Jack Kelly writer
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PYROTECHNICS FOR PARTIES
(The Robb Report, November 2005)
by Jack Kelly
Like music, fireworks are pure entertainment. After a
delicious anticipation, geysers of colored fire and blossoms
of incandescence erupt across the darkness. The ebb and
flow of sparkling effects mounts to a crescendo that presses
the limits of the imagination.
Well-executed pyrotechnics are among the most lavish and
stylish forms of entertainment that a host can arrange, but
they are often overlooked.
“Fireworks for private parties is still a well-kept secret,” says
M. Philip Butler, producer for Fireworks by Grucci, the well-
known New York pyrotechnic company. “Many customers
just don’t know what can be done.”
The secret is getting out. Like many fireworks firms, Butler’s
company is putting on more and more private shows, often
for parties thrown by wealthy families with beachfront homes.
Put off by the crowds at public Fourth of July shows, private
customers prefer a display that they can enjoy from a front-
row seat. They’re willing to pay for the privilege. Shows cost
a minimum of $5,000, and Grucci’s World Class extravaganza
runs upwards to $100,000. For the top price, the client gets
a show that outdoes all but the largest municipal displays.
Those who understand the versatility of today’s fireworks
know that a display can add a unique flair to a wedding, a
birthday bash, a bar mitzvah or a blowout celebration of a
business success. One real estate executive, in order to
celebrate the women in his life, brought his wife, mother,
daughter and granddaughters, along with a few friends, to
Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. He hired a yacht and had
the U.S. fireworks company Pyrotecnico put on a $50,000
show over the water.
Private pyrotechnics may be a hot trend, but the tradition
stretches to antiquity. England’s King Henry VIII arranged for
a great dragon “casting forth wild fire” to please Anne Boleyn
when they were married in 1533. His daughter Elizabeth I
was a fan of the art -- when she visited her noblemen, they
mounted impressive displays of skyrockets and blazing
fountains in her honor.
Fireworks reached a high point during the reign of France’s
Louis XV, who used the ornamental pools of Versailles as a
backdrop for elaborate pyrotechnic shows enjoyed by royalty
and courtiers alike. The birth of the dauphin in 1730 was
marked by a display of which an observer noted, “It is easier
to imagine than to describe.”
Fireworks are the visual embodiment of chemical ingenuity.
Their roots run all the way back to medieval China, where
alchemists first puzzled out the formula for gunpowder.
Fifteenth-century Italians introduced the fiery art to Europe.
So tradition-bound is the craft that Italian-American families
still run many of the top fireworks companies in this country.
Over the centuries, pyrotechnic artists have continually
sought new ways to enchant their audiences. The art took a
big leap forward at the end of the nineteenth century, when
modern chemistry allowed craftsmen to produce a wider
range of colors and brighter sparks.
But changes in chemistry did not alter the fact that fireworks
are still made mostly by hand. A complicated shell that will
throw out multiple bursts of burning nuggets can take many
hours of meticulous labor to construct – the effect lasts a few
seconds.
There are three basic types of fireworks. The most common
are the aerial shells that typify public displays. These are
cardboard packages of explosives that the pyrotechnician
blasts aloft from a short tube. A timed fuse sets the shell off
at its peak, sending out a blossom of fiery “stars,” streams of
sparks, or any of a score of other effects.
One interesting way that Grucci uses these aerial devices is
to begin a show with “dedication shells.” At a wedding, the
master of ceremonies might announce that the bride and
groom would like to dedicate a impressive sky-filling shell to
their parents. “The personalized aspect adds a special
touch,” Butler explains.
The second type of pyrotechnics includes low-level or “close
proximity” effects. These go by many names -- fountains,
gerbs, mines, cakes. They create fiery patterns that begin at
ground level and travel thirty to a hundred feet into the air.
They play a minor role in most public displays because they
are hard for everyone in a dispersed crowd to see.
At a private party, low-level devices can produce stunning
effects, especially when fired en masse. For one thing,
operators can place them much closer to viewers.
Regulations require a safety zone between the audience and
the spot where fireworks are sent aloft. With medium-sized
aerial shells, the crowd has to be back more than the length
of a football field. But pyrotechnicians can fire smaller
devices from the 25-yard line, or even closer. Viewers feel
that they are inside the show rather than watching it from a
distance.
The third type of pyrotechnics are the effects that never
leave the ground at all. These have almost completely
disappeared from public shows, again because of viewing
difficulties. They include set pieces, which use burning
lances to depict a scene, a message, or a logo in colored
fire. The lances are mounted on a rattan framework and
fused to ignite simultaneously.
