See Manhattan Beach Fireworks Highlights

The 35th Annual Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks Festival show went off without a hitch on the Pier Sunday night, with thousands of fireworks sent off into the skies over a 17 minute period that drew thousands to the area. 

You can watch a highlight reel here: 

Additionally, the Easy Reader spoke with the organizer and producer of the show about how it was put together before the fireworks began. 

Tom Moffett, whose late father had staged the show for 35 years, since 1989, died in 2023, has taken over from his dad. “He wanted to bring something together for the community, and he loved fireworks. When he moved here from Texas in 1984, he noticed people didn’t have much together here during the holiday times, and he thought, what better way to bring the community together than launching fireworks off the Pier.”

John Nunan from Fireworks America in front of the thousands of fireworks gathered for the Manhattan Beach Fireworks show. By Jefferson Graham

John Nunan, who designed the show for Fireworks America, explained that the process of igniting the works is now all computerized, and connected to the soundtrack, which signals when the fireworks should be erupted. “There’s a special firing computer designed just for fireworks,” he said. “There’s a timecode on the track, which sends the signal to the computer.”

Nunan walked us through the Pier, which was covered with PC-connected fireworks spread from in front of the Roundhouse Aquarium all the way down to about halfway down the Pier. 

Why are fireworks so popular? “Sensory stimulation,” said Nunan. “You can make people laugh, you can make them cry, you can take people back to their childhoods, and we just try to evoke those kind of emotions.”

Manhattan Beach Fire Department watch over the fireworks show. By Jefferson Graham.

ER