Hello from the coast of California. Pleased to meet you.
I am already wondering about the Montreal competition for next year.
I have been so happy to read this forum, all about ticket prices and where to get tickets to sit.
I am wondering: What dates are the best to go to this event if I were to be able to stay for about a week? Do you just try to be there for the last week, like the shows get better and better? Do some of you work in pyro in the US? In my case I would want to finish all the 4th of July work before going to Montreal.
I will be interested also in where one would recommend staying if I was to fly out there.
Sparkles and Kabooms,
Clio

Clio,

It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance and I'm glad you became a member of our forum.

It seems that your curiosity of the competition already has you set on coming for next year. Given that you wish to come after the 4th of July events, you should be just in time to witness many of the displays since, by just before mid July, the shows are scheduled to fire twice a week; that being Saturdays and Wednesdays until the competition comes to a climactic close.

The Panzera closing ceremony tends to take place between July 28th to the 31st, depending on how early/late it actually starts, so you can work out your week's stay for the very last week of the competition while you may simultaneously very well see 3 shows (including the last, which usually falls on a Saturday) given you come on the Saturday the week before the closing ceremony, see the display that night, then witness another show the following Wednesday and then Panzera on the upcoming Saturday. In other words, try to make it here for exactly a week before the last Saturday so you can see a maximum of 3 displays. And no, the shows do not necessarily tend to get better with time since each country has their own solely based conceptual premise in which they wish to implement their own unique display construction, but generally, all the displays are exciting in their own way, especially when waiting for that classic finale. Furthermore, the competition does, in a sense, feel more exciting towards the end since it contains more of that robust and anticipated feeling; a feeling that simply can't be withheld or ignored, which is why I recommend planning your trip for the last week, if possible..

There are a few pyros on the board as well as some potential ones, so I'm sure you can garner some form of inquisitive ideas for those particular individuals.

There are plenty of hotels (beautiful, mind you) around Montreal to stay, such as the Marriott, for example. I'm positive you'll be going to La Ronde to see the displays, but it's recommended to go to the Silver section, but I'm not sure about the current rates, well, yet.

Anyhow, I encourage you to visit our forum more often so you can get further updates. When the schedule is released, which is either in or between December and/or January, you'll know how to organize your time more coherently.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Trav.

thanks so much for your warm reply - with good info. i get a Pyro Mailing List in my emails out here on the west coast, and i was referred to this site for all thing Montreal Fireworks - so this is great. Even a forum on whether to wear your raincoat on a particular night!

Well, I just want to say that when smoke says that the best place is the silver section I think (in my opinion) that he is wrong. In 2005, I enjoied all displays in the gold section, exept the last one( panzera), and I could appreciate that maybe the general vision was better (because de silver section is between the two others) but the sound is not good, when the display finish your head is living an annoying experience, because of the music, the fireworks, the unfortables places where you are sit...
I prefer the gold section.

SP: when we 're going to know the new shlude?¿?

Clio,

I'm certainly happy to hear that you were referred to this site and I'm sure you can learn a lot from here. The reports and general commentaries are very nicely written by Paul and the other members of this forum while the photos on this site are very stunning. I also encourage you to take a glimpse at the information section to get an idea of how the whole thing works as well as some well known statistics. Here is the link:

http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/setup.html

In essence, I think you're in the right place and I'm sure you'll enjoy everything the forum has to offer.

Oh yes, as I did forget to mention, make sure to be prepared for the weather, just in case something should happen.

Rovira,

I suppose it ultimately depends on the individual. However, given that I rarely go to La Ronde to watch the fireworks, you can't really take my word for it since I cannot comment on this accurately. I'm only stating the general consensus of those who have a wide array of experience from different vantage points in each section and, according to them, they generally agree that the Silver section is best for the overall criteria, that is, in their humble opinions.

And, as I said in my previous message, you can expect the schedule to appear between December to mid January.

Regards,

Trav.

My boyfriend and I are going to the Grand Canyon next week, and we discovered that in order to get a backcountry permit for the most popular area, we would have had to get the reservation a year ago! so I don't want the same thing to happen with this competition. I imagine the hotels get quite full way in advance.

I do not know if La Ronde is really fun, but my boyfriend is very into roller coasters, so I believe the idea of getting an annual pass to La ronde and using it for 3 fireworks shows is a good plan. I am sure we will sit in silver section, after coming all the way from california Later on, I wil have made some friends in Montreal and can sit on their rooftop!

SP: when we 're going to know the new shlude?¿?

around xmas, maybe later