The set piece reached its zenith in nineteenth-century
England, where visiting dignitaries from the colonies saw their
faces depicted in fiery tableaux eighty feet high. Once when
Queen Victoria’s own portrait was done up this way a misfire
made it seem that the prim monarch was winking lewdly at
her subjects. It’s not recorded whether Her Majesty was
amused.
Set pieces can add a personal touch to a private display.
“Happy Birthday, Jim,” “I love you, Mary,” interlocking hearts
-- the possibilities are vast. The pyrotechnician can add
blazing spinning wheels and other enhancements as well.
A good fireworks display mixes all of these elements. A
private function allows the designer to use his full pallette
and to shape the show around the audience, producing a
dramatic custom display. Breadth becomes as important as
height, with scintillating effects rising from a broad swathe in
front of viewers.
An important technical advance that has expanded the
capabilities of the pyrotechnician, particularly when mounting
a complex display, is computer-controlled electric firing.
Instead of touching a flare to the fuse of a shell or fountain,
the operator uses electric squibs that he sets off with the
push of a button, or fires automatically by means of a
computer program. This makes for great precision and the
simultaneous ignition of an array of devices.
Computer firing has significantly advanced the art of the
pyromusical, fireworks choreographed to music. The idea is
not new -- Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks” was
composed to accompany a show in 1749. But today the pyro
artist can choreograph effects with dead-on timing -- the
computer even takes into account the delay between the
firing of a shell at its explosion aloft.
Most fireworks artists acknowledge that well-chosen music
enhances a display. The rhythms and melodies give a
structure to the show. Usually, the pyro producer will work
with the client to choose half a dozen songs, which can range
from classical to pop. They might relate to a theme -- East
Coast hosts often wind up with Sinatra’s robust version of
New York, New York. The producer will take excerpts, usually
a minute or two from each tune, blend them into a medley,
and design his show around this soundtrack.
How long should a fireworks display last? Pyrotechnicians
are unanimous in the sentiment that longer is not better. No
show should continue more than about twenty minutes --
twelve to fifteen minutes is common. And, as one afficionado
put it, “I’ve seen five minutes shows that were so sublime they
made me weep.”
If length of show is not the determining factor, discriminating
buyers asked to choose between a $10,000 show and a
$70,000 show are bound to ask, What’s the difference? In a
word, intensity. The less costly show might include a
succession of lovely “palm tree” shells with their drooping
canopies of golden sparks. The high-end show will create a
veritable palm forest simultaneously, a truly awe-inspiring
sight. Fireworks people talk about the “wow-value” of their
effects. A more expensive show has a lot more wow-value.
The operators who put on fireworks shows are known as
display companies. They are licensed to handle explosive
materials available only to professionals. The industry is one
of the most heavily regulated in the country -- precautions
added in recent years have significantly added to the
companies’ oversight.
When planning a private show, company designers will first
look at the site, assess the amount of room, and determine
where the viewers will be. If the site is near water, they might
suggest incorporating a pond or lake into the display, or
firing the show from a barge on a river or off the beach. The
reflection of fireworks on water can be particularly
enchanting.
Company producers will then consult with the client on the
budget, the music, the theme of the party, any particular
effects or colors desired, and the level of noise -- fireworks
do not have to be earsplitting. Once these basic parameters
are set, the display company handles everything.
Few forms of entertainment can match the emotional appeal
of a good pyrotechnic display. More and more hosts are
realizing that fireworks, wondrous by nature and satisfying in
elemental ways, leave guests with memories that are
indelible.
“Private customers are very appreciative of what we do,”
Grucci’s Butler says. “They may start out jaded, but when
they see the show they’re in awe. It gives them a kind of
childlike enjoyment.”
Arranging a Display
“Fireworks is an art,” says Julie Heckman,executive director
of the American Pyrotechnic Association, an industry trade
group. “When you hire a company, you’re hiring an artist.
Their reputation is critical.”
The best way to find a company is through a referral. Start
by asking a nearby municipality which company puts on their
Fourth of July show. Keep in mind that smaller regional firms
often have the capability to mount topnotch shows.
Display companies can show you both still pictures and
videos of how devices will look. You don’t need to be “pyro
literate” to include fireworks in a party, but knowing a little
about how they work will enhance your enjoyment.
Here are some of the larger fireworks companies around the
country:
Fireworks by Grucci
Located on New York’s Long Island, the firm operates
nationally and internationally. Considered one of the best,
especially for high-end shows.
631.286.0088 www.grucci.com
Zambelli Fireworks Internationale
Known as the "First Family of Fireworks," Zambelli, is located
in New Castle, Pennsylvania. The firm is one of the oldest
and largest American fireworks companies, with branches in
Florida and California.
