By Joe Cascio (JC Photography):
While I didn’t venture into the event grounds just based on time, family ventures and such put me at the Naval Park at about 9:45pm. The amount of people who were in the ring, watching the 4th of July fireworks, was outstanding. All up and down the rail along the river and in front of the park, in the parking lots and packing the balconies at the Pearl Street, people were everywhere. A total party atmosphere was in progress. They were blowing those crazy horns like at the World Cup, and combined with kids sleeping in strollers the scene’s cross section (age-wise) was as good as it gets – I wish I could have spent more time people watching.
I’ve been shooting for Bill Minich and the folks from Skylighter’s of WNY, the fireworks guys, for a bunch of years now and it’s always a hoot to give the folks who are sitting around me the inside skinny on what’s about to take place. It’s funny to hear their phone calls to friends telling them they have to re-position themselves and not to leave because it’s not over yet. So while I can’t speak as to what took place inside the gate, it was a lot of fun outside. A nice breeze off the cool lake waters and great people made it an unforgettable 4th of July down on the waterfront.