Fiery Idea

So the one story being talked about these past few days in Chicago is the bust of a show that was supposed to be a Spectacle of Fire on the Chicago River as part of the Great Chicago Fire Festival.

While it was disappointing for many of the 30000 spectators that the houses didn't go ablaze as intended, as one of those spectators, the more disappointing part for me was having so much trouble just finding a suitable spot to see what was going on.

I showed up at the Chicago River around 8:15, and it seemed it was just starting, perhaps running a bit behind schedule, as the announcer, who sounded to me like NBC 5 Chicago news anchor Rob Elgas, was speaking about the cauldrons being lit by the dignitaries.  (By the way, the sound system for the show worked well, and it was all set to wonderful music.)

The crowds lined every inch of space along the river, the stairs leading down to the river walk, and the Michigan Avenue bridge--which was so thickly lined with people even standing on a ledge at the edge of the sidewalk of the bridge that I couldn't cross to the other side.  (Areas where the crowds weren't present were blocked off, like the lower level of the Michigan Avenue bridge.)

Eventually, I went down a stairwell by the Hyatt Regency, and made my way across Lower Wacker to a spot where I could at least see more of the action on the river, which, by the time I got there, including the boats carrying flames of fire, including the steamship, which I thought was a train at first, with its "choo-choo" sound.

As time passed, people began leaving, including my next door neighbors who I encountered right before they went home to get their children to bed.  I made it down to the path right by the river level, and then eventually all the way up to the fence along the river as even more people left.

Indeed, I had been so focused on getting a good spot that it really didn't occur to me that the show was malfunctioning when the houses weren't burning up completely (see directly below).  (At first, I thought when the fire started, it was on the other side of the houses which I couldn't see and would make its way around to where I could see it.)

So, despite the letdown, I'm still glad I went.  I certainly like the idea behind the show and the festival.  From what I gathered, the festival celebrates the grit, resilience, and determination of a city that was once devastated by fire, and rose again to become the great, bustling city that it is today, where I am proud to have been born.  Furthermore, people from all parts of the city come together, contributing in their own unique ways, to make Chicago the great place that it is.  Indeed, there was quite a collaborative effort in putting the fire spectacle together.  The cauldrons were made by participants in the After School Matters program, and images of people involved in the making were displayed on screens mounted on boats that floated down the river at the show's conclusion.

I look forward to seeing how this great idea manifests itself in the show and festival in years to come.  For now, I can at least say that the fireworks part of the spectacle was pretty amazing, and somehow, not being highly skilled at photography, I managed to get this shot (see right below).  Even a woman standing behind me who saw me get it immediately told me it was a great shot.

And an encore picture for the finale...

I guess it's all a matter of bust and boom.