INDEPENDENT NEWS

Remember, remember 8 November

Published: Fri 1 Aug 2014 11:20 AM
Remember, remember 8 November
This year’s Sky Show fireworks display will again take place on the weekend (Saturday 8 November) after Guy Fawkes night.
Wellington’s Acting Mayor, Justin Lester, says changing last year’s Sky Show display to a Saturday night, rather than a weeknight, was well received by Wellingtonians.
“We got positive feedback from the public about the change to a Saturday, especially from families with children who could let their kids stay up that little bit later. We also found the change to the weekend helped with traffic congestion as there wasn’t a mad rush to get home straight after the display.
“We are announcing this nice and early so that residents and businesses can make plans for what is always a popular event in the calendar.”
Councillor Lester says this year’s event will be a special one - it’ll be the 20th anniversary of the now iconic Sky Show.
“While the Sky Show is still three months away I can certainly say it’s going to live up to its reputation as the country’s most spectacular annual fireworks display.”
Cr Lester says the first Sky Show was staged in 1995 – mainly in response to the mayhem that marked Guy Fawkes Night in 1994. “Right around the country – and especially in Wellington – there were big fires started by skyrockets and there were many injuries and instances of antisocial behaviour.”
He says Wellingtonians immediately embraced the Sky Show. “It was vastly more spectacular than any neighbourhood display, it was safe – and it was free. On top of that, the Fire Service, Police and accident and emergency department staff love it as well because far fewer people are now firing off their own fireworks.”
The world-renowned Artistic Pyrotechnic Designer of PyroStar International, Robert McDermott, will again curate the display. McDermott says he’s extremely proud of the Sky Show and how it has evolved over the past 20 years.
“I think back to how we manually ran the display in the beginning, and to see where we are now – with a fully computer controlled state-of-the-art system – and how big and complex our displays have become. We’ve certainly come a long way.”
While it’s still too early to give many other details away, Councillor Lester says there will again be food vendors and family entertainment along the waterfront.
“Being a Saturday we do want people to make a night of it so if we can add to the atmosphere we will. We’ll release more details closer to the Sky Show night but until then it’s important to remember, remember the 8th of November.”
ends

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