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Posts Tagged ‘Guy Fawkes’

The future of Whangarei’s popular Guy Fawkes fireworks display is up in the air as organisers hunt for a suitable venue.

The Lions Club of Whangarei has been putting on the annual early November fireworks display for 15 years at Okara Park.

But last year’s event had to be moved as the park was being upgraded.

It was then cancelled after the alternative venue – Tikipunga Sports Domain – was deemed unsuitable because   dozens of horses were nearby.

Now the new Northland Events Centre stadium’s plastic roof makes it an unsuitable spot for the display.

Lions Club of Whangarei president Malcolm Hawthorn said after last year’s “disaster” the club had wanted to gauge public support for whether the event should continue, and if so where it should be held.

Mr Hawthorn said the fireworks spectacular was among the longest and best pyrotechnic shows in the country, but the rules  stipulate that when you shoot rockets from 15cm mortars they have to be well away from  people and buildings.

“Following last year’s disaster we have now identified that there are no alternative public spaces that meet the fire zone and public setback regulations,” Mr Hawthorn said.

“The future development of Pohe Island/William Fraser Memorial Park is the only public space with the required areas available for this activity in the future. It is ideal, being close to our old Okara site, meaning it does not have any livestock or horse issues  if the event was held on the city periphery.”

He said Okara Park was no longer suitable, despite its $18.5million upgrade into a multievents centre, as there were two main impediments.

“Firstly it’s [the new stadium] got a plastic roof and we can’t risk the roof. Secondly the [neighbouring] Old Boys ground has been sold to Hill Construction for development,” Mr Hawthorn said.

“We used to fire our big shells from the Old Boys ground and that development will affect those setback rules.”

The event took a lot of organising and raised more than $20,000 for charity, but before Lions committed to continuing it wanted to find out what the public thought.

The club had talked about putting on a free show, including possibly setting off the fireworks from a barge on Hatea River, and calling for donations, but that carried too much risk for the club.

Barge Park was also not an option because of nearby bush, while Port Nikau had also been looked at, but that would only be for four or five years maximum.

Mr Hawthorn said if the public wanted the event to continue, and backed Pohe Island as the spot, the club would approach the Whangarei District Council for permission.

“If they wanted Pohe Island we’d have to ask the council be careful not to obscure too many sight lines, and block the views of the fireworks, when they redevelop the park,” he said.

“But we need to know what the public wants first.”

Click here for the original article.

A COMBINATION of foul weather and hard work saw a massive drop in bonfire-related incidents in and around Kilmarnock last week.

Station Commander Stephen Logan, based at the town’s fire station in Campbell Street, said on Monday this year’s Guy Fawkes’ night celebrations had been one of the quietest his crews had seen for years.

Said Stephen: “Four years ago there were 40 fireworks/bonfire-related turnouts at the station from November 1-5.

“That figure has been steadily decreasing and the figure for the same period last week was actually down to just seven – a massive drop.”

The station commander acknowledged that the heavy rain over the days leading up to November 5 had helped the situation.

But he added: “It shows too that our approach is working. We have been co-operating with East Ayrshire Council, and that has paid off. Unofficial bonfires around the area were cleared away prior to Thursday night.

“We have also been going around schools talking to pupils about safety issues relating to fireworks.

“It was very pleasing to such encouraging statistics this year.”

The big East Ayrshire Council fireworks display planned for Kay Park on Thursday night was cancelled due to the boggy state of the area in the wake of the prolonged wet spell.

EAC said this week that they appreciated that the call-off had disappointed thousands of people, with the annual display normally one of the major events of the year in the Kilmarnock area.

It’s hoped to reschedule the display, but as the Standard went to press no future date had been confirmed.

Three days of Guy Fawkes celebrations across London kick off tonight, with dozens of fireworks displays in parks.

Organisers promised a “huge array” of “the best pyrotechnics”. Many of the events are free. Tonight, thousands are expected to flock to south London venues, where many of the displays will be taking place.

There will be fireworks at Brockwell Park, Clapham Common, Streatham Common, Wimbledon Park, Crystal Palace Park and Southwark Park. There will also be displays at Roundwood Park, Brent and Syon Park, Brentford — where the Gunpowder Plot will be re-enacted.

