Hi Guys,

Check out www.pyroplanet.com for the rest of this story:

"Wallerawang based fireworks company, Howard and Sons Pyrotechnics, is in the final stages of preparation to proudly represent Australia at the 2005 Montreal International Fireworks competition next weekend in Canada. Invited this year by the exclusive, invitation only, Montreal International Fireworks Competition. "

If you want a free subscription to the online Newsletter go to www.pyroplanet.com and you'll get stories like these in your email box every week!

Thanks,

Bill

PS: Celebrate safely, enjoyr yourselves and love what you do!

I post here the complete article available on news section of the Howard and Sons Pyrotechnics' website. There are some factual mistakes about the Montreal International Fireworks Contest, but the fourth paragraph is very interesting.

Fred

* * * * *

Howard's Set for Montreal International Fireworks Competition

Australia’s leading fireworks company, Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics, are in the final stages of preparation to proudly represent Australia at the 2005 Montreal International Fireworks Competition on Saturday June 18 June 2005 in Canada.

Invited this year by the exclusive, invitation only, L'international des Feux Loto-Quebec' in Montreal, Canada, it is the first time that Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics, an all Australian family owned company, has represented Australia at the Montreal International Fireworks Competition, highly recognised within the pyrotechnic industry as the annual World Fireworks Championships. .

From June 18, only 10 countries will be competing for the title of the world's most renowned fireworks display. The Montreal International Fireworks Competition was started in 1967 and has been a smash hit ever since. More than 5.7 million people attended the displays in the first season, setting a record in Canada for this kind of event. Crowds of enthusiasts from Montreal and tourists gather for this remarkable event..

The dazzling pyromusical exhibition, named, ‘Fusion Groove Dynamique,’ will blend colours, rhythms and effects with style and sophistication, to familiar tunes by Eddy Mitchell, Michael Bublé, Saint-Germain and Harry Connick Jr. Twelve months in the making, over 640 man-hours of precise pyromusical design, new product development, product manufacturing and special equipment fabrication, will all come down to a spectacular 30 minute fireworks display igniting over 10 tonnes of pyrotechnics, lighting up the Montreal skyline..

Andrew Howard, a fourth generation pyrotechnician and the display director is honoured to represent Australia at the competition. “We are very excited to showcase our company’s state of the art design in pyrotechnics in such a prestigious competition and in front our peers internationally. Both Christian Howard and myself are very proud to represent Australia as well as the long line of the Howard’s family in pyrotechnic art. Our late grandfather and father, Harry, and Les would have loved to be packing their bags and heading off to Montreal with us, but I’m sure their spirit is already there and they are making sure all our product and equipment is on site and ready for us to start setting up the show.”.

The Howard & Sons team are really pushing the boundaries of the art of fireworks with their display as they have some very stiff competition. “We are competing against the worlds best fireworks companies from France, Argentina, Sweden, Czech Republic, USA, Portugal, Spain and Canada all of whom have presented some marvellous displays before, have some great product and will be very hard to beat. In saying that, we have planned something very special. Our theme, jazzy soundtrack, comic French narration, innovative product exclusively manufactured and our unique firing technics will impress the judging panel and the entire audience and I can’t wait to see our show finally come to life.” Andrew explained.

Howard & Sons exclusivly use "Panasonic Toughbooks" to fire pyromusical displays and thank Panasonic for suppling additional Toughbooks for this display.

Source:
http://www.howardsfireworks.com.au

it has since been corrected. typing error i believe

It's still not quite correct; the competition started in 1985, not in 1984 as is stated in the article. Everything else is pretty much correct though.

Cheers,

Paul.

And only 9 countries (not 10) will be competing.

But I suspect that the australian team have more important tasks to do these days than correcting a mistake on their website!

Fred

I am just viewing the interview with Howard & Sons' team which is now on-line on L'International des feux Loto-Québec's website:

http://www.internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com/fr/virtuel/entrevues.as p?video=796

The team insists that Montreal International Fireworks Contest is definitely the biggest competition for them and that La Ronde's site is the best for their products. We learn also that the show will start with a piece (or a special effect) which has been especially designed for this show.

