By Mary O’KEEFE

An estimated 3,000 people viewed the Crescenta Valley fireworks show from La Crescenta Elementary School with thousands more watching the celebration from various areas around Crescenta Valley.

The event is sponsored and operated by the CV Fireworks Association, a community based non-profit.

In addition to fireworks, the 4th was celebrated in a typical American way with carnival rides and food. There were several food trucks that offered everything from hot dogs to grilled cheese sandwiches with artichokes. Baked on Ocean View was also on site to satisfy any sweet tooth craving.

The band Stinky Felix, with local musician Don Ross, began playing at 4 p.m. and kept everyone dancing and tapping their feet until dark. One of the band’s many fans was Congressman Adam Schiff, who stopped by to wish everyone a happy 4th of July. The band played its version of the Bad Company hit, “It’s Alright Now,” which is the Stanford University’s fight song – Schiff’s alma mater.

Steve Goldsworthy, CVFA president, said this year’s event was successful and for the most part followed the same template used since the celebration began seven years ago.

Each year, the association honors those who have served and are serving in the military. In the past, they would have one service person speak from the podium.

“This year we did something different,” Goldsworthy said. “We invited a veteran who served in each war [and conflict] from World War II.”

Something else that was a little different this year occurred behind the scenes. Haluki Sadahiro, director of production management for Panasonic, used the Crescenta Valley fireworks as a testing ground for two cameras.

“We take new equipment and test it out,” Sadahiro said.

On the 4th, Sadahiro was testing the Arri Alexa XT and the Sony F55 motion picture cameras.

“We have a potential problem when we get near large explosions with digital cameras,” he said. Digital cameras in general, not just the two tested, have reported problems with explosions. It is the concussion of the explosion that apparently affects the digital camera performance.

“The sound [from an explosion] is a gigantic wave. When you have a large source, you feel it in your chest. The same concussion [affects] the camera,” he said.

He added the problem is only a “rumor” although he had noticed cameras’ troubles in the past.

What better place to find out if there really are issues with explosions than at a fireworks show?

“This was a great opportunity,” he said.

Sadahiro had a friend who worked on the fireworks crew with lead pyrotechnician Robert “Hutch” Hutchins. He took advantage of the opportunity and brought his cameras, placing them about 25 feet from the fireworks tube.

“That is the closest we would be to any kind of explosion on [a movie set],” he said. The test was to see if the digital cameras were affected by the concussion of the explosion. Results have not yet been released.

The fireworks display and overall celebration, all in all, was another small town success.

“Except for a few glitches, everything went well. There were no incidents, which is a testament to the type of community we live in,” Goldsworthy said.

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  Charly Shelton, Dan HOLM