Editor's note: This event, yes, happened on July 4. You can see video highlights of the event.
Fireworks will once again light up the night sky during Sammamish’s Fourth of July fireworks show this evening.
The fifth annual show is being handled by Wolverine Fireworks.
“They’re a great company to work with,” said Joanna Puthoff, facility coordinator with the ’s parks and recreation department.
Puthoff has seen a number of Wolverine’s shows and has always been impressed by them.
“They’ve been pretty amazing to watch,” Puthoff said.
Putting together an amazing fireworks show takes more work than one might think.
Wolverine’s Rod Hash said that planning for a show can start almost a year ahead of time. The process starts with a trip to China to acquire the desired fireworks, then moves into the planning stages, figuring out what shells to use and mapping out the show.
When it comes time to set up, a crew from Wolverine usually goes out to the site a day before the show and starts placing the mortar tubes that fire the shells. Hash said that a lot of work goes into this stage.
“It’s like Santa Claus during Christmas-time,” he said.
About 12 men from Wolverine Fireworks will be working over a two-day period to get the show ready.
For the Sammamish show, Wolverine Fireworks will be launching hundreds of colorful explosive shells into the night. Wolverine will fire off 180 2.5-inch shells, 414 3.5-inch shells, 238 4.5-inch shells, and 10 multi-shot cakes, each with 36-600 shots. The launches are electronically controlled.
For Sammamish, Wolverine has designed a 23-minute show that will be slightly slower paced, but which will include a more intense finale.
Hash said that he tries to design a show that will feel like a roller coaster. He wants small, low-level explosions, medium mid-level explosions and big, high-level explosions for punctuation.
“You’re going up and down to make it more interesting,” Hash said.
The show will feature a variety of colorful designs and effects, though given that it’s for the Fourth of July, the finale will feature a more patriotic color scheme.
Sammamish’s fireworks show will begin at 10 p.m. and is part of the evening-long 4th On the Plateau holiday celebration at . The event also will feature food, kids play areas and live music.
The event is free, with parking available at , and for $5.
