List of Feasts in Malta & Gozo JUNE 2013

[laquil]

Hi Guys as every one knows the big season of fireworks in Malta will start from next Month, please find down below a list of june 2013 i will place which ones which make good fireworks shows.

02 June The Annunciation Ħal Tarxien (Good Fireworks)

02 June Corpus Christi Rabat

02 June Corpus Christi\ Għasri (Gozo)

02 June St Joseph Ħal Għaxaq (Good Fireworks)

02 June St Augustine Valletta

03 June Our Lady of Fatima Gwardamanga

09 June St Anthony Għajnsielem (Gozo)

09 June St Philip Ħaż- Żebbuġ (Good Fireworks)

16 June Our Lady of the Lily Mqabba (Good Fireworks)

16 June Sacred Heart of Jesus Fontana (Gozo)

16June St Catherine Żejtun (Postponed)

22 June Our Lady of Pinu Ta’ Pinu (Gozo)

23 June Our Lady of Lourdes Qrendi (Good Fireworks)


23 June St John the Baptist Xewkija (Gozo)

29 June St Peter and St. Paul Mdina

29 June St Peter and St. Paul Nadur (Gozo) (Good Fireworks)

30 June St Nicholas Siġġiewi (Good Fireworks)

30 June St George Ħal Qormi (Good Fireworks)

30 June Sacred Heart of Mary Burmarrad

[smilli]

Pff that's a busy month!
How many are you going to visit Laquil?

[laquil]

2 june ghaxaq and tarxien they are next to each other i see them both then 9 june zebbug 16 june mqabba 23 june the one and only qrendi
29 june gozo 30 june siggiwi and qormi next to each other i see them both by the way july is much more busy i will post them last week end Lourdes we have tested those berraq they went ok waiting for the show i will defiantly post the show if it is possible we will try to
transmit it live on the net we shall see what we can do

[laquil]

i told you smilli in summer Malta is busy with fireworks every day they have started this week because put this in your mind that every feast they spend one week of fireworks from sunday to sunday day and night fireworks none stop they will start at 8:00Am till 9:00am then they will start agin in 12:oo Noon till 1:PM then from 6:00pm till Midnight even 1:00am in the morning friday sturday sunday whole day from this week till end of October none stop fireworks the whole island will be in a feast to much alcohol and fireworks

[displayfireworks1]

The winning competitor grabs the final flag as he slips off the "gostra", a pole covered in grease, during the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, outside Valletta August 26, 2012. In the traditional "gostra", a game stretching back to the Middle Ages, young men and women have to make their way to the top and try to uproot one of the flags to win prizes. From May to September in Malta, there is hardly any weekend when a town or a village is not celebrating the feast of its patron saint or other saints revered in different churches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmVE9H3Jah8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qptGCeL5kHA
http://d3.yimg.com/sr/img/1/c8b69bab-cd7c-317c-94a7-258963f497da
http://d4.yimg.com/sr/img/1/fbe30381-8f49-3794-8815-93998ed41c07
http://d1.yimg.com/sr/img/1/24a6fb5b-dad8-3438-8f5e-29af17821681

[displayfireworks1]

Laquil
This may be an old video do you know what caused this accident.
Accident at St Gregory's Fireworks, Sliema, Malta 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPDwCakriDw

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwwpgflickrcom/3893332829/

[smilli]

2 june ghaxaq and tarxien they are next to each other i see them both then 9 june zebbug 16 june mqabba 23 june the one and only qrendi
29 june gozo 30 june siggiwi and qormi next to each other i see them both by the way july is much more busy i will post them last week end Lourdes we have tested those berraq they went ok waiting for the show i will defiantly post the show if it is possible we will try to
transmit it live on the net we shall see what we can do

Hehe so it's going to be a busy month for you, have fun!
Looking forward to the movies of the festas, Lourdes especially!

[laquil]

First of all the Gostra the Msida are very famous in Malta for it, i thing this was spread in the old days towards the island
i thing it goes back in the 1500 when they use to have the dockyard in Vittoriosa and the knights galleons ships and they use to have the mast
placed in the water and it kept on going till today

regarding that indecent the quick match was totally defective and it went into a a big shock

i just came from Ghaxaq they are going to give us a surprise for the daylight fireworks may me they have invented something new
we shall see Sunday evening.

Tarxien today they went not bad but we have to see what they are going to give us on Saturday nigh show we have to see the two villages
competing which each other.