800.245.0397 www.zambellifireworks.com
Pyro Spectaculars by Souza
An old-line family concern and a pioneer of pyromusicals.
Headquartered in Rialto, California, Pyro Spectaculars is the
largest display company in the West.
888.477.7976 www.pyrospectaculars.com
Pyrotecnico
Founded in 1889 in New Castle and still owned by the Vitale
family, Pyrotecnico has expanded by acquiring several
smaller firms. The company produces more than 2,000
shows a year.
800.854.4705 www.pyrotecnico.com
Melrose Pyrotechnics, Inc.
A company with roots back to the early 1900s, this
Kingsbury, Indiana, firm has eight distribution and sales
locations around the country.
800.771.7976 www.melrosepyro.com
Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks
Located outside Cincinnati, Rozzi manufactures pyrotechnic
devices for other firms. In July they won the silver medal in
the prestigious Montreal fireworks competition.
513.683.0620 www.rozzifireworks.com
Words of Advice
Plan early. The company you hire may need several months
to obtain all the necessary permits. If your party is near the
Fourth of July or on a Saturday night, you need to make
arrangements many months ahead. A last minute show is
possible, but don’t count on it.
Nail down the venue. If you plan to have the display on your
own property, check with your local fire chief about
restrictions. If your function is at a resort or country club, ask
the management what’s possible.
Keep on top of the process. The display company should
handle the details, but it’s your show and you should stay
involved. In January, real estate magnate Donald Trump had
to forego fireworks at his nuptials because of a snag in
obtaining a permit.
Be courteous to your neighbors. Don’t schedule the show
too late at night. If you can’t invite them, at least let them
know. Make sure your fire department and 911 operators
are given a heads-up as well (often the display company will
handle notifications).
Spread the show out. Encourage the pyro artists to use all
the room available. A “lollipop” show -- a succession of aerial
shells shot from one location -- can be boring.
Limit the length. Twenty minutes is tops and shorter is often
better.
Choose your music. The right tunes, chosen in consultation
with the display company, can significantly enhance the show.
Shoot over water. Incorporating water -- a pond, lake, or sea
front -- into the display almost always enhances it.
Consider the weather. Rain is not good, but display
companies can usually work through it. Heavy fog is actually
worse. Winter fireworks can be enchanting.
# # #
[unedited]
(The Robb Report, November 2005)
by Jack Kelly
Like music, fireworks are pure entertainment. After a
delicious anticipation, geysers of colored fire and blossoms
of incandescence erupt across the darkness. The ebb and
flow of sparkling effects mounts to a crescendo that presses
the limits of the imagination.
Well-executed pyrotechnics are among the most lavish and
stylish forms of entertainment that a host can arrange, but
they are often overlooked.
“Fireworks for private parties is still a well-kept secret,” says
M. Philip Butler, producer for Fireworks by Grucci, the well-
known New York pyrotechnic company. “Many customers
just don’t know what can be done.”
The secret is getting out. Like many fireworks firms, Butler’s
company is putting on more and more private shows, often
for parties thrown by wealthy families with beachfront homes.
Put off by the crowds at public Fourth of July shows, private
customers prefer a display that they can enjoy from a front-
row seat. They’re willing to pay for the privilege. Shows cost
a minimum of $5,000, and Grucci’s World Class extravaganza
runs upwards to $100,000. For the top price, the client gets
a show that outdoes all but the largest municipal displays.
Those who understand the versatility of today’s fireworks
know that a display can add a unique flair to a wedding, a
birthday bash, a bar mitzvah or a blowout celebration of a
business success. One real estate executive, in order to
celebrate the women in his life, brought his wife, mother,
daughter and granddaughters, along with a few friends, to
Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. He hired a yacht and had
the U.S. fireworks company Pyrotecnico put on a $50,000
show over the water.
Private pyrotechnics may be a hot trend, but the tradition
stretches to antiquity. England’s King Henry VIII arranged for
a great dragon “casting forth wild fire” to please Anne Boleyn
when they were married in 1533. His daughter Elizabeth I
was a fan of the art -- when she visited her noblemen, they
mounted impressive displays of skyrockets and blazing
fountains in her honor.
Fireworks reached a high point during the reign of France’s
Louis XV, who used the ornamental pools of Versailles as a
backdrop for elaborate pyrotechnic shows enjoyed by royalty
and courtiers alike. The birth of the dauphin in 1730 was
marked by a display of which an observer noted, “It is easier
to imagine than to describe.”
Fireworks are the visual embodiment of chemical ingenuity.
