News Release

2008 Waterfront Blues Festival July 4 fireworks twice as large as any other display in Oregon                                   

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 9, 2008) – The 2008 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, will celebrate July 4th with a spectacular, display of fireworks, twice as large as any display in Oregon. The show starts at 10:05 p.m., after the evening’s final performance and the National Anthem.

The KINK.fm and Hoffman Construction Fireworks Show is presented by Portland Parks and Recreation.

Admission to the 2008 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, including the fireworks show, is a donation of $10 and two cans of nonperishable food. Every dollar donation enables Oregon Food Bank to collect and distribute about five pounds of food through its food distribution program.

As long as the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival has had fireworks, Western Display Fireworks has produced the display with Bob Gobet, company owner, as the lead pyrotechnician. Western Display Fireworks donates a portion of the cost of the fireworks show at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival. The three-generation company, located in Canby, Ore., originated in 1948 and has been producing fireworks shows for 58 years in the Northwest and around the United States. On July 4, 2008, the company will supply more than 250 fireworks displays throughout the country.

Western Display Fireworks will fire the 2008 firework display from two barges on the Willamette River: one north of the Hawthorne Bridge and one south of the Hawthorne Bridge. Western Display choreographs the show to the tempo of a 22-minute soundtrack produced and simulcast by KINK.fm.

About Oregon Food Bank: Oregon Food Bank is a nonprofit , charitable organization. It is the hub of the Oregon Food Network, a statewide network of 20 regional food banks and 919 hunger-relief programs, serving Oregon and Clark County, Wash.

About festival sponsors: The Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival is presented by First Tech Credit Union. Major sponsors include FedEx Freight, PacificSource Health Plans, iQ Credit Union, Daimler Truck Financial, Land Rover, The Oregonian A&E, KINK.fm and Travel Portland. Supporting sponsors include Burt’s Bees, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Miller Brewing Co., Henry Weinhard's, Deschutes Brewery, Beringer Wine, Snapple, Pepsi, Nutrisoda, Earth2o Water, Frito Lay Snacks, Yoshida Sauce, Mission Foods, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, NW Natural, FedEx Kinko’s, Impact Advertising, Edge Design, The Boeing Company, PGE, KBOO, OregonLive.com, Blues Revue, Music Millennium, Karolyn March, Guitar Center, Lions Foundation, Cascade Blues Association, Oregon Potters Association, Cascade Zydeco and Delta Music Experience.