Displays will also be held tomorrow and on Saturday, when crowds will gather at some of the country’s biggest fireworks shows. Fireworks at Alexandra Palace will be coupled with England’s largest German beer festival and a funfair, and this year’s display at Battersea Park will be set to music with the theme of “love”.

Sally Chatterjee, chief executive of Visit London, said: “London has a huge array of firework displays taking place this year and many of them are free. It’s an ideal way to see some of London’s most stunning parks and heaths while enjoying some of the best pyrotechnics displays around.”

Firework displays in the capital

TONIGHT

Brockwell Park, Dulwich Road. 7.30pm, free.

Clapham Common 7.30pm, free.

Streatham Common 7.30pm, free.

Wimbledon Park 6.30pm and 8.15pm with funfair. Adults £7, children £4, family ticket £20.

Southwark Park 7pm, free.

Roundwood Park, Harlesden Road. 6.45pm, free.

Syon Park, Brentford. 8pm with re-enactment of the Gunpowder Plot. Adults £5, children £2.

Crystal Palace Park Children’s fireworks 7pm, main display 8pm. Adults £5, children £3.

Waltham Forest Town Hall, Walthamstow. 6pm with funfair. Adults £4, children £3, under-fives free

TOMORROW

Bishop’s Park, Fulham. Funfair 6pm, fireworks 7.15pm and 8pm. £6 or £4 in advance, under-fives free.

Kingsmeadow Stadium, Kingston Road. 8pm, adults £6, children £4.

Wanstead Flats 6.15pm. Free

SATURDAY

Ealing Cricket Club 7.30pm with bonfire, barbecue and children’s rides. Adults £5, children £3.

Enfield Town Park Funfair 6pm, display 7.30pm. Adults £5, children £3.

Walker Cricket Ground, Southgate. Food, bar and children’s rides 5pm, fireworks 8pm. Adults £6, children £4.

Alexandra Palace Beer festival 4.30pm, fireworks 7.30pm, free.

Ravenscourt Park Funfair 7.15pm, fireworks 8pm. £6, under-fives free.

Barking Park Funfair and concert 5.30pm, fireworks 8pm. Adults £5, children £1 with paying adult.

Danson Park, Bexleyheath. Food and entertainment 5.30pm, fireworks 8pm. Adults £5, children £3.

Norman Park, Hayes, Kent. Open 5pm, fireworks 8pm. Adults £5, children £3.

Croydon Road Recreation Ground Children’s fireworks 7pm, main display 8pm. Adults £5, children £3.

Chislehurst Recreation Ground Bonfire 7pm, fireworks 7.30pm. Adults £6, children £3.

Blackheath Common 8pm, free.

Morden Park 6.30pm and 8.15pm. Adults £7, children £4.

Victoria Park 7.30pm, free.

Battersea Park. Bonfire and bar 7.30pm, fireworks 8pm — set to music to the theme of love. Adults £6, under-10s £1.

Call it what you will, the best night in the UK calander has arrived.

Bonfire Night is traditionally to celebrate the failure (or more likely the attempt) of the the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators had a dastardly plan to blow up parliament, the King and all the hangers on.

Guy was captured and tortured and finally executed along with his buddies, and the King and all of the government survived to li(v)e another day.

So, how do we celebrate Guy Fawkes Night in the UK?       With fireworks of course!!

Picture of Guy Fawkes

The man himself Guy Fawkes would be proud I am sure of how well he is remembered today.

Here at Epic Fireworks we love Guy Fawkes Night and Bonfires and any excuse to set off fireworks.

Have a safe and happy night and enjoy your fireworks wherever you are!!

Happy Bonfire Night everybody!

A FEAST of firework action is promised this weekend at the Royal Gunpowder Mills.

The Waltham Abbey venue is holding its first ever public firework display for its Guy Fawkes Experience event.

Kicking off at 11am on Saturday and Sunday, the event begins with a performance of the Gunpowder Plot staged by local actors and there will also be a 17th century food-tasting experience.

The main attraction fireworks display will take place from 4.45pm onwards on both days.

The Sunday event will also see a plaque unveiled by actor Timothy West in recognition of the site’s contribution to transport heritage.

