Culture: Festival of Fire

A longer exposure lent a different appearance to the fireworks during the Festival of Fire at Ontario Place on 10-July-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - When I moved to Toronto not that many years ago, the Festival of Fire was a major multi-night event around Canada Day in the summer. On a string of closely-spaced nights, fireworks lit up the sky over Lake Ontario at Ontario Place, with each night dedicated to a different country (inevitably including Canada on 1-July and the United States on 4-July), and a finale at the end. If Wikipedia is accurate, the tradition dates back to 1987, when it was known as the "Symphony of Fire" and was sponsored by Bensen & Hedges tobacco. When it was no longer legal for tobacco companies to sponsor such events starting in 2000, it morphed into the "Festival of Fire" that I came to know.


Some planet-like ringed fireworks surrounded a standard ball during the Festival of Fire in Toronto, Ontario on 3-July-2010

As the economy has cooled, sponsorships have waned and the number of nights in the Festival of Fire has gradually declined. This year, it was down to just three nights, consecutive Saturdays surrounding Canada Day. I was out of town for one of the performances, so this year I saw only two shows in the Festival of Fire, a far cry from when I used to feel okay missing any given night since there were so many.


A long exposure made a ring-shaped firework with rockets following look almost like a flower during the Festival of Fire in Toronto, Ontario on 10-July-2010

The best seats for viewing the Festival of Fire are inside Ontario Place, but there are places to view the displays for free. This year, I establish a routine of walking along Sunnyside Beach at dusk east to Marilyn Bell Park and setting up near the windmill to take in the show. At 10:30, it's time to tune in the simulcast on CHFI 98.1 FM and before long the sky lights up.


Two hearts appeared as the simulcast played Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" during the Festival of Fire in Toronto, Ontario on 3-July-2010

The simulcasts have been a mixed bag in recent years. It's hard to argue with selections like "What a Wonderful World" or "My Heart Will Go On" coordinated with heart-shaped fireworks, but some other songs just befuddled me. How P!nk's "So What?" (which was used on 3-July) makes any sense at all with any fireworks show is beyond me--that can't even be blamed on Canadian content considerations.


A red star appeared during the Festival of Fire above Lake Ontario in Toronto on 10-July-2010

The Festival of Fire has become synonymous with specialty fireworks. Hearts, rings with things inside them, and even star-shaped fireworks all appeared this year along with more conventional shapes. Colours varied, with more half-and-half coloured shells appearing this year.


The finale of the Festival of Fire reflected in Lake Ontario as viewed from Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto, Ontario on 10-July-2010

For me, part of the interest in the Festival of Fire is figuring out how to photograph it. I'm never satisfied with my camera settings; just when I zero in on a good exposure time for a series of fireworks, the style shifts and the settings clearly aren't working anymore. For the finale, though, the sky is so bright that it's often clear--speed up the shutter to near-daylight settings. Then, it's all over until next year.

Holiday: This Year, Weston Fireworks

The fireworks at Weston Lions Park in Toronto, Ontario were short but enjoyable on 1-July-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Since moving to Toronto in 2006, I've made a point of attending a different fireworks display on each Canada Day. There are so many to choose from here that it didn't seem appropriate to settle on one and make it a tradition until I had sampled at least most of them, if not all of them.


Canadian band "Cuff the Duke" performed at North York Civic Centre before the fireworks display on 1-July-2006

I started the tour in 2006 with the North York fireworks. In terms of an overall show, the event at Mel Lastman Square probably provides the best experience I've seen, as one can take a chair and find a place with a view of the stage which has live acts right up to fireworks time. The fireworks themselves are all set off above the building, making for a less than spectacular show compared with other offerings around town, but still not something that can be seen every day. The adjacent subway station made it relatively easy, if crowded, to exit after the event.


The fireworks display was second-to-none at Ashbridge's Bay in Toronto, Ontario on 1-July-2007

In 2007, I decided to attend the Ashbridge's Bay fireworks on Toronto's eastern beaches. This may be the most traditional of the displays, with people playing on the beach until it gets dark, followed by fireworks that would rival a display anywhere. However, being at the outer reach of the city, transportation leaving the event was a nightmare--the best route out is probably to walk all the way north to the Bloor-Danforth subway.


