Western Pyrotechnic Association · Since 1989
We light up the desert sky.
A club of builders, chemists, display operators and families who love fireworks. Learn from the best at Western WinterBlast® and DO-IT, then shoot what you made.
Two Events, One Obsession
Where the club comes together
Five days of seminars, hands-on workshops, open shooting and night shows in the desert, twice a year.
Feb 10–14, 2027 · Lake Havasu
Western WinterBlast
The premier pyro gathering of the winter: seminars, Class C and B shooting, vendors, and public shows over the Colorado River.
Explore Western WinterBlast
September · Hawthorne
DO-IT
Build all day, shoot all night. A manufacturing conference where members make and fire their own product.
Explore DO-IT115
sessions at the last Western WinterBlast
42 seminars and workshops, plus shoots, displays and socials.
Browse the Program
See every session
Western WinterBlast 2027 scheduleLearn It, Build It, Shoot It
From the last Western WinterBlast program
Building the Boom - A Day in the Life of Crafting A Sky Bound Spectacle
Cremora Fireballs
Jackie Whedby-Mattingly Memorial Set Piece Construction
PGI Shooter Certification Course
Transitioning from Hand Firing to Electric Firing
Public Display Operator Roundtable: Tips, Tools, and Best Practices
The Club
More than a fireworks show
Membership
Find your people
Members attend Western WinterBlast and DO-IT, shoot on the line, take workshops, and watch every Tech Talk.
Membership options
Pyro Tech Talks
47 talks in the library
Chemistry, construction, choreography and history from the people who do it, recorded for members.
Browse the library37
years of WPA
Founded in 1989 by enthusiasts who wanted a West Coast club in the spirit of the PGI.
PIT Crew
Pyros in Training
Supervised, hands-on programs for the next generation.
About
Who we are
Our storyFrom the Community
Fresh from the field
Pictures members have shared from our events.
Presenters
Learn from people who've done it for decades
Chemists, display operators, manufacturers and historians teach at every event.
Stephen Yoss, Jr
John Steinberg MD
Jesse Williams
Zachary Gilbert
Aurora Tershel
Darrell Fiss
Matthew Nubbe
Precision Fireworks, LLC / Precision Drones, Inc.
PyroCrate Fireworks
Leo and Silas Covarrubias
Gina Papini
Vijay Mepani
Dennis Miele
Michael Tockstein
Mike Garrett
Tom Perigrin
Daniel Suttkus
Invention Incarnate
News and Blog
From the newsletter
Don Wackford - One of the greats - Obituary
WPA and PGI member Donald Eugene Wackford passed away at age 87 on August 16, 2026 at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, CA.
DO-IT 2026: A new approach
DO-IT 2026 provided new challenges for many attendees, due to requirements that all energetic product be made on-site, unless they held...
Do-it 2025 at Americas Arsenal of Democracy Hawthorne NV
You have to admit, we've had a lot of fun at do-it over the years. Despite all the fears, despite all the tears. The dog food trucks...
Ready to light the fuse?
Membership gets you into Western WinterBlast and DO-IT, the shooting lines, workshops and the full Tech Talk library.