NEW YORK —Scharff Weisberg helped New York City Lites light up spray from a venerable fireboat, the John J. Harvey, for a Hudson River spectacle celebrating the Fourth of July. The show, commissioned by Duchess County Tourism, was also part of Hudson 400, marking 400 years since Dutch explorer Henry Hudson sailed upriver. The John J. Harvey, one of the most powerful fireboats ever in service, was built in 1931 and has since been retired, although it was briefly reinstated on September 11, 2001. Although it’s a boat, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was also recently part of the Great River Day Flotilla of vessels sailing upriver on the Hudson from the Statue of Liberty to Albany.
“Duchess County Tourism wanted something unique before and after the fireworks display,” said Deke Hazirjian, owner and president of New York City Lites and the show’s lighting designer. “They asked me for some ideas. I had lit a waterspray in Cornwall, England once and saw that it was a great medium for lighting projection. So I thought the fireboat’s jets would be a good ‘surface’ for a light show that wrapped around the fireworks. The John J. Harvey’s seven massive sprays were more than I could have ever hoped for,” he added.
The fireboat positioned itself close to shore at the waterfront. Scharff Weisberg supplied four Vari*Lite VL3500 framing spot kits and eight VL3000 spot kits which Hazirjian used to project moving color patterns on the waterspray, effectively using the fireboat as the light show’s screen. Programmer Paul Sonnleitner programmed the lighting cues on a grandMA console.
“The show was really great and very well received; it was a light show very different from what people normally see,” said Josh Wachsman, New York City Lites’ general manager. “With colors and gobo patterns in the waterspray it really added a bonus to the fireworks display.”
“Scharff Weisberg was terrific to work with, especially on a holiday weekend when equipment can be hard to get and transport,” said Hazirjian. Wachsman agreed. “Scharff Weisberg was great helping with ideas and very flexible. Their equipment and service was all top notch.”
At New York City Lites, Eugene Meienhofer was the gaffer for the show and Jason Horn his assistant. Ben Rollins was project manager for Scharff Weisberg.
For more information, please visit www.scharffweisberg.com.