Their roots run all the way back to medieval China, where
alchemists first puzzled out the formula for gunpowder.
Fifteenth-century Italians introduced the fiery art to Europe.
So tradition-bound is the craft that Italian-American families
still run many of the top fireworks companies in this country.
Over the centuries, pyrotechnic artists have continually
sought new ways to enchant their audiences. The art took a
big leap forward at the end of the nineteenth century, when
modern chemistry allowed craftsmen to produce a wider
range of colors and brighter sparks.
But changes in chemistry did not alter the fact that fireworks
are still made mostly by hand. A complicated shell that will
throw out multiple bursts of burning nuggets can take many
hours of meticulous labor to construct – the effect lasts a few
seconds.
There are three basic types of fireworks. The most common
are the aerial shells that typify public displays. These are
cardboard packages of explosives that the pyrotechnician
blasts aloft from a short tube. A timed fuse sets the shell off
at its peak, sending out a blossom of fiery “stars,” streams of
sparks, or any of a score of other effects.
One interesting way that Grucci uses these aerial devices is
to begin a show with “dedication shells.” At a wedding, the
master of ceremonies might announce that the bride and
groom would like to dedicate a impressive sky-filling shell to
their parents. “The personalized aspect adds a special
touch,” Butler explains.
The second type of pyrotechnics includes low-level or “close
proximity” effects. These go by many names -- fountains,
gerbs, mines, cakes. They create fiery patterns that begin at
ground level and travel thirty to a hundred feet into the air.
They play a minor role in most public displays because they
are hard for everyone in a dispersed crowd to see.
At a private party, low-level devices can produce stunning
effects, especially when fired en masse. For one thing,
operators can place them much closer to viewers.
Regulations require a safety zone between the audience and
the spot where fireworks are sent aloft. With medium-sized
aerial shells, the crowd has to be back more than the length
of a football field. But pyrotechnicians can fire smaller
devices from the 25-yard line, or even closer. Viewers feel
that they are inside the show rather than watching it from a
distance.
The third type of pyrotechnics are the effects that never
leave the ground at all. These have almost completely
disappeared from public shows, again because of viewing
difficulties. They include set pieces, which use burning
lances to depict a scene, a message, or a logo in colored
fire. The lances are mounted on a rattan framework and
fused to ignite simultaneously.
The set piece reached its zenith in nineteenth-century
England, where visiting dignitaries from the colonies saw their
faces depicted in fiery tableaux eighty feet high. Once when
Queen Victoria’s own portrait was done up this way a misfire
made it seem that the prim monarch was winking lewdly at
her subjects. It’s not recorded whether Her Majesty was
amused.
Set pieces can add a personal touch to a private display.
“Happy Birthday, Jim,” “I love you, Mary,” interlocking hearts
-- the possibilities are vast. The pyrotechnician can add
blazing spinning wheels and other enhancements as well.
A good fireworks display mixes all of these elements. A
private function allows the designer to use his full pallette
and to shape the show around the audience, producing a
dramatic custom display. Breadth becomes as important as
height, with scintillating effects rising from a broad swathe in
front of viewers.
An important technical advance that has expanded the
capabilities of the pyrotechnician, particularly when mounting
a complex display, is computer-controlled electric firing.
Instead of touching a flare to the fuse of a shell or fountain,
the operator uses electric squibs that he sets off with the
push of a button, or fires automatically by means of a
computer program. This makes for great precision and the
simultaneous ignition of an array of devices.
Computer firing has significantly advanced the art of the
pyromusical, fireworks choreographed to music. The idea is
not new -- Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks” was
composed to accompany a show in 1749. But today the pyro
artist can choreograph effects with dead-on timing -- the
computer even takes into account the delay between the
firing of a shell at its explosion aloft.
Most fireworks artists acknowledge that well-chosen music
enhances a display. The rhythms and melodies give a
structure to the show. Usually, the pyro producer will work
with the client to choose half a dozen songs, which can range
from classical to pop. They might relate to a theme -- East
Coast hosts often wind up with Sinatra’s robust version of
New York, New York. The producer will take excerpts, usually
a minute or two from each tune, blend them into a medley,
and design his show around this soundtrack.
How long should a fireworks display last? Pyrotechnicians
are unanimous in the sentiment that longer is not better. No
show should continue more than about twenty minutes --
twelve to fifteen minutes is common. And, as one afficionado
put it, “I’ve seen five minutes shows that were so sublime they
made me weep.”
If length of show is not the determining factor, discriminating
buyers asked to choose between a $10,000 show and a
$70,000 show are bound to ask, What’s the difference? In a
word, intensity. The less costly show might include a
succession of lovely “palm tree” shells with their drooping
canopies of golden sparks. The high-end show will create a
veritable palm forest simultaneously, a truly awe-inspiring
sight. Fireworks people talk about the “wow-value” of their
effects. A more expensive show has a lot more wow-value.
