Blessed with blue skies, warm sunshine, and a pleasant breeze, HTC students celebrated Independence Day in American style: having barbecues with their host families, playing at parks or beaches, and attending the biggest fireworks show in the northwest on Lake Union in Seattle. While waiting for the fireworks, everyone enjoyed picnics and listening to the music playing from giant speakers. In summer in Seattle, the sunset is quite late, so it does not get dark enough for fireworks until 10:00 PM. Because of the great weather, people began filing into Gasworks Park on Lake Union before noon. By 6 PM there were so many people that the park’s vast lawn was completely covered up by the people and their blankets. Late arrivals had to stand near the top of the hill to see the fireworks. At 10:10 it was finally dark enough. Everyone rose for the National Anthem, and in the last measure of the song, suddenly FLASH! BOOM! – the fireworks went off to the accompaniment of various standard tunes of jazz and marching songs. The show lasted only about 30 minutes but was very impressive both aesthetically and technologically. After the show, of course everyone heads for the exits at once. To help calm the crowds and perhaps encourage some people to wait around longer, a local band continued its live performance for a while.
Neal Colodner (Seattle)
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