Fred

Fred,

That sounds pretty neat. I'll be on the lookut for that. I'm also happy that the team thinks that La Ronde's site is ideal. I honestly agree with them 100%, but it's a shame that they had to work in these adverse weather conditions.

Trav.

I have question about Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics.

Is Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics and Explosive Entertainment International the same firm?

Did they change the name? Is it the one from 2003?

Enkil,

No, I don't think they're the same. If you read the briefing, it says it's their first time in Montreal. They should do pretty well tonight. They also have 17 segments! I hope Paul manages.

Here's the link:

http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/cgi-bin/rep.cgi?head2005,australia05 ,tail2005

Trav.

No Smoke, it was Groupe F of France. They were the ones who did the fireworks show on the Eiffel tower. It's next Saturday

On mondialsaq.com
http://www.internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com/fr/competition/firme.as p?firme=11

It's written Syd Howard Fireworks International for Explosive Entertainment International

Enkil,

Sorry, I mixed up the 2! When I was reading Australia's description, I forgot that I had read France. Both of them are new firms, but I meant to put France instead of Australia when I was refering to the 2000 celebration in France. Silly mistake. Anyways, yes, that was Groupe F. It's edited out now.

But yes, it's acknowledged that Australia's firm is new, but the names are similar for some reason.

Trav.

There were two companies in Australia from the same family. It's a long story, but at one time there was the firm Syd Howard and a second firm Howard and Sons. Syd Howard sold out to Explosive Entertainment International but I believe EEI are out of the fireworks business. It is, indeed, Howard and Sons first time in Montreal.

Paul.

Thanks for the clarifications, Paul, but how long has EEI been out of business? It must've been recently, as they performed back in 2003.

Regards,

Trav.

I have an anwser for Enkil about H & S and
Explosive Entertainment being the same the display you just saw would have proved they are not the same.
For years H & S have been trying to make a name for themself in big displays they just don't do them. Montreal gave them a chance.
Explovise Entertainment formally Syd Howard Firewords was very successful in Montreal.
Explosive Entertainment has now become an Entertainement company and is doing very well in the Middle East where there is so much work for them they had to leave Australia because the offer was to good to refuse.
Now our friends at H & S would want you to believe that Explosive Entertainment is out of business totally untrue and to set the record straight Australia's leading firework company is now Foti's Fireworks H & S have a long way to go to catch them.
Now because Explosive Entertainment is not just a firework company the group name is Explosive Entertainment Corporation check out the web site and you will see they are alive and kicking.
Don't believe what you read as H & S are the masters of "Bullshit".
They have continued a family tradition in dribble.
One of the reasons there was a big crowd to see the Australian's perform was in the past they knew it would be a good show aleast top 3 "O How times have changed"
Hope it clears it up for you.
Regards Robert

Robert,

Thank you for the clearing up, as well. Also, you had a pretty nice, though too direct, critique.

I know the display wasn't as impressive as everyone had hoped, especially in terms of excitement, but it was different, and that made it enjoyable for at least some segments. The finale was really disappointing, especially with the lack of color and longevity and replacing it with only kamuros. The narration took away many things, too, especially at the beginning and the end. The products used were great with some original effects, as well, but had been repetitive several times. Synchronization was great, in general, though I felt it was slack in some other specific areas.

But I can't disagree with Australia of 2000. That's one of the best shows I've ever seen since I've been attending since 1990. 30 minutes of nonstop action, especially with the fast paced selection of soundtrack used. The music was enjoyable, too. That display was really something else. Take a look at Paul's report for that display:

http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/cgi-bin/rep.cgi?head2000,australia00 ,tail2000

In all, like I said before, they didn't do a bad job overall, considering the hazardous weather conditions and their first appearance here in Montreal. I think it was decent display in the end result.

Regards,

Trav.