Sidewalk of fire

The annual "Sidewalk of Fire" show commenced in front of Mike and Katie's house, on July 24th, just as twilight was turning into darkness.  It was quite an occasion, with maybe 75 persons in attendance.  A table was set up with lots of cookies of every variety to snack on.  The neighbors brought their own lawn chairs to sit on, and as the show began one could hear all the Oohs and Ahs as, one by one, the fiery little monsters were set off.

Being from California, I was not descended from Mormon pioneers, but my Grandfather did hale from Louisiana in the late 1800's, arriving in the L.A. area then moving to Northern California to make his fortune.  He was born in Alabama in 1859, and later moved with his family to Louisiana.

Nonetheless, I love the 24th celebration, with all the concerts, parades, family get-to-gathers and pioneer stories.  I have lived in Utah since 1963, so I guess I can now claim to be a Utahan, after all these years.


Each year Mike's show becomes a little fancier.  I remember when he first stared, sparklers were about all that he had.  Now he has evolved into a "Fire King," using a torch to set his fiery little monsters.

 

Actually I was quite impressed with the quality of the fireworks this year.  As you can see they were quite spectacular.

The shaded areas in front are a couple branches of a tree.  My camera is pointed almost straight up.

I really like this one.  It didn't rise too far off the ground, but had a lot of sparkling variety.  Also a lot of whistling noise, and popping.

 I don't know how many more years the "Sidewalk of Fire" show continue, probably until the kids leave, or until Mike burns out, whatever the case may be.

One thing for sure though, neighborhood sidewalk celebrations will somewhere continue, as long as there is a Pioneer Day.

Again, branches appear on the right side of the photo.

This is what the street looked like after the show.  Thanks to technology, I was able to take this in the dark using the available light setting on my camera.

I drove by the next day, and it was all cleaned up.  Mike said he even dowsed the empty casings with water to make sure they were all out.  What a guy!  What a show!