Andrew Huston came to Boom City looking for a blast.

Steven Mascorella (left) looks at a set of bottle rockets while Andrew Huston (right) looks at the vendor. Photo: Celeste Flint / seattlepi.com

A trip to Boom City before the Fourth of July used to be a family tradition, Huston said. But now that he has outgrown his family's Independence Day celebration, heading to Boom City to buy fireworks has become a tradition Huston can share with friends.

Located on the Tulalip Reservation, the "city" is actually a marketplace full of more than 150 sturdy wood stalls, where enterprising locals have been selling roman candles and more since the 1970s. A tradition for customers like Huston, Boom City is also a family affair for the Tulalip people who work its stalls.

Children, friends and acquaintances help run the stalls. On the Fourth, everyone puts on a communal fireworks show.

"They bring a wagon out and everybody donates their best firework," said Melodie Tsoodle. This year, she said, there will also be a moment of silence in honor of the late Michael Lee Joseph.

Joseph's father, Howard Joseph, has been selling fireworks since 1971, and was one of the first to sell at Boom City.

According to Joseph, who is also a school counselor in the Marysville district, Boom City is careful to open after Marysville schools close for summer break. That way, none of the kids skip classes in order to spend all day with their families selling fireworks.

It's one of the few times in the year families in the tribe are able to see each other.

"It's a really nice time to be able to visit with tribal members," he said.

But Boom City hasn't always been such a big event, Joseph said. When the Tulalip tribe was first allowed to sell fireworks, people would line up their cars along a popular road and sell from the trunks.

Eventually, the reservation decided it would be safer to lease out some land. Boom City began with two booths and grew exponentially to its 154 booths today, Joseph said.

According to Roger Williams, who works at the stand of his friend Dennis Proo, Boom City moved in 1999 from a site farther away from the freeway to its present location. To gain a stand at Boom City, sellers buy permits, and then hold a lottery for a stand number. So the location of a stand, but not usually its name, changes from year to year.

Nate Black and Roger Williams display some fireworks at Boom City. Photo: Lia Hardin / seattlepi.com

Williams works at stall 136, known by the suggestive name "Boom Boom Longtime."

And the hot items this year go by the equally suggestive names of "Excalibur," "Bigger than Yours" and "Wild Stallion," among others.

"These are the huge bangs you're hearing in back," said Skipper Jones of a firework called the Coconut Tree. "They really spread out and give you a lot of color and bang."

But Joseph emphasized it's not just about the big bangs. It's important, he said, to have a variety of big and little fireworks, so there is always something for everyone.

Huston and his friends, however, weren't looking for sparklers.

What, then were they after?

"Stuff that's loud," Huston said.

This report was the joint work of Celeste Flint and Lia Hardin.

Want more on fireworks? Check out the P-I's stories here, here and here.