and-out ended any hope for a comeback.

Centralia outgained the Indians 490-285, led by Bramon who rushed for 224 yards on 26 carries and a pair of scores. Oilar led the Indians with 161 passing yards, along with five rushes for 40 yards.

The loss, although bitter, takes nothing away from Clark County (12-1), the defending Class 2 state champions.

"Sitting here now, I'm glad that we can get to 12-1 and lose a game like this and be disappointed," Smith said. "That says a lot about where our program is and the expectations that our kids have of themselves."

Midwest's largest and longest fireworks light show

Display location:Wayne County Parks
City: Westland
State:MI
Date:Dec.31
Event website:www.waynecountyparks.org
Show contact: (734) 261-1990.

Details:Wayne County Parks will host the Lightfest opening ceremony at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Merriman Hollow Area along Hines Drive in Westland

The ceremony will include fireworks, music and light refreshments.

Lightfest features more than 35 giant animated displays and more than one million lights. It's the Midwest's largest and longest light show. The complete Lightfest route is over four miles of Hines Drive. The holiday light display is open 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. through Dec. 31. It will be closed Christmas Day. There is a $5 donation per car.

Dec. 1, 8 and 15 will be Toy Nights. Wayne County will be lending a hand to provide toys to disadvantaged children in Wayne County. On those three nights, the community is invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy in lieu of the suggested $5 donation fee. Visitors also can make the donation.

Wayne County considers the donations an opportunity for the people of the community to partner with the county in an effort to make a difference in children's lives.

At the walk-through display area, visitors can stop by Santa's Workshop at the Warrendale Area for refreshments and gift shopping. Santa will be there from Thanksgiving until Dec. 23. Don't forget to bring letters to Santa. Outside of Santa's workshop there will be a giant mailbox where kids of all ages can drop off their letters to Santa.

Although Lightfest begins at 7 p.m., Hines Drive will be closed to traffic beginning at 5:45 p.m. nightly. Visitors enter Wayne County Lightfest at Hines Drive and Merriman in Westland.

Lightfest is provided in partnership with Fox 2 News, the Friends of Wayne County Parks, DTE Energy, DBT Marketing and Promotional Group, Garden City Hospital, ITC Holdings, McDonald Modular, Entertainment Express Luxury Limousine, Michigan Mountain Biking Association, Beatthetrain.com and Trails Edge store.

People also can sign up for the 13th Annual Wayne County Lightfest 8K Fun Run/Walk at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 Participants will have an opportunity to travel the Lightfest display route on foot. For bike enthusiasts, there's the Bike Through the Lights at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.

There will be post-race food for both events, along with free long sleeve T-shirts and glow necklaces. Registration is $20 in advance for adults and $25 on race day. High school students and younger pay $12. Both events will take place in Hines Park-Merriman Hollow area.

Registration forms can be downloaded from the parks' Web site at www.waynecountyparks.org or picked up at the Nankin Mills Interpretive Center in Westland or Total Runner store in Southgate.

For more information on Wayne County Lightfest, call (734) 261-1990.

City lights tree Dec. 4 amid fireworks show and giveaway of bicycles

Display location:Fort Stanwix Parking Garage
City:Rome
State:NY
Date:Dec. 4
Display company:American Fireworks

Details: The city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held on Friday, Dec. 4, with Santa Claus presiding over festivities and fireworks and a bicycle giveaway in Veterans and Gansevoort parks on North James Street.

The free event will run from 6-8 p.m. Mayor James F. Brown and Santa will throw the switch that will light up the live tree in the northwest corner of Veterans Park.

To keep the street clear for the event and safe for pedestrians, North James Street will be closed to traffic and detours will be marked.

The flash and thunder of fireworks will cap the evening with rockets launched from the Fort Stanwix Parking Garage. The $2,000 show by American Fireworks is sponsored by Wal-Mart.

An annual participant in the event will be back — Bikes for Kids. Ron Crever, who runs the non-profit program that reconditions donated bicycles that are given to children for free, will be on hand for a giveaway after the tree is lit. He said he plans to give away 150-200 bikes to children in need.

Fireworks Show,music, junk food and games abound at Cape Coral CoConut Festival

Display location:Sun Splash Family Waterpark
City:Cape Coral
State:FL
Date:20th Nov

Details: 2:55 P.M. — In conjunction with Cape Coral’s 39th birthday, the city celebrated by putting together a three-day festival.

Over 40,000 are expected to attend this weekend’s fifth annual CoConut Festival on the grounds of Sun Splash Family Waterpark in Cape Coral. It reopens for a last day Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. at 400 Santa Barbara Boulevard.

With about 25 rides, nine musical acts, vendors, fireworks, food and carnival games, the event, which started Friday with over 15,000 in attendance, tries to have something for everyone.

“It’s great,” said Cape Coral resident Mark Simons. “It’s a lot of fun. This is the fourth year we’ve come. It’s a very well organized event.”

Simons attended Saturday with his son Devin, 10, and had just come off a towering ride that spun its passengers at dizzying heights.

“He doesn’t like the spinning,” Devin said of his father. “Anything that spins he doesn’t like.”

Simons said he preferred the food to the rides.

The event has a $5 admission; parking is free. Todd King of Cape Coral Parks and Recreation said the money would go toward paying for the event and helping fund future events such as parades and bike nights.

King said the festival was the city’s way of thanking its residents by offering them an affordable celebration.

Cape resident Elke Price, who attended with her husband and two children along with a family friend, said the festivities brought plenty of smiles.

“The kids are loving it,” she said while watching them on one of the rides. “I’m having fun watching them.”

