Details:.................UPDATED June 18, 2013.
The free admission sign up sheet has started. See below in the June update. If you are bringing shells and need guns, please let us know so we can bring them for you.
***Please note: This is a private shoot for pyro enthusiasts and not a shoot designed or intended to be a public display. The public will be at the track for track activities but we are not shooting the fireworks for the public, they're for us.***
Events: Hand-made show of incredible multi-break cylinder shells and fancy ball shells.
Date: Labor Day weekend (Saturday Aug 31th, 2013) Rain date Sept 1.
Location: Brainard Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota, located about 2 hours north of Minneapolis
Link to BIR: BIR
Map: Map Link
Lodging: Camping space is available onsite or at nearby hotels
Hotel reservations: Brainerd Hotels right here
Contact Email: Lakeshoot2013@hotmail.com
Link to a lake shoot 1997, vintage clip: Click Here
>>News for June, 2013
It's been very busy this past month and a lot of work has gone into the Lakeshoot. We completed a site survey in May of the raceway and met with the track owner to measure distances. We have A LOT of room. We also were working on the permit to shoot the fireworks and can shoot from 7PM to midnight. There will be some open shooting as well as a junior pyros display for the kiddies.
BIR has an outside track that is a 3.5 mile loop surrounding the grounds. We are going to occupy about the back half of the space and have legal room to shoot shells to any size. The Funny car and dragster drag strip is in the front of the grounds where large grandstands can hold 10's of thousands of fans. We will be far, far off from them so there are no issues with distances and the public.
We are going to start the list of those who would like to attend the shoot and get into the track free of charge. The number of folks allowed on the list is limited. After that there will be a fee to get in. Normal charges are something like $35 per day so it's a great deal for us.
To get on the sign up sheet, email Carolyn Niesen.
Her email address is
italy605@hotmail.com
She will send you an email reply within 12 to 24 hrs. Your name will be on a list of attendees with free admission at the will-call office at the front gate. This will allow you free access for the entire Labor Day Weekend.
Brainerd is in the middle of a resort and lakes area. If you are staying in a hotel, you should really be making your reservation. There is a link to some of the hotels in the area at the top of the web page.
>>News for May, 2013
News for the past month: We have a line on some old-school oriental Mantsuna ball shells. There arn't too many of them left and those that are still tucked away in magazines don't get fired for your average shoot. We found a few big ones and plan to buy them for the Lakeshoot.
The waterfall project is done, thankfully. Working with large amounts of bright aluminum is not a fun task to say the least. Club members spent a long day mixing comp and filling 75 super-sized tubes for the waterfall. Other builders are still in their shops nights and weekends pounding away on their shells. I've heard that a builder from another club is bringing a few Maltese style multi-breaks and we look forward to seeing them.
Also, we must mention that BIR has asked us not to shoot shells with plastic casings. The plastic shards can cause problems for the race cars' tires. Even though we plan to do a full clean up, they just don't want the plastic.
>>News for April, 2013
March and April have been building months for the club builders. So far we have made or are making:
Hammer shells... Sun and Planets shells... Shell of shells...Multi-break report shells...75' Niagara Waterfall...multi-break crossette shells...numerous other multi-break shells...married comets, cavity comets, farfalla, draw-out shells. There are also rumors about flights of rockets with shell headings.
We have spent hundreds of hours on the finale which is close to being wrapped up allowing more time to continue with the large cylinder shells.
Experienced club and non-club members can bring fancy shells for the shoot. Experimental stuff can stay at home. Due to our insurance regs, non-club members will need to sign a guest liability waiver and cannot shoot live product since they are not covered. We are e-firing the shoot so there are no issues with handling the product anyway. However, we will have some open shooting too and that's where you will have to give your product to a member to shoot. Or better yet, join the NLP and eliminate this legal hurdle.
For members with minors, we are planning a junior pyro shoot too of class C items. More info will come out as time goes by.
