I got started at the Western Winter Blast, held annually by the
Western Pyrotechnic Association. There, with about 800 other
people, I learned how to make fireworks and shoot them in a safe,
desert environment.

I also saw fireworks and fireworks shows that dwarfed anything I
had ever seen before. I’d seen Fourth of July shows with 3-, 4-, and
5-inch shells, but here I found out about bigger shells (6- to 16-inch
diameter and bigger), rockets, comets, and a whole lot of others.

This is where fireworks are made with loving care to create some
amazing pyrotechnic works of art. You can spend hours making
something that is gone in 20 seconds, but what a glorious 20
seconds it is! And thanks to photography, these moments can be
preserved to enjoy again and again.

You might ask why the WPA would be at a home hobbyist convention? The answer is simple, we are hobbyists, or as they call themselves, Makers. Some of us are professionals, but we are all into the aspect of doing something ourselves. This is the biggest collection of like-minded people we can find and this is a place we should be. When you get right down to it, to use the parlance of Makers, we are a Maker space that specializes in making fireworks.

Mike and Wanda Garrett, Marty Walker, Jackalope Billy, Al Stahler and I spent the entire three days talking to home hobbyists about fireworks. We demonstrated using using inert 1.3g models, inert consumer fireworks, videos, firing boards and other tools used to make fireworks. We explained how the WPA works and how the people we were talking to about fireworks could join us at one of our conventions and make their own fireworks without any additional permits, licenses family connections.

The response was really overwhelming. The most asked question was, “I had no idea this existed. How do I get involved?”

We explained how they as individuals could get involved, gave them brochures and wished to see them in Arizona this February.

Another really popular question was, “I am an educator. How can I get materials for my students to learn about fireworks?” The educators want to show students the science behind making fireworks. They want to see how colors are created. They want to inspire students to go into chemistry, engineering and that gateway to getting students excited is fireworks, which is pretty much the way each of us got involved as kids.

“Makerspace is a place where technologies become accessible to everyone, and innovative projects become reality.  There are many creative and progressive people in Kyrgyzstan who urgently need such space as an opportunity to realize their potential and benefit society.”