Everett’s Had Some Um, Interesting 4th Of July Fireworks Shows (Sponsored Post)

Plans are well underway for the Thunder on the Bay Fireworks Show in Everett, Washington. The 22 minute show is set for 10 PM to be shot off a barge at the north end of Jetty Island. Jetty Island has been the site of Everett’s fireworks shows for decades and most shows have gone off without a hitch but there are a couple of notable exceptions.

In 2005 a volunteer group put on the fireworks show in conjunction with July 4th activities at Naval Station Everett. Back then the public could go onto the base for special events and this particular year the fireworks show was going to be accompanied by a live performance by the Everett Symphony on the pier at the base.

In those days the fireworks were loaded onto a barge over in Port Gamble and in the afternoon the barge was towed to an area off Jetty Island. Normally a three to four hour trip. This time however there was a problem.

The tug towing the barge was slow, really slow and the barge was nowhere near Everett when the 10 PM start time rolled around. I was working on the radio and we were carrying the broadcast live. We asked the Symphony to play, and play some more and then more until they had played pretty much every song they knew.

The crowd, who had been waiting a little less patiently as each minute after 10 PM rolled by headed for home. Still no barge, no fireworks.

Finally, a little after 11 PM the barge came around the point at Mukilteo and as the barge was moving toward Everett and Jetty Island, fireworks began. The barge continued toward Everett shooting off fireworks as it went and giving the people who lived along Mukilteo Boulevard a wonderful up-close show.

Twenty years prior to that there was another notable fireworks event in Everett. On July 4th 1985 Everett was going to end the finale of that year’s fireworks show by shooting off the largest firework ever displayed on the west coast. Thor was the name of the two-foot round shell and it was going to be spectacular.

The show began at 10 PM and was going great. As the show wound down and it was time for the finale, Thor’s fuse was lit. But there was a problem. Instead of shooting up in the air nearly half-a-mile high it exploded in it’s launching tube and set the grass around it on fire.

A fire that took three days to put out. Click here to get the full, fairly hilarious story from the folks at HistoryLink.org.

This year no surprises are expected. The show will be loaded here in Everett and is set to happen at 10PM. Starting at 3 PM there is a great 4th of July Festival at Legion Park that features family fun, food trucks, beverage garden and live music. Click here for all the details and a link to the best fireworks viewing sites in Everett.

*The above is a sponsored post as part of an advertising agreement with the City of Everett Office of Economic Development. All editorial content is produced by MyEverettNews.com*