Welcome to a bold, new year… if you’re reading this you successfully made the transition with the rest of us. Hope the hangover isn’t too bad!

The biggest celebration in town happens at the Seattle Space Needle, and while photog Michael Brunk isn’t keen on on crowds or traffic, he does like fireworks!

With that in mind he wandered up to the West Seattle side of Elliott Bay just before midnight last night looking for a vantage point to make photos of Seattle greeting the New Year. We think you’ll enjoy the results.

You can click individual thumbnails to view the full-size photos.

Thanks to Ken and Darcy Peterson of Color Printing Systems, he had a front row seat for one of the best local shows around.

Here’s a gallery containing highlights from the evening’s pyrotechnic entertainment. You can click individual images to view them larger.

Click to Play Francis Zera’s Slideshow

We hope everyone out there in B-Town had a great, fun and safe 4th of July (and that everyone’s lending a hand today cleaning up all the detritus left behind…).

If you missed Monday night’s spectacular fireworks show at Burien’s Three Tree Point neighborhood – or simply want to re-live it – here’s a video shot from the north beach on the iPhone of Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer (to get the best viewing experience, select full-screen):

Untitled from Scott Schaefer on Vimeo.

We’ll be posting many more photos and videos of Burien’s gorgeous 4th of July soon, so be sure to check back often!

Fireworks are illegal within Burien city limits, so even if you’re ‘safe and sane’ and only setting off a Sparkler or one of those classic old ‘Snakes,’ that spew a strange mix of surely-toxic yet cool-looking chemicals, you’re still breaking the law buddy, so get to know the rules:

“We would like to remind residents that possession, storage, sale, handling, and use of fireworks are prohibited within the city limits of Burien,” reads a statement from the city. “As the 4th of July holiday weekend approaches, local fire departments urge families to enjoy fireworks the safer way by attending locally sanctioned fireworks shows presented by professionals who adhere to safety codes. Anyone caught with fireworks within the city limits will be issued a citation, and the fireworks they have in their possession will be confiscated.”

However, fireworks are legal in Normandy Park, so head on up First Ave South to the stand at the QFC; just be sure to set ‘em off before returning to B-Town.

NP does have some rules though:

• Fireworks may be discharged only during the times below:
  • June 28: Between noon and 11pm
  • June 29 through July 3rd: Between 9am and 11pm
  • July 4: Between 9am and Midnight
  • July 5th: Between 9am and 11pm
• Fireworks may be sold June 28 at noon through July 4 at 9 pm.
• No one under the age of 16 years may possess or discharge any fireworks unless directly supervised by a responsible adult.
• Discharge of fireworks is not allowed on City property including parks and parking lots.
• Discharge of fireworks on someone else’s property without the owner’s permission is not allowed.
• Always have a water bucket present, never relight “duds,” and never alter fireworks.

Discharge only legal fireworks (listed below):

• Sparkler
• Cylindrical Fountain
• Cone Fountain
• Illuminating Torch
• Wheel Ground Spinner
• Flitter Sparkler
• Mine/Shell Smoke Device
• Helicopter Aerial Spinner
• Roman Candle

Legal only on tribal land:

• Firecrackers, bottle rockets, missiles and rockets

Illegal everywhere:

• M-80’s and larger, dynamite and any improvised, homemade or altered explosive devices such as tennis balls or cherry bombs, firecrackers, salutes

For more info, contact the Normandy Park Police Department:

801 SW 174th Street
Normandy Park, WA 98166
206-248-7600

As for unincorporated King County:

• Fireworks may be discharged only on July 4 from 9 a.m. to midnight.
• Fireworks sales are legal beginning at Noon on June 28 until 11 p.m. and then daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. through July 4. No sales can occur after July 4.
• To purchase fireworks you must be at least 16 years of age with picture identification.

With less than a month until the 4th of July, the Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund is still in need of donations!

As you can see in the photo above (taken Monday, June 6th), this year’s goal is $24,000, but the total raised thus far is at $17,100 – Organizers still need to raise $6,900, or over 28% of the total required to fund this great community tradition.

If you’ve already donated, Organizers shout-out a huge “THANKS for your generosity!” in your direction.

If you haven’t, you can either do it online safely and securely by clicking here:

(Safely & Securely with a Credit Card)

Or by sending in a check made out to “Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund” to:

Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund
P.O. Box 385
Seahurst, WA 98062

This is a non-profit, all-volunteer based organization, and its sole mission is to help continue a great community tradition.

Money raised for this annual event will go towards fees for the professional pyrotechnics firm that puts on the show, as well as barge, tug, security, insurance, permit fees and dumpsters for the all-important 5th of July clean up.

