As you’ve heard by now, the
inaugural Great Chicago Fire Festival ended up being anti-climactic. It
was the best-attended portion of the festival (whose day-time festivities
included crafts, food trucks and several small performances), but in basic terms,
the crowds really came out to see stuff get lit up. Who wouldn’t love a pyro parade! Thousands (me,
more importantly) braved the cold Saturday night to catch a glimpse of an
inferno on the river. That spark
never caught on, due to electrical problems, the precipitation that week,
etc. You’ve already read all about that, I’m sure, so you’ve probably
also seen the backlash about the night being an epic flop. But, I am writing
to defend the Festival, despite all of the glitches.
The parade started off on
the right foot. Stage lighting cast different colors upon the 1800-style
house floats, in anticipation of the flames they was supposed to have been lit
up with later. Rob Stafford emceed the symbolic lighting of the
neighborhood cauldrons, which were then trailed down the river for all to
see. A steamship-inspired boat floated down and puffed some preliminary
flames for the crowds (which ultimately seemed more Halloween-appropriate,
given the creepy slow effect, clown-like appearance and accompanying Danny
Elfman-sounding music). Then, the cool part: the Chicago Children’s
Choir performed, perched atop an architecture tour boat. Having been
stationed on Wabash facing westward, I was fortunate enough to witness the
opening to this chorus. It makes for a great clip on our Facebook page!
But from that point
on, the flames were supposed to take over, and…nothing happened. For
about 35 minutes, nothing happened. Just a bunch of folks standing around
in the cold waiting to see something while (unfortunately) that creepy Danny
Elfman-like song played for a long while (too long). Eventually Rob
Stafford came on to announce the technical difficulties, and eventually the
technicians conjured some measly flames on the float that was nearest
Wabash. But the inferno was not to be. So, lights, cameras,
and no action, really, until they ended with the fireworks.
So, yes, ultimately it
was a little disappointing to have the pyrotechnics fizzle. But there is
still a bright side to this whole event. Note that the weather this
evening was pretty cold, still damp, and a little windy. And yet, many
people still came. Mostly everyone stuck around until the bitter end,
despite the wait time and soggy parade floats. People still enjoyed their
hot chocolates, still got their Instagram pictures (guilty), still got to be
outdoors amid the bright lights in spite of the depressing weather forecast and
looming winter season. Don’t think that
people still didn’t enjoy the evening.
The Festival has plenty of potential to expand upon next year if it is
(hopefully) held again—with better organization and more flammable parade
floats the spectacle could really take off.
We Chicagoans are already familiar with looking forward to ‘next year’
for a better performance. What’s another
festival to add to the list of sports teams, right?
-Jessica
-Jessica
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