[laquil]

tarxien promo 2013


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3m91kqFbEs

[laquil]

St Joseph promo 2013


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEhSU_oyzzw

[laquil]

st' joseph beraq first sunday 2013


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=027FKGcuULE

[laquil]

st joseph ghaxaq


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIxPF09oWSg

[laquil]

This video shows what they are going to fire in the feast during this week


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq73HZplLm4

[smilli]

Thanks for all the videos Laquil. 25 minutes of daylight beraq haha, total maddness:D
Can you tell me what the numbers on the finished shell means, i see every shell has a different number written on it.
Nice angry bird shells haha!

[laquil]

Tarxien 2013 the night show for you smilli enjoy the show of beraq


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZPaw9UM2tc

[laquil]

tarxien daylight fireworks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkwFz-7xB8g

[laquil]

St Joseph Ghaxaq 2013


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6GILn9_3xc

[laquil]

Sunday Night at Ghaxaq there was an incident with fireworks
Monday, June 3, 2013, 12:38
Fireworks official explains how petard burst prematurely

The secretary of St Joseph Band Club of Ghaxaq has explained how an enthusiast was injured yesterday while letting off fireworks for the village feast.

Reno Busuttil said that the accident happened just after 9.30pm when George Farrugia, 47, was about to fire a firework.

He placed the firework into the firing tube which had been used several times. For some reason, the firework then burst prematurely on the ground.

Mr Farrugia suffered extensive burns to his right arm but surgeons managed to save it for him during emergency surgery.

He is now recovering well.

Mr Farrugia holds a licence to let off fireworks and had been doing so for some 20 years.

As a sign of respect, the fireworks programme was stopped after the incident and the late evening band march was called off.

Today's the (xalata) this is the day after the feast all the village goes to the beach for celebrating but was also cancelled.

[laquil]

A fireworks explosion in an alley at Wenzu Dalli Street, Ghaxaq, left a pensioner suffering from grievous injuries.

The police were informed by the health authorities that at around 12.15pm, an ambulance was dispatched to an address in Ghaxaq and a 69-year-old man was being treated at Mater Dei Hospital.

Preliminary investigations lead the police to believe that the man was injured when a small-sized firework, known as Berqa, exploded in his vicinity.

The man who resides in Ghaxaq is not in danger of loss of life.

[laquil]

George Farrugia, 47, resident in Wied il-Ghajn is suffering from serious injuries after an incident that happened during the feast in Hal Ghaxaq.

It was reported that even though he is suffering from serious injuries he is not in a grevious condition.

The incident took place on Sunday night around 22.00h, when during the feast of St Joseph in Hal Ghaxaq many were entertaining themselves with the view of the fireworks when all of a sudden it stopped.

It was reported that during when the fireworks were being lit, Mr. Farrugia had placed the firework in the same tube as the others were when it exploded prematurely in his hand.

Medical assistance was called on the place where he was taken urgently to hospital. Surgeons reported that Mr. Farrugia has suffered serious injuries in his right hand but they had managed to save his arm during the emergency surgery.

As a sign of respect after the incident, the fireworks program was stopped and also the late evening band march and the xalata (pleasure outing near the sea) was called off.

[displayfireworks1]

I say this respectfully that in 2010 Malta was second only to China for fireworks fatalities.
..
The safety record of Malta’s fireworks factories is “shocking”, a report commissioned after a deadly blast in 2010 notes. But the increasing workload pyrotechnicians face may be pressuring them into being less cautious.

If Maltese fireworks factories shared the safety record of their British counterparts, accidents in Malta would only happen roughly once every 250 years, the government-commissioned report reveals.

Furthermore, the number of accidents and deaths at fireworks factories was on an upward trend, and this trend was likely to continue if certain issues are not addressed. This includes factories’ increasing workload, which put pyrotechnicians – who are practically all volunteers – under increasing pressure.

A board of inquiry – made up of university professors Alfred Vella and Victor Axiak, chemistry teacher Servolo Delicata and Malta Pyrotechnic Association secretary Joseph Theuma – was appointed on 6 September, 2010, a day after an explosion at a fireworks factory in Għarb which claimed six lives. It was tasked with identifying factors which could have caused these accidents and to issue recommendations aimed at increasing safety.

Nine people had been killed in accidents related to the manufacture of fireworks that year, making it the deadliest on record. The next two deadliest years were 2007 and 2005. The report notes that an increase in accidents, injuries and deaths which has taken place since 1981 is statistically significant.

The report’s authors also observe that a year characterised by a high number of accidents is typically followed by a year when incidents are far less frequent. In fact, no deaths were registered in 2006, 2008 and last year.

The board concludes that the trend effectively rules out any issue caused by the quality of chemicals used, as this would not vary so dramatically with such regularity. On the other hand, it suggested that those involved in the production of fireworks became more cautious following serious accidents, only for things to return to normal after a year or two.

“It appears that experience has not been a teacher,” the board writes in its report.