Please note that you do NOT have to live in the neighborhood to donate – if you’ve ever enjoyed the display, or plan on enjoying it in the future (or you just dig fireworks and/or neighborhoods), please do your karma a favor by giving something – no donation is too small!

Organizers are also still open to Corporate Sponsors for this year’s festivities, and initial Sponsors include:

Key Bank (Burien branch)

Design In A Day

Safe Boats International

The Tin Room Bar

Highline Athletic Club

Seahurst Dental Design (Dr. Jim Coleman)

Gordon Derr, Attorneys At Law

The B-Town Blog (Media Sponsor)

If you’d like to join these locally-minded business leaders, click here to learn more about how you can become a Sponsor, email info@3treepoint.org, or call one of the Co-Chairs – Scott Schaefer or Laura Beth Peterson – directly at (206) 659-1282 anytime.

As May nears its gray, drizzly and at times way-too-cold end, it’s hard to believe that the 4th of July is just over a month away, which means we’re entering the final stretch of fundraising for Burien’s annual Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund.

As you can see in the photo above (taken Tuesday, May 31st), this year’s goal is $24,000, but the total raised thus far is only $12,500 – Organizers still need to raise $11,500, or nearly 48% of the total required to fund this great local tradition.

If you’ve already donated, Organizers shout-out a huge “THANKS for your generosity!” in your direction.

If you haven’t, you can either do it online safely and securely by clicking here:

(Safely & Securely with a Credit Card)

Or by sending in a check made out to “Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund” to:

Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund
P.O. Box 385
Seahurst, WA 98062

This is a non-profit, all-volunteer based organization, and its sole mission is to help continue a great community tradition.

Money raised for this annual event will go towards fees for the professional pyrotechnics firm that puts on the show, as well as barge, tug, security, insurance, permit fees and dumpsters for the all-important 5th of July clean up.

Please note that you do NOT have to live in the neighborhood to donate – if you’ve ever enjoyed the display, or plan on enjoying it in the future, please do your karma a favor by giving something – no donation is too small!

Organizers are also still open to Corporate Sponsors for this year’s festivities, and initial Sponsors include:

Key Bank (Burien branch)

Design In A Day

Safe Boats International

The Tin Room Bar

Highline Athletic Club

Seahurst Dental Design (Dr. Jim Coleman)

Gordon Derr, Attorneys At Law

The B-Town Blog (Media Sponsor)

If you’d like to join these locally-minded business leaders, click here to learn more about how you can become a Sponsor, email info@3treepoint.org, or call one of the Co-Chairs – Scott Schaefer or Laura Beth Peterson – directly at (206) 659-1282 anytime.

We’d like to shoot up a mortar full of exotic, colorful metals and gunpowder and watch as it explodes and spells out “W-E-L-C-O-M-E-!” in red, white and blue to our latest Advertiser – the Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund!

Each year, Burien’s Three Tree Point neighborhood puts on the best barge-based, high-altitude professional fireworks show in the city on the 4th of July.

This display is enjoyed by many area residents, but it can’t be continued without donations – this is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that must raise $24,000 to keep this local tradition alive.

That’s why, in the words of Uncle Sam…

…to help fund this great American community tradition!

“The Fireworks Fund needs $24,000 for this year’s event,” said Laura Beth Peterson, Co-Chair. “This includes fees for the professional pyrotechnics firm that puts on the show, as well as barge, tug, security, insurance, permit fees and dumpsters for the all-important 5th of July clean up.”

(Safely & Securely with a Credit Card)

To Donate to the fund, just click below for the level you want to donate at and you’ll be taken to our credit card processing partner Billing Revolution (thanks to 3TP resident Andy Kleitsch) to complete your transaction.

• $25 dollars
• $50 dollars
• $75 dollars
• $100 dollars
• $150 dollars
• *$175 dollars
• *$200 dollars
• *$250 dollars
• *$300 dollars
• *$500 dollars

* Donations of $175 and above will get you into the annual neighborhood Donor Party, set for Saturday, June 25th!

Also note that Organizers are still seeking Corporate Sponsors for this year’s festivities – click here to see the initial Sponsors, or to learn more about how you can become one.

Here are several videos shot over the years of this wonderful neighborhood tradition:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you drove on Maplewild Ave SW in Burien’s Three Tree Point neighborhood on this windy, drizzly and very brisk, un-springlike Monday (April 25th), you may have noticed some sure signs of summer going up – two of them in fact – for the Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund, which will stay up through the end of May:

Fireworks Fund Co-Chair Laura Beth Peterson helps Mike Keenan get the sign ready.

