Comments

1
"...unclear how the change in management will affect..."
2
The back and forth is getting pretty old, but I'm glad Seattle will have fireworks this year.

I'm very curious what company will be doing the show. Pyro Spectaculars has handled it in the past and is probably the largest and most experienced company on the west coast. It'll be interesting to see if the show is noticeably scaled back or not.
3

Great thanks, so glad you did this....no..love it really

-Wallingford homeowners thinking of their lawns and parking spaces
4
@1 Thanks! Editor added that word, but I should have caught it.
5
funny too, that an online gambling company is backing this, since, you know, they can't f*cking do business with residents of this state.....
6
Move the show to Elliott Bay so it can be seen by more people!
7
Intern @4, anytime. Now you can start your portfolio of editor blackmail material.
8
Washington Mutual was seized by federal regulators in 2008, so it didn't "collapse" in 2010.
9
Goddamnit! Don't they have anything better to spend their money on? Like maybe paying their employees?
10
@9 got to refill the city coffers to get ready for the next Teabag-caused recession ...
11
@8 I'm pretty sure there was a fund set up that took care of things for the years following the takeover.
12
One Reel is out? They are still announcing via their web page that the show is cancelled.
13
"Doubledown Interactive"

Best description of our political and economic kleptonomy that I've ever heard.
14
"...a new fireworks company is contracted to put on a 20-minute show at a lower cost." "...it will be a different show, but will be just as good."

Goodbye Pyro Spectaculars! Hello cheaper alternative!
15
I'm with #9, don't they have anything else they could do with that $$? Like keep buses running or lay off 3 fewer people?
16
Good job. Wonder what happens to the money that One Reel collected in their failed bid to crowdsource the event.
17
Come on people, cheer up! Blue Angels are gone, fireworks are back. It's a win-win! I don't quite get why people are saying this corporations should have done something else like fund the buses -- corporations aren't going to make an ongoing, long-term financial commitment like that (besides, do you really want to let the city/state off the hook?) They'll do something one-time and flashy, or small-scale feel-goody. Corporations don't fund large scale public services, nor should politicians be let off the hook to fund such services.
18
@8: Facts be straightened. Thx.
19
Bummer to hear about One Reel not being the producer (if I read that correctly) as I and many others used their volunteer positions for getting free/comp. Bumbershoot tickets.
20
Yay! This is just the sort of thing companies are supposed to do. It will be a nice fourth after all.

Plus with us getting a replacement for the Blue Angels (basically a bunch of retired Blue Angels by the name of "The Patriots Jet Team"!) , Seafair should be pretty much business as usual also.
21
@12 Finding new jobs is probably higher on their agenda than updating that website.
22
@16

Pretty sure One Reel is refunding the contributions they received.
23
It is ridiculous that this happens every year. One Reel should have been OUT long ago - since they are incapable of raising the funds needed. In a city with huge corporations raking in billion dollar profits funding 4th of July fireworks in Seattle should be a no brainer. Every single year it's OH NOES NO FIREWORKS! Oh wait whew we got funding at the last minute. Find someone who understands the concept of long-term, sustainable event planning and funding and stop with the constant drama every year. It's pathetic.
24

Let's face it...the so-called Leaders of Seattle have one purpose alone....blockbust the neighborhoods so the cronies who pay their salaries can move in an buy it up for a song and put in high rise apodments.

To that end, they will sponsor any event or festival designed to inundate them with all manner of druggies and miscreants leaving a wake of damage and debris.
25
@24 look, we have to let the rural and suburban d and m here, there's no border patrol to keep you tax-subsidized wastrels out of efficient job-creating Seattle ...
26
@23

I think your vitriol toward One Reel is misplaced.

What you probably don't know is that all of the big festivals in this city a going are essentially put on by the same people. By this I mean the production team.

Management changes with each festival, but the nuts and bolts of getting the event done is pretty much done by the same core group of dedicated and talented professional youngsters. And that's because they know what the hell they're doing.

I'm one of the people who helps put on these things and the amount of money and effort it takes to make Fourth of July happen is astonishing. Mind warping, even, particularly for a 12 hour event. It takes just as much bullshit to put on a 12 hour event as it does to do a four day event. You just get to amortize the bullshit over four days.

My only point is to illustrate how unbelievablely difficult it is to put together a festival. Unless you do it, you have no idea. I'm going to cut One Reel some slack and do my best to help Seafair put on a good show, since I work for both organizations and I love my city.
27
P.S. Sorry for the weird grammar errors in my post. Was using SlideIt on my phone and it was imploding...
28
I wonder why most of these exact same companies couldn't contribute earlier (before One Reel funding deadline). Most of them managed to contribute just fine the last 2 years. I'm thinking that since One Reel made the announcement about not having any fireworks this year because said companies didn't contribute on time the sponsors went "Opps! we were hoping that someone else would fork over money this time and not us."
29
@26 - Your comment implies that I have no idea what it's like to put on an event of any kind. You are mistaken - it is exactly my extensive experience with events of all size, scope, and location that makes me criticize this fireworks BS. I'll say it again - hire someone who understands the concept of long-term, sustainable event planning and funding. It doesn't matter how hard working and awesome the production team is if there is no funding for the event. I love Seattle, too - which is exactly why I think it's so pathetic that the same drama plays out every year.

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