Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild
Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild
Welcome to the official web site of the
Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild
About FPAG
Our Mission
Welcome to the official Florida Pyrotechnic Art’s Guild, Inc. (FPAG) website. We are a group of fireworks enthusiasts and professionals that practice and promote safety in fireworks, as well as safely building and displaying fireworks. Founded in 1991, our purpose, as stated in our club by-laws sums it up best:
“The purpose of the Guild shall be to promote and encourage safe, legal and artful pyrotechnic operation in Florida through training, demonstration and exchange of information.“
We meet monthly at various locations around the state to do just that: share information, demonstrate techniques and best practices, and to hang out with other pyrotechnic-minded people. Two meetings per year, one in the fall, and one in the spring, are family friendly festivals. Here you’ll find seminars offering just about anything within the pyro-realm including everything from display operator safety certification and basic show set up, to building rockets and multi-break shells. Of course there are always plenty of fireworks, both consumer and display class, displayed at those two festivals as well. Our class C vendors are some of the best, and always have incredible pricing for members.
If you’re interested in pyrotechnics, from watching, to shooting, to building, then we hope you will pursue joining our guild. We’re a varied mix of people from all walks of life that all share at least one important trait: a love of fireworks. You’re bound to find some great people and have fun doing it, and while you’re there, you may just see pyrotechnics that just can’t be seen anywhere else!
Where We Began
Waaaay back in the late 1900’s, it sounds so distant to say that doesn’t it? In 1991, a Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI) member wondered if he could get together all of the members that live in Florida and have an active club full of fireworks fun. Based on a paper copy of a membership list from PGI, he began pulling together like minded Floridians to form a fireworks club. As it turned out, Florida had some amazing pyrotechnic talent to pull from. Soon after forming, in August of 1992 at the annual PGI Festival, FPAG got into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest Pyrotechnically driven wheel ever created. Not bad for a group only a year in existence.
The Shows FPAG Built
With all of the generous talent here in Florida, our members get to enjoy hand-built shows. It’s even more fun if you join in and help. Not to worry if you’re green, there’s plenty to do, and no shortage of people to show you how to do it safely and properly. Just a few of the shows FPAG has built include:
1992 - We built the world's largest Catherine Wheel. It's in the Guinness Book of World Records!
1994 and 1996 – Large shows for the PGI conventions.
2002 – FPAG's ten year anniversary show – two years in the making - was spectacular!
2004 – First Maltese Segment. Nothing like it had been done in before in the US. Members built Maltese style shells for a year to get these big colorful beauties into the sky for everyone to see.
2008 – Fulcanelli Shell Segment. Members built classic Italian shells based on the Fulcanelli Articles from Pyrotechnica volumes IX and XI.
2009 – Maltese Show – The culmination of many years of testing and effort, and almost three years of building, this show was one of our greatest accomplishments. A work of art and now a thing of pyro legend.
2012 – PGI Battle of the Bands – We kicked their butts!
2017 – FPAG's 25th year anniversary show – we've already been working on it for over a year! Would you like to help?
FPAG In The Community
Early on, the club began providing the Opening Ceremony show for the Special Olympics Summer Games in Kissimmee which later moved to Tampa. FPAG was called back annually to do this event until the mid 00’s when Disney began hosting it (and providing the opening show). By then we were also doing an annual show for the kids at Camp Boggy Creek . Every July we head out to put on a show for seriously ill children. This is an introduction for many of our newest members to the world of commercial display set-up, but more importantly, the kids love it. Those kids have a pretty hard time of it, and we're all grateful to have the opportunity to make their summer that much better.
FPAG Around The World
One of my favorite things about this club has been the willingness of many of its members to travel. In the decade before my baby was born, I put some miles on my passport for Pyro purposes. There were 14 of us in Malta one year. What a wonderful place, and we have members who know it front to back, and friends of the club who live there. Here you can see pyrotechnic spectacles like you’ve never imagined. They really are incredible pyro’s there. Many of our members make nearly annual pilgrimages to this Mediterranean Pyro Paradise. Mexico is another favorite destination. There is a small town north of Mexico City that produces most of Mexcio’s Pyrotechnics. It’s call Tultepec. Imagine those fine folks having a festival that centers around Pyro, and you have quite the experience. Many years, a large contingent of FPAG members head there to experience the hospitality of Raffa and insanity of Dancing with the bulls. Spain’s Valencian Festival has been on my wish-list for years, and we have a few members who know this parade of pyro decadence like a second home. Of course, staying within the continental 48 gives you road trips to PGI, which can also take you to some crazy places right here in our own back yard.
NOTICE
Fireworks are inherently dangerous to both produce and use without proper          training and education.  The reader of this site is to assume          full responsibility for the application or misapplication of any and all          material contained within these pages.  While the information          presented here is believed to be correct and accurate, the Florida Pyrotechnic          Arts Guild, Inc. its Officers, members, and the staff of www.fpag.org disclaim          liability for any information contained herein.  The authors          of any material presented on www.fpag.org          assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions, and the responsibility          lies solely on the reader to make personal judgment regarding the use of the          information presented anywhere within this website.
Join FPAG
If you are interested in joining FPAG, please provide the information requested below. We will review your request and e-mail an application to you along with the locations of upcoming meetings. Dues for new members are $100 for the first calendar year and $60 for subsequent years. Dues are to be paid along with your application at your first meeting.
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I Agree
By clicking Request Application, you confirm that the above information is correct and you agree to the Terms and Conditions set out by the Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild.
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Terms & Conditions
"The purpose of the Guild shall be to promote and encourage safe, legal, and artful pyrotechnic operation in Florida through training, demonstration, and exchange of information."
The Guild will follow safety guidelines established by the Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild, Inc. and any applicable federal, state, and local laws.
The Guild will promote the professional development of it’s members by training in all aspects of safe pyrotechnic design, construction, and use, and to work toward a goal of interested members becoming certified as fireworks display operators by the Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild’s standards.
The Guild will serve as a clearinghouse for members in information exchange and technical assistance related to pyrotechnics.
The Guild will represent the interests of members involved in the pyrotechnic art in Florida.
Members are encouraged to attend safety training within one year of joining. Safety training (FPAG Safety Certification class or proof of equivalent training) is required before members are eligible to participate in Guild shoots with Class “B” Material.
All members are strongly encouraged to promote the art of pyrotechnics in a hand-on manner. Set-up and clean-up of events, displaying fireworks at Guild functions, and participating in seminars and workshops are some of the ways members show involvement.
All members are responsible for meeting all local, state, and federal manufacturing and storage laws and regulations. The Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild does not promote, encourage, or sanction any illegal activities. Participating in illegal activities related to pyrotechnics will result in being expelled from the guild.
Any member who is a prohibited person (without relief) may particate in all guild activites that are not specifically excluded by federal law.
After an application has been received, the applicant will be interviewed by at least two members of the membership committee. The interview is informal and is not meant to intimidate anyone. It can be done at almost any monthly meeting. Applicants will be asked general questions and their interest in pyrotechnics. The applicant will also have an opportunity to ask any questions they have about the Guild. The membership committee will then give it’s recommendation to the general membership, who will vote on acceptance or denial of the applicant.
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