Clusters clap over Swinomish fireworks

The tradition continues.

A glorious, loud two-hour-plus July 4th firework show was sent up from perhaps a half dozen locations on the west bank of the Swinomish Channel, Reservation Road and further west, probably including Snee-oosh Beach Saturday, as Native firework vendors again shared the bounty of their leftover inventories.

Clusters of people found places on the boardwalk, from Hellam’s Vineyard down to Calico Cupboard. As early as 8 p.m. families set up from the end of Caledonia Street and at pocket park picnic tables and Gilkey Square.

Attendees numbered in the dozens, perhaps a hundred. There were large stretches of boardwalk unattended, a marked departure from prior years, when tourists made this a day or a weekend in La Conner and the boardwalk was crowded its whole length.

At 10 p.m. there was a near constant bombs busting in air, as Francis Scott Key wrote, and the smell of gun powder was again in the air, as in 1814. The explosions were of all colors of the rainbow and popped, sizzled, whistled and shrieked.

There were occasional bursts of fireworks over downtown La Conner. They seemed to have been launched in the vicinity of First Street.

The noise extended to the east and seemed to come from La Connerites north of Morris Street.

Occasional shells were still exploding after 1 a.m.

Sunday evening, around 8 p.m. explosions were heard on the west side of the Channel and fireworks lit the night sky on an occasional basis for hours. Monday’s edition was under an hour.