Ken Goosen has goose bumps as he pilots his car toward Calgary because he’s headed toward his dream job, which stirred him as a child and will soon allow him to, once again, set the sky on fire. To music.

“Sorry, I’ve got to say it -- my job’s a blast,” says Goosen, who as associate producer of summertime GlobalFest, oversees an international competition of pyrotechnicians battling for supremacy. Their expertly timed fireworks explode to music.

“About twelve years ago, I was asked through a friend of mine to see if I’d want to assist in a fireworks presentation in Kananaskis,” he adds. “Like a little boy, I jumped at it, because every little boy likes fireworks.”

Globalfest runs in Calgary Aug. 11-23, 2008. Find travel packages for Alberta attractions and destinations that will get you close to the action. For more about fires in the sky, read on.

Bill Gates, the Kennedys and Calgary Stampede

Goosen has helped to produce fireworks shows to wow the Kennedys at Cape Cod (it was a private get-together for the family and friends), Bill Gates in Redmond, Washington, and closer to home, the Calgary Stampede, the ‘Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth’ which runs every July.

There will be a U.S. team competing in Calgary this year, along with teams from China, Spain, and Canada.

There are few places in North America where you can see these kinds of fireworks competitions, and what makes the Calgary experience distinct is the multiculturalism that is woven into the events, activities and attractions.

There are cultural pavilions throughout the grounds, where you can sample jerk chicken from the Caribbean or perogies from the Ukraine or East Indian curries and much more. You can also attend a GlobalFest film festival and a forum on human rights and affordable housing.

The Rise of Pyrotechnics

When Goosen started working with pyrotechnical shows more than 10 years ago, he was much closer to the action of actually blowing the fireworks skyward. The technology has evolved as shows have grown, so that now the artists use electronics and computers to control the fireworks and the music.

“Back then you could apprentice and do ‘hand light shows’ where you were lighting the fireworks and they were right in front of you, and then right up in the sky,” he says. “But I learned exactly how these explosive devices worked and how dangerous they can be. You don’t take danger foolishly.”

So he went through his apprenticeship and got his license through a federal government division that regulates and legislates the industry. There is a graduated process for doing bigger and bigger shows.

Have a Blast

“Now, it’s to the point where with GlobalFest we have to have the most experienced people working with us, because we are using shells up to sixteen inches in diameter, which are massive,” says Goosen. “You need to have a huge fallout zone and we have that with this festival.”

“These shows are run to a hundredth of a second,” he adds. “Syncing the fireworks to the music is a science and an art. You need to use electronics and computers. Sound doesn’t travel as fast as light, you’ve got to coordinate it all.”

Other Destinations, Activities

Driving toward the city, Goosen says he hopes anyone who visits Calgary for the festival will get out and explore everything that’s nearby, including the Rockies, the Royal Tyrrell Museum,  and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, among other destinations. “We want people coming here to realize that aside from GlobalFest there are all these other things to do,” he says.

Symphony Under the Sky

If you head north of Calgary to the city of Edmonton, you’ll find The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra ending the summer with a bang during its Symphony Under the Sky festival. Held in Hawrelak Park’s Heritage Amphitheatre for five days, the orchestra performs works by different composers and it all culminates with a rendition of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, accompanied by cannons of the Royal Canadian Artillery.

Enjoy Fire in the Sky

Often referred to as a fire in the sky, the Northern Lights are a natural spectacle that you can view with tours in and around Fort McMurray in Alberta’s North country.
Alta-Can Aurora Tours is one of the outfitters and it can give you a specialized glimpse of the lights with an emphasis on photography and interpretation by experts.