Also, we are limiting rockets to 3/4" ID for safety reasons. This is a very large shoot site but there is also a very large public seating area for the drag strip race fans 1/4 mile away and we are not wanting to jeopardize our insurance. A call will go out for shells numbers and sizes later on so we can have guns for everyone. We have plenty right now.
>>News for February, 2013
We are well under way building shells for the shoot. 110 finale shells are made with another 150 to go. Builders are actively assembleing their work and shells are being designed and constructed as we speak.
Hotel reservations can be made on the link provided near the top of the page. The NLP is camping near the back of the track grounds in a circle-the-wagons style with campers, tents and of course, a large tent in the middle for food and beverage consumption. If you have and RV that needs full hook-up, you should call the track to reserve a site. This will not be at the NLP compound as the RV hook-up spaces are located at another part of the track grounds. We are supposed to have power at our compound. Call the BIR track for RV reservations at
1-866-444-4455
The raceway offers on and off sale alcohol, food vendors and a full restaurant. Bathrooms and showers are also on site. We are being offered access to the raceway and the events occurring during our stay. Trans-Am drag racing and muscle car racing occurs the same weekend so there should be plenty to do.
The shoot is Saturday evening with the rain date for Sunday. Members can arrive anytime but the club will be burying guns on Friday weather permitting. We will have breakfast and supper available for a few dollars per plate. More on this to come later.
Other highlights for the shoot include a 75' to 100 ' waterfall and a 16" round shell for the end of the finale.
>>News for December, 2012
The NLP is pleased to announce the return of the Lake shoot in 2013.
The colored history of the Lake shoot goes back a few decades. Once held annually near Brainerd, MN, it was a semi-private shoot of builders' fancy shells that surpassed any fireworks event in the country. Steel guns were buried by the dozen and the skies filled with multi-break cylinder shells, hand-crafted round shells, and mines shot from 12" guns. The last Lake shoot was held in about 2001.
Well, it's back! The Lake Shoot will be held on Saturday Aug 31st, 2013 (Labor Day weekend) at Brainerd International Raceway. Planning is still in the early stages as we work diligently to put the pieces together for the shoot. Our plan is to have open shooting of C and B items as well as junior pyro shooting. The highlight of the night is a member built show featuring nearly 100 hand-made fancy multi-break cylinder shells, large American-made round shells and a hand-made finale of nearly 200 shells built by the NLP. A special segment of 80 hand-made spider shells from 4" to 8" is already complete. Every steel gun the club has plus many donated steel guns will be used to put on a spectacular old-school Italian-American style show. We hope to display other rarely seen pieces like girandoles, wheels, and lance work.
Builders from the NLP and other clubs are invited to attend and donate fancy shells. This will be a private shoot for us, not the public.
Camping will be available on-site starting Friday and lasting through Sunday. There are also numerous hotels in the areas for those inclined. BIR is a very large venue with ample space for our pyro activities. The raceway offers on and off sale alcohol, food vendors and a full restaurant. Bathrooms and showers are also on site. We are being offered access to the raceway and the events occurring during our stay. Trans-Am drag racing and muscle car racing occurs the same weekend so there should be plenty to do. Our cost is only $10 per person per day and kids under 12 are free. Full hook-up camping spots will be available for $35 per day. Electrical hook-ups and primitive camping is also available at a lower cost. Final details should become available this winter.
The NLP is looking for dedicated volunteers to help with this event. We are also accepting cash donations to assist in the costs of the member-built show including purchasing Japanese shells and shells made from Professional American builders. We also need help with costs for gun transport, equipment, and misc. supplies. Any amount helps. The NLP builders are financing the materials to build the shells themselves.
We're still planning and discussing the event so stay tuned.
Contact Tom Niesen if you have any questions at
tjniesen (the at symbol) hotmail.com or use the email above.
(Enter "For Lake Shoot" in comments when donating via PayPal)
Check back for More Details & Updates...
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