Laura Beth steadies it as Mike moves it into position.

Mike gets ready to climb the ladder as Laura Beth braces it.

The signs were put up by area resident Mike Keenan (wearing shorts), with help from Fireworks Fund Co-Chair Laura Beth Peterson (the glamorous blonde in the white jacket), and photographed by Co-Chair Scott Schaefer, urging residents to donate to the 2011 fund. This year’s goal is the same as last year –$24,000 – to put on the annual neighborhood tradition of a barge-based, high-altitude, professionally-produced fireworks show on the 4th of July. These monies go directly to fees for the professional pyrotechnics firm that puts on the show, as well as barge, tug, security, insurance, permit fees and dumpsters for the all-important 5th of July clean up.

If you’ve ever enjoyed this great, local tradition, now would be a great time to donate – just click on the button below to go to the Donate Page, where you can use your credit card safely and securely, thanks to 3TP resident Andy Kleitsch’s company, Billing Revoluton:

(Safely & Securely with a Credit Card)

Organizers are also still seeking Corporate Sponsors for this year’s festivities – click here to see the initial Sponsors, or to learn more about how you can become one. In return for generous donations, local businesses will receive excellent local marketing opportunities, including exposure on The B-Town Blog and the Fireworks Fund website www.3treepoint.org. Plus, it’s a great way for businesses to give back to their local customers. You can also download the following forms (all PDFs):

• Corporate Sponsorship Informational Letter
• Corporate Sponsorship Levels
• Commitment Form

The Fireworks Fund Donor Kickoff Party was held at the Tin Theater on April 9th, and the first Corporate Sponsors include:

• Key Bank (Burien Branch)
  
• Design In A Day (Liz Mounsey)
• Safe Boats (Scott Peterson)
• Seahurst Dental Design (Dr. Jim & Lynn Coleman)
• Gordon Derr, Attorneys at Law
• The Tin Room Bar

Here are some photos from the kickoff party, shot by Michael Brunk:

The Tin Theater lobby was all decked out for the 4th in red, white and blue at the April 9 Corporate Sponsor Kickoff Party.

Co-Chair Scott Schaefer makes sure his goofy, oversized 4th of July hat fits just right, as Co-Chair Laura Beth Peterson looks on.

Laura Beth proudly shows off one of the first Sponsor Commitment Forms, from Design In A Day.

Co-Chair Scott interviews another Scott – Peterson – of Safe Boats, another Corporate Sponsor. Peterson's company recently sold a high-speed boat to the Department of Homeland Security.

For more information on the Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund, or to donate online, please click here: www.3treepoint.org. You can also find them on Facebook here.

[DISCLOSURE: BTB Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer is serving as Co-Chair of the all-volunteer, non-profit Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund this year.]

REMINDER: The big Corporate Sponsor kickoff party for the Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund is SATURDAY, APRIL 9th, starting at 3pm at the Tin Theater (923 SW 152nd in Olde Burien), and all local business leaders who understand the value of helping their community are invited.

Local business leaders are invited to come enjoy FREE champagne, appetizers and a free screening of a “great American popcorn movie” in Burien’s finest HD cinema, recently named the #2 “Best Indie Theater” in KING5′s “Best of Western Washington” poll.

Jim Coleman, DDS and the Seahurst Dental Design Team are our first 2011 Corporate Sponsors!

This is the fourth year that Corporate Donors have been sought, and we’re happy to announce our first two Sponsors for 2011:

• Dr. Jim Coleman, DDS, of Seahurst Dental Design!
• Gordon Derr, Attorneys at Law

The Fireworks Fund needs $25,000 for this year’s event, which includes the fees of the professional pyrotechnics firm that puts on the show, as well as barge, tug, security, insurance, permit fees and dumpsters for the all-important 5th of July clean up. Corporate donors will help offset the costs, which are also made up by donations of area residents.

If you’re a local business person interested in learning how Sponsoring Burien’s best barge-based high-altitude fireworks show can help market your brand throughout this affluent community, click below (all are PDF files):

• Corporate Sponsorship Informational Letter
• Corporate Sponsorship Levels
• Commitment Form

Donation Levels available for local business include:

• $5,000 Platinum Sponsor
• $2,500 Gold Sponsor
• $1,000 Silver Sponsor
• $500 Community Sponsor

The Three Tree Point Fireworks Fund is a non-profit, all-volunteer based organization, and its sole mission is to help continue a great community tradition.

We hope to see many of our fellow local business people there – feel free to just show up at 3pm!