The operators who put on fireworks shows are known as
display companies. They are licensed to handle explosive
materials available only to professionals. The industry is one
of the most heavily regulated in the country -- precautions
added in recent years have significantly added to the
companies’ oversight.
When planning a private show, company designers will first
look at the site, assess the amount of room, and determine
where the viewers will be. If the site is near water, they might
suggest incorporating a pond or lake into the display, or
firing the show from a barge on a river or off the beach. The
reflection of fireworks on water can be particularly
enchanting.
Company producers will then consult with the client on the
budget, the music, the theme of the party, any particular
effects or colors desired, and the level of noise -- fireworks
do not have to be earsplitting. Once these basic parameters
are set, the display company handles everything.
Few forms of entertainment can match the emotional appeal
of a good pyrotechnic display. More and more hosts are
realizing that fireworks, wondrous by nature and satisfying in
elemental ways, leave guests with memories that are
indelible.
“Private customers are very appreciative of what we do,”
Grucci’s Butler says. “They may start out jaded, but when
they see the show they’re in awe. It gives them a kind of
childlike enjoyment.”
Arranging a Display
“Fireworks is an art,” says Julie Heckman,executive director
of the American Pyrotechnic Association, an industry trade
group. “When you hire a company, you’re hiring an artist.
Their reputation is critical.”
The best way to find a company is through a referral. Start
by asking a nearby municipality which company puts on their
Fourth of July show. Keep in mind that smaller regional firms
often have the capability to mount topnotch shows.
Display companies can show you both still pictures and
videos of how devices will look. You don’t need to be “pyro
literate” to include fireworks in a party, but knowing a little
about how they work will enhance your enjoyment.
Here are some of the larger fireworks companies around the
country:
Fireworks by Grucci
Located on New York’s Long Island, the firm operates
nationally and internationally. Considered one of the best,
especially for high-end shows.
631.286.0088 www.grucci.com
Zambelli Fireworks Internationale
Known as the "First Family of Fireworks," Zambelli, is located
in New Castle, Pennsylvania. The firm is one of the oldest
and largest American fireworks companies, with branches in
Florida and California.
800.245.0397 www.zambellifireworks.com
Pyro Spectaculars by Souza
An old-line family concern and a pioneer of pyromusicals.
Headquartered in Rialto, California, Pyro Spectaculars is the
largest display company in the West.
888.477.7976 www.pyrospectaculars.com
Pyrotecnico
Founded in 1889 in New Castle and still owned by the Vitale
family, Pyrotecnico has expanded by acquiring several
smaller firms. The company produces more than 2,000
shows a year.
800.854.4705 www.pyrotecnico.com
Melrose Pyrotechnics, Inc.
A company with roots back to the early 1900s, this
Kingsbury, Indiana, firm has eight distribution and sales
locations around the country.
800.771.7976 www.melrosepyro.com
Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks
Located outside Cincinnati, Rozzi manufactures pyrotechnic
devices for other firms. In July they won the silver medal in
the prestigious Montreal fireworks competition.
513.683.0620 www.rozzifireworks.com
Words of Advice
Plan early. The company you hire may need several months
to obtain all the necessary permits. If your party is near the
Fourth of July or on a Saturday night, you need to make
arrangements many months ahead. A last minute show is
possible, but don’t count on it.
Nail down the venue. If you plan to have the display on your
own property, check with your local fire chief about
restrictions. If your function is at a resort or country club, ask
the management what’s possible.
Keep on top of the process. The display company should
handle the details, but it’s your show and you should stay
involved. In January, real estate magnate Donald Trump had
to forego fireworks at his nuptials because of a snag in
obtaining a permit.
Be courteous to your neighbors. Don’t schedule the show
too late at night. If you can’t invite them, at least let them
know. Make sure your fire department and 911 operators
are given a heads-up as well (often the display company will
handle notifications).
Spread the show out. Encourage the pyro artists to use all
the room available. A “lollipop” show -- a succession of aerial
shells shot from one location -- can be boring.
Limit the length. Twenty minutes is tops and shorter is often
better.
Choose your music. The right tunes, chosen in consultation
with the display company, can significantly enhance the show.
Shoot over water. Incorporating water -- a pond, lake, or sea
front -- into the display almost always enhances it.
Consider the weather. Rain is not good, but display
companies can usually work through it. Heavy fog is actually
worse. Winter fireworks can be enchanting.
# # #
[unedited]