The main cause of accidents was the milling and granulation of gunpowder. But the report indicates that pyrotechnicians were well aware of the risks and took more precautions during the process, and just one person died in the 16 accidents which ensued.

The most deadly processes were mixing chemicals for colour fireworks displays, fuelling lance fireworks and charging colour fountain fireworks with gunpowder, the board discovered.

The inquiry also involved interviewing people involved in fireworks manufacture in a bid to determine their concerns.

The main problem identified appeared to be the increasing workload that pyrotechnicians faced. The number of factories in Malta is actually declining slowly, as some factories are not being rebuilt after an explosion, but the demand for their work is increasing, particularly from Gozo.

The report stresses the need to ensure that the number of fireworks factories is enough to meet demand, although it stops short of directly calling for the construction of more.

The board also noted that pique between fireworks factories – and at times, even within them – was adding to the pressure, a situation not helped by fireworks competitions. Rivalry could also be pushing fireworks factories to experiment with new mixtures which would lead to impressive displays, further adding to the danger.

Several pyrotechnicians lamented that the distribution of potassium nitrate by the Armed Forces of Malta was taking place too late, thus adding to time constraints. The AFM stores potassium nitrate and potassium chlorate – two volatile compounds used in firework manufacture – itself, and distributes it to factories on a quota basis.

As for potassium chlorate itself, the board believes that it should be phased out, replaced with the safer potassium perchlorate after pyrotechnicians receive the necessary training. The report notes that certain uses of the chemical – including mixing it with aluminium and other metals – have already been banned in other EU countries, and recommends immediately banning such practices.

To some extent, potassium perchlorate is already being used locally, although potassium chlorate is generally preferred because it is roughly a third cheaper. The board is adamant that the added expense is justifiable, in light of the safety concerns.

However, it also points out that the introduction of potassium perchlorate on its own may have actually added to the danger, rather than decreased it, as it is not yet limited by quota as the other substances are. This should also be addressed, the board believes.

Most pyrotechnicians have no scientific background, and the board suggests that they should be forced – and helped – to test the sensitivity of the chemical reactions they would use, to avoid the use of mixtures which are too volatile.

It also recommends setting up a well-equipped specialised centre to carry out these tests, as well as to advice manufacturers, possibly through a joint venture involving the government, insurance companies and the pyrotechnics association.

The centre would take over the Fireworks Inspectorate’s educational role, thus allowing it to focus solely on enforcement. The inspectorate should be given sufficient resources to do so, and should be staffed with people who have no potential conflict of interest, the report suggests.

The board also suggests leadership training for fireworks factory licensees, to enable them to keep a tighter rein on the factory. Their inquiry revealed that on a number of occasions, the police had to be called as people within the factory would not obey their orders.

[smilli]

Movies are good, seems it's a lot off good fireworks in Hal-Ghaxaq!
That is some sad news, that's the risk u have to take to lite it though.
Thanks for the article Dave.

[laquil]

hi displayfireworks1, you are right many band clubs has applied for new premises to make there new firework factory but Government did not issued the license yet to have more fireworks factory around Malta and it is truth there is a workload and that's why we need more other wise we can't keep on going like this hopefully we are going to have a new legislation is in our laws for the fireworks safety is going the primary
issue we can't keep on going firing fireworks with out any safety as you can see above in that video of Tarxien they are risking to much
when the lit the fireworks especial when they fire to much from one mortar some time they forget to clean the mortar before they fire and
probably some paper they will still be in the mortar and some of them even they will be on fire well some times a bit of carelessness
and also due to work load because let explain some thing here for those who does not know what happen this week

In Ghaxaq there are two fire works factory one for St Joseph and the other is for St'Mary and they are very rivals to each other
so what happen Tarxien and Ghaxaq both they came on the same day and the pity is that Tarxien pyro technician they work
their fireworks at St"Mary fireworks of Ghaxaq so last week there was some sort of competition going on and even the amount they fire some times it exaggerate a bit that's why the government is making a new law to control a bit of the fireworks here we spend much more money fireworks then on food in our island we have to calm down but since they invented the new system with to fire fireworks with fire-one and merlin to make big shows you need to work more to fill up the mortars with fireworks there fore as you will see from your own eyes we don't have the machinery to make max productions every thing is made by hand and there so much you can do we can have situations
were some pyro technicians are sleeping in the factory due to workload so that concluded every thing they have been promising us this new legislation 6 years now nothing will happen until a new accident comes today in the local papers i read that they are going to lunch the new law but i can assure you that until 4 years time from today we don't hear nothing now in Malta the season of fireworks started and every year we hear of something i hope that we don't we shall wait and see