Galactic Update: May
We Got To Fire Some Fireworks!
It might sound mad to some, but we rarely get to fire many fireworks these days, especially out of season. So, when the opportunity arises, we jump at the chance. In mid-May, a friend's sister got married, and we were kindly asked to put on a 5-minute wedding display.
The display was a good size for roughly £3,000. When planning any firework display, it’s important to consider the firing site. We were slightly constrained by tall trees on either side of the firing site for this event. We checked with the organiser, who had previously fired on the site, and used our calculations. We concluded that we could fit two firing positions and just about squeeze in some fanned cakes. We also planned ahead in case it was particularly windy, with a few replacement straight-firing cakes should we need to remove the fanned ones and the rockets.
With two firing positions, we fired the same cake in each position to create a grander show. The vast majority of the display consisted of category 3 fireworks available to the general public and sold on our website, with only the finale being a professional category 4 firework.
We kicked off with Heavy Hitter, a firm favourite at Galactic. Heavy Hitter has real power behind it and is typically used as a finale firework! However, with a display of this size, we used two at the beginning to grab the audience’s attention.
Next, we used Radioactive, one of our own compound fireworks. Each time I fire one of these, I’m so impressed with what it produces. The main aim with Radioactive here was to lengthen the display, as it’s a reasonably long-lasting cake, lasting over 1 minute and 40 seconds. But it’s not just making up the numbers; it keeps you gripped throughout.
Then we fired the 1.2” Mixed Gold To Blue, an underrated firework. I don’t think the video does it justice; those gorgeous colour transitions and strobing effects make it a class above. Powerful and straight-firing, it mixes up the display after the fanned Radioactive. I always like mixing it up; it gets a bit repetitive if all your fireworks are fanned and follow the same firing patterns.
The next two cakes were two of Primed Pyrotechnics' finest: a pair of Stick or Twist followed by a pair of High Roller. We all know that Primed produces some of the best larger cakes, particularly compound fireworks, out there. Stick or Twist lasts just over a minute and is more measured, so I began with that one before unleashing the 24-second-long High Roller. At this point, I think most of the audience would have been forgiven for thinking it was the finale!
They would have been wrong! We fired the gorgeous Tranquility next, a low-noise yet beautiful firework. We try to use this trick in every display: hit the audience with a ‘false finale’ before firing a low-noise firework before the ‘real finale’. Low-noise doesn’t mean boring; it’s a stunning, captivating firework. The penultimate firework being low noise always makes the finale seem even louder and bigger.
For the finale, we started with two Shellshocked. These are category 4 fireworks, which means they aren’t available to the general public. Shellshocked is a slow-firing ‘shell cake,’ each firing 25x 3” shells that fill the sky. These last roughly a minute, so 40 seconds in, we unleashed two Boom Bang A Bangs over the top for the final 20 seconds. It’s just insane noise, and titanium salutes a cacophony of colour and sound. As a final touch, we fired a volley of eight of the biggest rockets in the UK, King’s Crown.
The audience loved it, we loved it, and the happy couple loved it. Fireworks are a beautiful way to add something special to an already magical day.
Architectural Firework Design Competition
Back in March, we were approached about supplying some fireworks for a special event happening this June in London. As part of the London Festival of Architecture, Bompas & Parr, in support of charity, are holding the ‘Architectural Firework Design Competition’. The brief was to ‘reimagine fireworks’. Specifically, they’ve used the stunning and unique Praise The Sky from Brothers Pyrotechnics as an extra spark for the event.
It’s a unique involvement for us. I’m not sure that fireworks and architecture have historically gone hand in hand, but it’s been interesting being involved with supplying for this event.
New Fireworks for 2024
Thunderous Finale
100 ear-splitting breaks burst with fluttering golden strobes and deep blue pearls. Rapid firing and relentless. We’re looking forward to this one landing.
Battle Tank
30 high-quality, well-paced shots. Battle Tank starts with lovely colourful strobing bursts with HUGE hanging golden willows before producing one of my favourite effects this year. It’s a unique blue and gold spread that hisses and fizzes in the sky. Marvellous!
Stay Tuned
As I mentioned last month, I’ll send one of these emails monthly to let everyone know what’s happening here at Galactic. Hopefully, we’ll be able to share some news as new stock lands over the next few months before the season really kicks in at the beginning of September with our Annual Sale Weekend.
James
Comments
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