Compass Church’s Fireworks Extravaganza anticipating record turnout
jose.romo
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — Teams are working on getting the final details squared away for the largest fireworks display in Monterey County.
Compass Church is getting ready to fill the Salinas Sports Complex seats for Friday’s 4th of July Celebrate America Firework Extravaganza.
“They love the flyover. We have four biplanes this year. We have the parachute coming in with the American flag. We’ve got some beautiful patriotic music, a wonderful choir,” says Todd Anderson, senior pastor at compass church.
He says they are excited to see this event take form for the second year under their leadership. Anderson explains, it all came about through connections within the church.
“One of the families in our church owns the fireworks company,” says Anderson, who had been looking for an event to celebrate July 4th. “So when I discovered they’re a part of compass church, i said, can you guys pull one off here, and they said, I think we can do that.”
He adds that they hope to provide a safe space for the community to enjoy fireworks.
“That’s one of the drivers of this is to provide a safe, free, family-friendly event on the 4th of July.” Anderson adds, “I grew up in a family where we probably shot a few bottle rockets off here and there, but you hear the stories. It’s not always safe to do it that way.
“The most dangerous part does come with the loading and the operating of the fireworks themselves.”
David, who works as the pyrotechnic operator for the event, says security teams have been watering the grounds near the fireworks show to ensure a safe zone.
“As of right now, we’re setting up our fireworks. We’re specifically building up our mortars and our racks, inspecting all of our product for defects, making sure all our product is properly wired and secured,” he adds.
They have also hired additional security to patrol the area. Organizers want to make sure people know they should arrive early to secure their seats.
“Yeah, last year we saw 14,000 people came out to this,” says Anderson. He adds that city and officials at the rodeo grounds say they will likely have to cap attendance. “They’re expecting a maximum crowd of 16,000. So, a record crowd. But I have to let the people know that once we hit 16,000, we’ve got to shut the gates.”
Gates to the festival will open at 3 pm, with the patriotic service set to kick off at 7 pm.