by Jefferson Graham
Back in 1989, Pete Moffett, the owner of Manhattan Coolers, a popular restaurant on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, had a brainstorm: how about fireworks in December, instead of July, as a way to kick off the holiday season downtown?
Together with other merchants in the area, he sold the city on the idea.
“We didn’t know how big it would become,” said Richard Montgomery, a Manhattan Beach council member who attended the first fireworks show, and every show since.
From about 500 people attending the first one, to an estimated 40,000 who now annually attend, the event has become the second most popular event in Manhattan Beach, after the Hometown Fair, which brings in 60,000 people.
Sunday, the 36th annual “Skechers Manhattan Beach Fireworks” show kicks off at 3 p.m., with various family activities, including the Skechers Snow Park, and photo opportunities with Santa, followed by the Mira Costa Jazz Band at 5 p.m., local favorite Joe’s Band at 6 p.m. and the big, 22-minute fireworks event at 7 p.m.
“We’re the only ones who do fireworks in December,” said Montgomery, a four-term council member whose last term ends on December 19.
Moffett died in 2022 of brain cancer, at age 75, but his son Tom, who works in the San Diego area on renewable biofuels continues the family tradition, staging the event with the city.
He said he does it as a tribute to his dad, who loved fireworks and community.
“This is an event I’ve been attending since I was 8 years old,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”
Moffett declined to reveal the cost of staging the event, except to say it tops “tens of thousands” of dollars, and is supported by sponsors. The free event doesn’t make money with ticket or merchandise sales. It’s a labor of love.
The primary sponsors are Skechers, LA Car Guy and Chevron. Other sponsors include former mayor Russ Lesser, local Realtors, Gelson’s, Dive N Surf and The Kettle restaurant.
Individual sponsors are invited to buy tables at $3,000 a pop (there are 40 of them). Sponsorships come with a catered dinner and a premiere view from the parking in front of The Strand House on Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
Montgomery, who serves as the chief fund raiser for the event, says the biggest expense isn’t the fireworks, but insurance. “We have to be protected in case a shell goes sideways,” he said.
San Diego based Fireworks America stages the show. They are also responsible for Sea World’s fireworks shows. They will start unpacking “a couple of thousand” fireworks Sunday morning on the Manhattan Beach Pier at 6 a.m., Fireworks America choreographer John Nunan said.
“There’s all different colors, different effects,” he said. “Some will whistle, some will just make really loud bangs. Some will make patterns in the sky like hearts, or happy faces. It depends on what the music calls. We match the fireworks to the music,” Nunan said.
The city has installed audio speakers as far back as the Post Office on Valley Drive and Manhattan Beach Boulevard for spectators to listen to as they watch the show.
How do the fireworks leave the Pier and get into the sky? Digitally. A special “firing” computer gets a time code signal from the audio soundboard every time a blast is to occur. “That’s how it’s synchronised,” Nunan said.
Some cities have turned their backs on fireworks in recent years due to environmental concerns and new State rules governing fireworks over oceans and lakes.
Moffett has received State permits for his Manhattan Beach shows.
Instead of fireworks, some cities have turned to LED drone shows as an alternative, but Nunan says traditional fireworks elicit a stronger emotion.
“Fireworks can make people laugh, make them cry, and can take them back to their childhood,” he said. “We just try to evoke those kinds of feelings and emotions with the music we choose, and then we have fireworks to heighten those feelings.”
City officials have had to take steps to make extra parking available because the 100-space public parking garage at 12th Street is closed for repairs. Visitors are urged to park at the Northrup Grumman lot on Aviation Boulevard, where they will be bused in and out every 15 minutes through 10 p.m.
Montgomery said the fireworks show has accomplished what Pete Moffett originally envisioned, bringing the community together and boosting the fortunes of area restaurants, cafes, hotels and stores.
“Who doesn’t love fireworks?” he said. ER
