Fantastic fireworks at Town Center

By Mike Roberts | Village Life staff writer
Village Life photo by Bill Grava
July 06, 2010

Tony Mansour knows how to throw a party. The El Dorado Hills Town Center magnate called El Dorado Hills’ first-ever Independence Day Fireworks Jubilee “a dream come true.” 
     He estimated that 20,000 people were in and around Town Center on the perfect Saturday for a day of family fun with a pyrotechnic exclamation point.
     As the sun dipped below the western horizon Channel 13 weatherman Dave Bender, who emceed the event from the third floor balcony of the New Orleans building, promised a small town experience to a crowd rapidly becoming the size of one.
    Pyro Spectaculars, El Dorado County’s own fireworks company, didn’t disappoint. At 9:30, the sky above Town Center exploded with bursts of red, white and blue. The crowd groaned in appreciation. 

    Village Life correspondents Jordan and Jillian Hayes, ages 6 and 8, had a lakeside seat and reported that the show was “really, really cool,” said Jordan. Jillian expounded, “The tall ones with the pink circles were the very best.”
    There you have it.
    The turnout for the freshman-fete was particularly impressive because nearby Cameron Park and Folsom had competing, established fireworks celebrations.
    By mid afternoon, families were already streaming into Town Center to secure a good spot.
    By 9 p.m. Town Center was a sea of humanity. The patios and lawns around the twin lakes were a sea of blankets and low-back chairs. To the east, the Lakehills Church hillside provided an aerial view for hundreds. But there were no bad seats in Tony’s house Saturday.
    The fun kicked off in the afternoon with on the lower boulevard, where southern rockers “Hired Guns,” provided the soundtrack to a “Badge to Badge” chili cookoff won by chefs Craig Therkildsen and Kevin House of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, with culinary consultation from Western Sign President Dave Brazelton.
    At Theater Plaza a boy named Sue that looked a lot - OK maybe a little - like Johnny Cash crooned the Man in Black’s greatest hits.
    Anchoring the day’s entertainment was Mother Mayhem, who kept Steven Young Amphitheater rocking all evening.
    Town Center businesses were buzzing all day. At Interior Elements, the recently opened design and consignment store, owner Lisa Ingram reported her own pyrotechnics at the cash register. “It’s been a phenomenal day,” she understated.
    Hot doggery Ruffhaus, Town Center’s newest business and most affordable eatery, delivered hundreds of creatively loaded hot dogs on their very first day in business. “So far so good,” reported a harried Charles Knight from behind the cash register.
    Andy Wilson stood outside his Signal Service store late in the afternoon greeting passers-by and ogling the dogs coming out of Ruffhaus next door. He credited the Mansour Company, which now includes his former Marketing Director Natalie Buerki, for making the jubilee happen.
    El Dorado Hills Community Services District Director Tony Rogozinski was also on the boulevard with his family. “This is the fiber of what this place is all about,” he said, “families and young kids coming out and enjoying each other.”
    Rogozinski ran into his friends Larry and Joyce Johnson from Folsom. “Last year we took in Folsom’s show,” said Larry, “but we heard this was the place to be this year.”
    Jerkman Mark Birch reported brisk sales of his alligator jerky, “swamp raised with no MSG.” Yes, it tasted vaguely like chicken, which only partially explains why the wait for a table at Bistro 33 was an hour and a half by 7 p.m.
    The upper boulevard was filled with bounce houses and kids activities, all coordinated by the CSD and Rotary with help from a platoon of volunteers, including Girl Scouts and El Dorado Hills seniors.
    Vision Coalition Director DJ Peterson was everywhere, decked out in red, white and blue sequins like a patriotic Elvis, minus the hair. His wife Judy, aka “Ponytails” the patriotic clown, wore a coordinating costume as Mrs. Uncle Sam. The pair engaged young and old all day long with face-painting, card tricks and theatrics.
    Peterson loved what was happening around him. “This community needs this,” he said. “We should all thank Tony Mansour and the Town Center Association.”
    At 7:30 p.m. there were still a couple open rooms at the Holiday Inn, but the front desk staff anticipated them filling up as the evening wound down.
    El Dorado Hills Fire Chief Brian Veerkamp had the authority to pull the plug on the fireworks if anything went awry. At T-minus 30 minutes, with Bender on the loudspeaker working the crowd in to fireworks feeding frenzy, he thankfully reported that all systems were go.
   There were no incidents of consequence all day.
   The event also marked the first time the entire Town Center was wired for sound. Mark and Carey Thompson of Clarity Audio strung 8,000 feet of cable between speakers from Theater Plaza all the way to the lower boulevard. The system delivered Bender’s pep talk and carried a patriotic soundtrack during the fireworks
    At a VIP sponsor party held atop the New Orleans building Tony Mansour was ebullient. “I’ve dreamed about for a long time, and now it’s a reality,” he said. “Dreams really do come true.”
    Louis Mansour was all smiles. “This is what we designed all this for,” he said. “It’s kind of like Marti Gras.”
    District 10 Assemblywoman Alyson Huber and her husband Tim, a local attorney, were in a celebratory mood. “This is one more way to celebrate the growth of this community,” she said.
    Many in the appreciative crowd lingered after the fireworks, savoring the moment and letting the traffic settle down. Others scurried to their cars trying to beat it.
    Tony Mansour credited the day’s success to his recently assembled marketing team, headed by Jamie McDaniels and Natalie Buerki. “Those two can do anything they want,” he said. “From now on I’m just going to sit back and watch.”
    Like that’s gonna happen.