The Fuse Is Lit for Fireworks Spectacular

“Oh, say, can you see. . . .?” You betcha. And you can hear too, thanks to Rick Leibert and his National Fireworks Ensemble--an emotional overload wedding siss-boom to symphony, rock to rocket.

Latest of the Leibert spectaculars will be “Sky Blast ‘88,” an “aerial ballet” of fireworks synchronized to a sound track of popular music broadcast by KPWR (106-FM) and scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Sunday over the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

“Just grab your radio and find a spot on the Long Beach shoreline,” says the ensemble’s Lee Wade. Best of all, it’s free--”a gift (of KPWR) to the community for the entire family; our way of saying thanks,” says the station’s Paul Sansone. (There’s a post-boom dance party inside the Spruce Goose Dome too, but this part of the program costs. Don’t worry about it; it’s sold out anyway.)

There remains, of course, the universal appeal of fireworks, an appeal explained by Rick Leibert, head of the Fireworks Ensemble, as “the light, the fire, mainly the power .” Leibert’s displays (this one will last for 22 minutes) have played worldwide, drawing the traditional “ahhhhs” from some of the globe’s toughest audiences.

He comes by his talents naturally: Dad was the man who boomed out the big notes from Radio City Music Hall’s legendary “mighty Wurlitzer.” Mom? She was--what else?--a Rockette.