Fireworks Over The Hudson

We did not forget all about the Fourth of July. It is nearly impossible to forget when Macy’s, the sponsor for 34 years, has a full page color ad in every issue of the New York Times.

I sometimes wonder what it is that seems to fascinate us all with fireworks. Is it some primal thing that goes back to early tribes huddling around a campfire as logs popped and orange sparks spray up into the dark sky? Did some ancient Chinese chemist discover the effect could be enhanced with more colors by sprinkling different chemical compounds over the flame? Whatever it is most of us seem to be attracted to the colorful displays just as moths are drawn to a flame.

One of the great events at Lake Quivira is the annual fireworks displays from the dam. For twenty-two years we never had to think of where to be to get our fix. It was right in our back yard. Last year we opted for the view from our loft’s deck which paid off nicely as we were able to watch hundreds of displays from 180 degrees around for hours.

In New York we didn’t have to decide which display to watch as there is only one, but it is a killer. They have the launch sites all stationed on the west side along the Hudson River. There are six barges equally spaced from around 54th Street all the way down to 23rd Street and each of the locations have identical synchronized programs going simultaneously . The display lasts about a half hour during which they go through 40,000 explosives. This is a bit shy of the record 66,326 but a big display all the same.

We still had to decide where we wanted to go to view the spectacular. We didn’t know whether to head toward the river and deal with the crowds (Justin Bieber was performing somewhere over there) or to just go to our rooftop and deal with a limited view. We were weighing our options nearly up to starting time but we finally went with the rooftop. I think we would have been happy either way. Anyway, it turns out that the best vantage point is not even in Manhattan but across the river in New Jersey where you can take in the whole scene from lots of places.

I have embedded a nice video taken from the Jersey side showing the last seven minutes of the show. I recommend you view it in full screen mode (go to this LINK at youtube and click on the button with four arrows).

If you want to experience it like we did simply take your left hand and block half of one display and take your right hand and block half of the display next to it. This is a rough approximation of our view between the buildings. It was not perfect but our primal needs have been met for another year.