Before Friday’s fireworks, Country Music Award winner James Otto headlined.

King said organizers were fortunate to have booked Otto before Wednesday, when he received his CMA.

Fireworks show at New Year's Eve

Display location:Las Vegas
City:Las Vegas
State:Nevada
Event webiste:aknightly@reviewjournal.com
Show contact:702-477-3893
Date: New Year's Eve

Details: New Year's Eve visitors to the Strip and pyrotechnic gazers from around the valley received good news Friday -- they might actually be able to see the fireworks show this year.

The annual fireworks show will return to the rooftops of seven hotels along the three-mile stretch of the Strip that is the focus of visitors to the area and television specials around the world that night, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and co-sponsor Las Vegas Events announced Friday.

"What we demonstrated by putting it on the ground last year is how bad a show it is on the ground and how great a show it is on the rooftops," said Pat Chrisenson of Las Vegas Events. "There's no comparison."

The fireworks show was launched from resort parking lots and garages last year when new Clark County fire and safety rules tightened regarding rooftop fireworks following the Monte Carlo fire in January 2008.

The lower launch point caused the fireworks to not be viewable for many of the 250,000 visitors to the Strip, Christenson said, as well as being out of view from many vantage points around the valley.

"Where a lot of people are used to seeing it, we used to have 400,000 different views depending where you are in the valley," Christenson said. "Last year we didn't have any. We had none."

The fireworks will be launched from the top of MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood Resort, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, The Venetian, Stratosphere and the new Aria at CityCenter.

An official from MGM Mirage, which owns the Monte Carlo, MGM Grand and Aria, said the company understands better than anybody the need for caution, but is glad the show is returning to the rooftops.

"It was a universal opinion that shooting these fireworks is a far superior experience to last year's performance," MGM Mirage spokesman Gordon Absher said.

The company believes the event planners and county officials have taken the steps necessary to prevent any problems.

Fireworks had been launched from the top of Strip hotels since Dec. 31, 2000.

Michael Green, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada, said New Year's Eve fireworks high above the Strip have become part of the fabric of Las Vegas.

"Once upon a time, the week between Christmas and New Year's was one of the worst weeks for tourism," Green said. "Las Vegas managed to turn that into a big week. Part of it is the idea of the blowout on New Year's Eve."

Last year's New Year's Eve drew nearly 291,000 visitors to the area, include nearly 30,000 downtown, for an nongaming economic impact of $188 million, according the visitors authority.

After the Monte Carlo fire, which was sparked by a welder's torch, the Clark County Fire Department and Building Services wanted a structural and fire safety study prior to allowing any fireworks displays from building tops.

To complete the study in time for last year's event would have been too-time consuming and cost-prohibitive to produce, Christenson said.

Since January, New York-based Fireworks by Grucci, who produces the pyrotechnics, worked on the study for Las Vegas Events to enable the show's to return to the rooftops.

"For us to put together a study that the fire department was comfortable with just didn't work last year," said Christenson, whose nonprofit group paid for the study.

The final step for county approval is inspections of the launch sites closer to the event date.

"At this time, they have not completed the permitting process for the proposed show," county spokesman Dan Kulin said, conceding there is still plenty of time to do so. "We fully expect they will."

The fireworks show was removed from the roofs in the months after a three-alarm at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino.

No one was seriously hurt, but guests and employees had to evacuate the property and 17 people were treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation while the exterior facade of the casino burned. The property was closed for three weeks.

The budget for this year's show, which is funded by the state's room tax, increased by $50,000 to $550,000, Christenson said.

The individual properties were supportive and cooperated when needed for the study, Christenson said.

This year's theme and music will be announced during a press conference a few weeks before New Year's Eve, Christenson said.

Fireworks by Grucci has produced numerous shows in Las Vegas for New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July. The company has also done shows for numerous area event including the implosions of the New Frontier and the Stardust.

The company will also do the fireworks for the $8.5 billion CityCenter grand opening Dec. 16.

Although last year's move from the roof to the ground was about safety, Green said it seemed to symbolize the economic downturn the region was sliding into.

"That isn't the attitude you want to convey on New Year's Eve," he said. "Even if it's the reality. Granting that Las Vegas is still in a lot of economic hurt, the signs are pointing the right way. So maybe the fireworks will give us something to look forward to and up to."

Fireworks display on Birmingham's Christmas lights switch-on

Display location:Birmingham
City:Birmingham
Country:UK
Date:14th Nov

Details: About 60 people have been injured during a crowd surge at Birmingham's Christmas lights switch-on, as chart-toppers JLS performed on stage.

Up to 5,000 people had been expected to turn out for the event at Millennium Point, which had been due to feature other acts including the Sugababes and Tinchy Stryder and a fireworks display.

But reports suggested up to 27,000 people were at the site by the time JLS started to perform.

'Best ever' firework display after Brown effigy row

Display location:Hell Wath
City:Ripon
Country: UK
Date:6th Nov

Details: THE controversy surrounding this year's traditional bonfire night and fireworks celebrations in Ripon was forgotten as thousands of people enjoyed the best event in its history.
A backlash against the decision to burn an effigy of Prime Minister Gordon Brown prompted the organisers, the Ripon Gunpowder Plot, to ditch the idea in the run-up to the event but the furore did nothing to stop more than 4,000 people attending the free celebrations which were held at Hell Wath, on Friday last week.

Plot chairman John Richmond said: "It was unbelievable and went exceptionally well. A lot of people said it was the best firework display we have ever held."

new effigy

The replacement effigy for Gordon Brown was revealed on the night and turned out to be a huge figure of a man with a placard identifying him as 'Mr Politically Correct'.

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