It’s one of the brightest and most colourful nights in the city. Norwich’s annual fireworks extravaganza, Sparks in the Park, returns on November 7. EMMA LEE meets the man who ensures that the event goes off with a bang.

It’s easy to tell when the Reverend Ron Lancaster is in the laboratory at Kimbolton Fireworks.

“There’ll be a puff of smoke and he’ll either come back with a smile on his face or go back to the drawing board,” laughs Darryl Fleming, the company’s display director.

Rev Lancaster, who was also a chemistry teacher, set up Kimbolton Fireworks back in the 1960s.

From humble origins, it’s now a top display company which has fired pyrotechnic shows around the world – and is the only one left in the country to manufacture its own fireworks.

As you can imagine, with Bonfire Night fast approaching, it’s a very busy time of year for the Cambridgeshire-based business.

Around November 5 it will be behind numerous public firework displays around the country – including Sparks in the Park at Earlham Park in Norwich next Saturday.

Led by Norwich City Council’s events team, it boasts two firework displays, live music and a fun fair and is one of the city’s biggest family nights out – and literally one of the brightest.

Around 1,800 individual firing cues will set off 2,000 fireworks and launch 16,000 projectiles into the sky. The fireworks will weigh in at 2.5 tons.

And you could say that it’s Darryl’s responsibility to make sure that the event goes with a bang.

“It’s certainly one of the premier displays we do over the November period,” Darryl says.

“The children’s display is 12 minutes long and the adults’ is 15 minutes long. Both of them are set to music and they’re synchronised by a digital firing system. We have a crew of 12 people there for a day and a half setting up the show.”

Firework displays have certainly come a long way since Rev Lancaster founded the company in 1964. He started the business primarily for research purposes, then started doing displays to fund his research.

“Now we fire nearly 300 shows a year,” Darryl says. “We just fired the Legoland show this weekend. We do Hogmanay in Edinburgh, we did the display at the Hong Kong handover, we did the VJ Day 50th anniversary and the opening of the Thames Barrier.”

Darryl was taught chemistry by Rev Lancaster and worked at Kimbolton Fireworks part-time for 10 years, before joining full-time 11 years ago.

Despite now being in his seventies, Darryl describes Rev Lancaster as “very much still the lynchpin of the company.”

“He takes an active interest in the direction of the company and still does a lot of research and development within the firework industry. He’s in most days. And he’s in the factory playing around with the agents and chemicals looking to improve on existing effects. He wouldn’t like me to describe him as a mad professor, but he’s certainly one of life’s eccentrics,” Darryl says.

Helen Selleck, Norwich City Council events manager, says that the aim of Sparks in the Park is to create a traditional family night out.

“Sparks in the Park gets bigger and better every year and it has developed into so much more than a fireworks display. This is a real Bonfire Night celebration that encapsulates the traditional bonfire and a Guy Fawkes with music and a funfair and all-round entertainment,” she says.

SPARKS WILL FLY – WHERE TO ENJOY BONFIRE NIGHT FUN

From huge events set to attract thousands of people to small gatherings on village greens, Norfolk always has a colourful array of fireworks events to choose from.

Over the new couple of weeks there will be plenty of explosive action, with Bonfire Night celebrations including fun fairs, competitions and processions.

Here are just a few of the exciting events:

Click here for the original article.

Epic Fireworks Sneak peeks.

Here is a sneak peek of a new rocket to be brought into the UK before GFN (Guy Fawkes Night) 2010.

Only one style at the moment, we are working on different colours as well but for now this looks like it is going to be a real hit when we introduce it in the Summer of 2010. Watch this blog for more new fireworks designs.

The brilliant lancework fireworks from Tower Hamlets Fireworks Displays in London in 2006.

It is always good to see different shapes and patterns being used and this one must have looked very impressive, burning on a cold November night.

Big Ben in Flames

This must be something along the lines of what Guy Fawkes was aiming for. The symbol of government and power smouldering into ash.

Some people celebrate the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot, the way King James intended, some celebrate it’s attempt (more common nowadays). The main thing is we celebrate a man’s willingness to make a stand to make a change, of course we cannot condone his methods but it is said often of Guy Fawkes that he was “The only man ever to enter parliament with honest intentions.”