Independence Eve Blast: the Tradition

Since I started a laser tagging group back in 2006, we've made an annual event that's unique in that there's really only one good time of year to do something like this.  When we first planned this event 6 years ago, we had no idea it would be so much fun that we'd look forward to it each year.  I'm talking about the "Independence Eve Blast", or "IEB" as some of our veteran players have come to call it.  This is a laser tag event that is scheduled just before July 4th, Independence Day (US) and takes advantage of this... explosive... holiday and the effect that it creates for a laser tag game at nightfall.

The park where we hold our regular summer season games lies in the center of a residential area.  These folks commonly go out and purchase fireworks (legal in this state) and light them off in celebration of Independence Day.  As rockets, balls of light, and other explosions light up the night sky, the park is illuminated in a war-like setting that is a real joy to play in.

This year marks the 7th time we've done this, and it's always something folks look forward to.  Most people also have the 4th of July off from work too, so it's usually one of our events that nearly everyone can come to!  This year is also likely to be the most "explosive" since Fireworks are now able to be legally sold at local stores for a limited time.  Because they're even MORE available and easy to get ahold of, I'm expecting this Tuesday's event to be very... explody.  Obviously, for safety reasons, we don't use fireworks in our actual games.  They're just going off overhead, as utilizing explosives and such during a game like this would be dangerous.  We've thought of using smoke bombs, but with the dry and hot conditions we've had, I don't want any fires getting started from a smoke bomb in some dry grass.  Safety first, kids!

It's also been part of the tradition to have a "Captain America" themed image for the Facebook event.  Every year I've found some kinda patriotic Captain America shot (this obviously goes back much further than the recent movies), but since I've actually got a Cap costume, I decided to take a little time to pose for this year's photo, featuring my beloved CTDYNE LTX.

Either way, celebrating this country's Independence has always been one of my favorite holidays in general.  Ever since we started this tagging tradition 7 years ago, it's been even more fun!  I also may have a bit of a surprise come July 3rd too, so keep it here for that!