17 replies to this topic

[tgianco]

What fireworks do you buy and where? Which stands in town support what causes (veterans, firemen, girl scouts, etc.)?

Besides saying don't do them because they're not safe, be safe & sane, put the dogs in (check, and putting on music to drown out the noise), keeping a wet bucket around and to keep kids away (yeah, I'm pretty clear on this concept and others, plus we've got a firefighter on the court supervising), what are the best fireworks? Do you buy individual or one of the big packages? I thought about going in with some others to get one of the mega packages, but are they worth it?

Do Phantom or TNT stands have the best deals? Which has the best fireworks?

Any advice/experience would be appreciated.

[john]

I've never done the packages... I've always gotten stuff individually. I get the impression the packages have some cool stuff, but a bunch of junk filler too.

Some of my favorites:
Purple Rain (cheap price, decent show)
Cracklin' Cactus
Smoke Bombs are great for when you are waiting for it to get dark and you are getting impatient... Bloomin Flowers always get the night started right.

[mylo]

Those Cactus ones are fun!

[Robert Giacometti]

I've been working firework stands for at least 12 years, so I'll share my experience.

The Bee will have its review on fireworks out on Tuesday. They usually do a pretty good job and review the bigger fountains and indicate which ones are the best value. Typically most stands will sell out rather early of what the Bee gives high marks too, so go on Wednesday for the popular ones.

AVOID BUYING ON THE 4TH...the lines are way too long and the inventory is limited.

Each company generally has some fountains 2 fer the price of one, which is just a clever way of upselling. They are OK and makes your bag look full!

I generally avoid buying the packages as it includes stuff you may not really enjoy or want and may NOT include the things you saw in the Bee article.

I like the Ground Blooms, the Strobe lights ( don't have too many adult drinks when watching one of those) and some other small stuff. Many people love the Picolo Petes...these are the loud whistling ones.

PLEASE BUY ALL YOU FIREWORKS IN FOLSOM and support some local groups fundraising efforts. There are many different wonderful groups to support. I try and spend some money at the Youths Sports Group every year and Powerhouse Ministries, but Powerhouse didn't get any booth this year. Our Kiwanis Club was NOT fortunate enough to get drawn also, so we typically try and volunteer our time by helping some other group.

[Andrea V]

Apparently we are pyros, because anyone walking in the neighborhood always ends up stopping and hanging out for awhile to watch. Usually we'll give them a beer and just blow up stuff. We always get the BIG box and a bunch of other stuff. I am living my youth now, because I grew up in El Dorado County so we never did fireworks. The stands I go to are usually for school organizations. I never suppport the church ones.

We are not PYROS!

We just REALLY enjoy 4th of July!

[Chad Vander Veen]

Bah, all you need for fireworks fun is:
gasoline
styrofoam
gunpowder

Mix, lit and run

[Andrea V]

Bah, all you need for fireworks fun is:
gasoline
styrofoam
gunpowder

Mix, lit and run

ahhh ahhhh ahhh...pyro...chooo

[mylo]

It's amazing how much styrofoam gasoline will "eat"

You can dump 2 big boxes of popcorn styrofoam into 2 inches of gasoline.

[john]

We just posted a list of all the charities selling fireworks this year on the front page:
http://www.myfolsom.com/

[lisasellshouses]

We just posted a list of all the charities selling fireworks this year on the front page:
http://www.myfolsom.com/

FYI-

The booth at Walmart and the booth at Save-Mart, are Folsom Athletic Association booths. Parents from Folsom Jr. Bulldogs volunteer to work off hours for our association at both.

[Solartide]

Oh ho, reminds me of stuff done while I was a kid!

DISCLAIMER: The following ideas may be bad or dangerous

Smoke bombs- Take a campbells soup can, eat/pour out the soup, then stick the bomb inside it with only a part of the top can lid bent back. Then throw them in neighbors yard.

Piccolo petes- Wrap them up with electrical tape and hammer the bottom. Then light them on fire so they explode.

Sparkling wheels- Get a lot of them and set them all off. Then Ride bikes through the sparks.

Steel wool- Set them on fire.

[mylo]

Steel wool- Set them on fire.

DISCLAIMER: Do not do this

But this is best when said on-fire steel wool is attached to a high mounted motor and spun!

Warning: Beware of molten steel projectiles!

[MikeinFolsom]

Anyone know what the "Knights of Columbus" support? Or do?

[Solartide]

TPOWCY!

http://en.wikipedia....hts_of_Columbus

The Knights have a tradition of supporting those with physical and developmental disabilities.

[mylo]

"In the 2005 fraternal year the Order gave US$136 million directly to charity and performed over 63.2 million man hours of voluntary service. For their support for the Church and local communities, as well as for their philanthropic efforts, the Order is often referred to as the "strong right arm of the Church". The Order's insurance program has more than $60 billion of life insurance policies in force and holds the highest insurance ratings given by A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's, and the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association."

Dang...