Independence Day in Idaho Falls

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by KurtAngleDoesn'tSuck

So what specifically do they cancel or change?
If July 4th is on a Sunday, does the city still do fireworks on the 4th?

And what about July 24th?
I thought that was the big day for Mormons.
At least it is in Utah.

Sunday's a problem. The guy who pays the bill for the fireworks is a Mormon, so if the 4th falls on a Sunday, the fireworks are held on Saturday evening. But the parade sometimes happens on Sunday, but not always.

There's always a kerfuffle over it. We are a highly patriotic bunch, and many of us are also equally religious. So it is always a regularly occurring conflict, but the grumbling on either side never lasts for very long.

The 24th was much more celebrated when I was a kid here than it is nowadays. There used to be a Pioneer Day parade, but no fireworks. Idaho Falls is now larger and more diverse than it was 50 years ago. Pioneer Day is celebrated more in the small surrounding towns now, but it's still celebrated here; lots of picnics, ball games, etc.

Our Independence Day parade was most often a bigger deal than the fireworks for decades. The parade as recently as the 90's would last for hours, while the fireworks displays were sometimes wonderful, and sometimes rather brief. There was one year an accidental explosion set the whole shebang off at once, so that year's display was more noise than anything, and it was all over pretty damned quick.
It all depended on the support of Idaho Falls' civic groups' support until Melaleuca began paying for the display.

Small or large, the fireworks have always been spectacular here. They are launched from a small island in the Snake River, and they explode of the river where there's always a stretch of calm water that reflects them.

These days, the fireworks have become too big a deal for me. Folks come from 100 miles in all directions to see them, and stake out big areas of the river bank for them and their families. Entire families spend all day on the banks, never enjoying all the other stuff that goes on just to hold their places, and the traffic jam afterwards is enormous.
The banks have a lot of trees on both sides, so there aren't as many open spaces to view them. I think that if the display continues as one of the biggest in the West, eventually it will have to be held downriver or upriver where it's more open.

The best fireworks display ever was held out on the edge of the Arco desert, just outside of the city limits in ca. 1982. There is a national organization of fireworks enthusiasts who held their yearly convention in only one spot in the U.S. and we were selected. They spent 2 weeks building ground and arial displays.

Some of those guys are the real professional aces of the craft, and the display was free. I took my kids out, and we were treated to fireworks for almost 6 hours. Their thing is complication instead of big numbers of shots at once. Some of the staged sky shots were jaw dropping, but the ground displays were behind description. Too amazing for words.

Some were experimental at the time, and weren't seen in public displays until years later, and some were so elaborately staged they were never seen at all except for that one occasion. I hope they come back again sometime!

[KurtAngleDoesn'tSuck]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Sunday's a problem. The guy who pays the bill for the fireworks is a Mormon, so if the 4th falls on a Sunday, the fireworks are held on Saturday evening. But the parade sometimes happens on Sunday, but not always.

There's always a kerfuffle over it. We are a highly patriotic bunch, and many of us are also equally religious. So it is always a regularly occurring conflict, but the grumbling on either side never lasts for very long.

The 24th was much more celebrated when I was a kid here than it is nowadays. There used to be a Pioneer Day parade, but no fireworks. Idaho Falls is now larger and more diverse than it was 50 years ago. Pioneer Day is celebrated more in the small surrounding towns now, but it's still celebrated here; lots of picnics, ball games, etc.

Our Independence Day parade was most often a bigger deal than the fireworks for decades. The parade as recently as the 90's would last for hours, while the fireworks displays were sometimes wonderful, and sometimes rather brief. There was one year an accidental explosion set the whole shebang off at once, so that year's display was more noise than anything, and it was all over pretty damned quick.
It all depended on the support of Idaho Falls' civic groups' support until Melaleuca began paying for the display.

Small or large, the fireworks have always been spectacular here. They are launched from a small island in the Snake River, and they explode of the river where there's always a stretch of calm water that reflects them.

These days, the fireworks have become too big a deal for me. Folks come from 100 miles in all directions to see them, and stake out big areas of the river bank for them and their families. Entire families spend all day on the banks, never enjoying all the other stuff that goes on just to hold their places, and the traffic jam afterwards is enormous.
The banks have a lot of trees on both sides, so there aren't as many open spaces to view them. I think that if the display continues as one of the biggest in the West, eventually it will have to be held downriver or upriver where it's more open.

The best fireworks display ever was held out on the edge of the Arco desert, just outside of the city limits in ca. 1982. There is a national organization of fireworks enthusiasts who held their yearly convention in only one spot in the U.S. and we were selected. They spent 2 weeks building ground and arial displays.

Some of those guys are the real professional aces of the craft, and the display was free. I took my kids out, and we were treated to fireworks for almost 6 hours. Their thing is complication instead of big numbers of shots at once. Some of the staged sky shots were jaw dropping, but the ground displays were behind description. Too amazing for words.

Some were experimental at the time, and weren't seen in public displays until years later, and some were so elaborately staged they were never seen at all except for that one occasion. I hope they come back again sometime!

Good info, thank you.
So the City itself doesn't put on the fireworks, huh?
So who pays for it? VanderSloot?
He's the richest Mormon in Idaho, right?

Anyway, none of that's a deal-breaker for me.
Just wondering.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by KurtAngleDoesn'tSuck

Good info, thank you.
So the City itself doesn't put on the fireworks, huh?
So who pays for it? VanderSloot?
He's the richest Mormon in Idaho, right?

Anyway, none of that's a deal-breaker for me.
Just wondering.

Yes.
If Vandersloot stops paying for the fireworks, I'm sure the Civitans, Rotary, C of C, and the others will do it again, just as they did before.

The display is a big deal for Melaleuca. The company rents the hotel that has the best view, and uses the event as an incentive bonus for it's best distributors. If flies them in from all over, puts them up in the hotel for the weekend, and provides the best spot to watch with full amenities.

I don't have any problem with this at all. More than10,000 people get to watch a display that's bigger and better than any in the west for free, that that's a good trade in my book.

Frank is now the richest Idahoan, but I don't think he is as wealthy as J.R. Simplot was. In his prime, old J.R. ran this state out of his back pocket with change to spare.

[tmp4]

I thought the Freedom Celebration was great at the new location in Snake River Landing! Fun day-long event

They did a surprisingly good job with traffic flow and parking, IMO. Looked like traffic after the fireworks was a mess though. Glad I rode my bike!

[Ret.InAmmon]

It is nice that a local business is willing and able to sponsor such a professional fireworks show, free to the public.
I just wish all of the pyromaniac fools in my neighborhood would go see it, rather than endanger the rest of the neighborhood with their illegal fireworks shows. It is getting really bad here in Woodland Hills subdivision in Ammon, where at least six groups were at is concurrently last night, shooting hundreds of huge skyrockets that are ILLEGAL here, yet as in previous years, our "law enforcement" turns a blind eye as wild rockets endanger people and risk fires throughout the subdivision.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by Ret.InAmmon

It is nice that a local business is willing and able to sponsor such a professional fireworks show, free to the public.
I just wish all of the pyromaniac fools in my neighborhood would go see it, rather than endanger the rest of the neighborhood with their illegal fireworks shows. It is getting really bad here in Woodland Hills subdivision in Ammon, where at least six groups were at is concurrently last night, shooting hundreds of huge skyrockets that are ILLEGAL here, yet as in previous years, our "law enforcement" turns a blind eye as wild rockets endanger people and risk fires throughout the subdivision.

Couldn't agree more!! It seemed louder in our neighborhood on the 3rd, guessing some of them went to the big show.