Fireworks lit up the sky above Downsview Park in Toronto, Ontario on 1-July-2008

Next on my tour was Downsview Park on 1-July-2008. Downsview may be the best place to take children, as the carnival rides and busker performances keep them occupied in the long wait as the skies darken. The fireworks rival Ashbridge's Bay, but public transport leaving is pathetic--the TTC doesn't even try to accommodate the crowds. It's probably best to walk around the north end of the airport to the subway station.


The fireworks came right off the building at Mississauga's Town Centre on 1-July-2009

With Toronto on strike in 2009, I headed west to check out the display at Mississauga Town Centre, as I described last year. This display did seem to have it all--a concert to watch before the fireworks start, and a great 25-minute display against a nice backdrop.


A relatively small crowd was gathered at Weston Lions Park in Toronto, Ontario as daylight faded away on 1-July-2010

I went for a very different experience this year. I took a (long) walk to the Weston neighbourhood where I observed the kind of Canada Day celebration that one might expect in a small town. A band played on a stage that fit inside a tent, various local food vendors sold food, and perhaps a few hundred people gathered on sports fields where children kicked soccer balls around until the lights went out and the fireworks began. It was only a ten minute display, but it was an exciting one. When it was all over, the crowds were not terrible to fight, and it was nice to just walk home.

Next year? I still haven't done the large Centennial Park display, or any of several other smaller events that likely resemble Weston. Who knows what I may feel like...

Radio Pick: Saving July 4th

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's radio pick focuses on local radio. One of the lost axioms of radio is that it is at its best when it is truly local. Dave Ross demonstrated the power of local radio this week in Seattle. After doing a secondary monologue on the apparent lack of an Independence Day fireworks display in Seattle on his talk show, restaurateur Tom Douglas called in to suggest raising money from small businesses and made an opening pledge. After a call to the traditional organizers confirmed that the display could still occur, the fund-raising drive was on, and in about a day the needed $500,000 was raised. That was not only local action--it was good radio.

Listen to the Dave Ross Show "Saving July 4th"

Photos: Summer Fireworks around Toronto, 2009

Red and white fireworks gave a patriotic flare to the Canada Day fireworks at the Mississauga, Ontario Civic Centre on 1-July-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site focuses on recent fireworks displays. With the city strike canceling some of the displays in Toronto, I decided to take in the Canada Day fireworks at the Mississauga Civic Centre on 1-July-2009, including some of the day-long festivities beforehand. Toronto still had a number of shows, including the finale of the Festival of Fire over Lake Ontario observed on 4-July-2009.

Margin Notes: Garbage, Fireworks, News Hour

The strike by city workers in Toronto, Ontario affects both the primary topics in this photo taken on 1 July 2009--garbage is not being collected, and the ferries to the islands being advertised are not running

TORONTO, ONTARIO - The city worker's strike continues in Toronto. Talking to friends, it is affecting more than just the garbage collection pictured above and the cancellation of city events written about here on Canada Day. City inspectors are not inspecting buildings, parking tickets cannot be paid, and pretty much everything the city does except transit is affected in some way. It looks like it's going to be a long summer here as no movement has been reported in the ongoing talks.

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Hearts were coordinated with the "I love you" lyrics in "What a Wonderful World" during the Festival of Fire in Toronto, Ontario on 4 July 2009

One of the signs of a normal summer is the Festival of Fire over Lake Ontario. The Festival of Fire generally features the most innovative fireworks seen around Toronto in the summer. While I found the accompanying soundtrack broadcast on CHFI quite unimaginative this year--what place does "Mambo Number Five" have in a fireworks display ten years after it was a hit?--I must give them credit for nice coordination of heart-shaped fireworks with the lyrics "I love you" from "What a Wonderful World" as sung by Ray Charles in the middle of the 4 July 2009 show.

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Unusually-shaped fireworks were included in the Festival of Fire presentation over Lake Ontario in Toronto on 4 July 2009

On the other hand, I couldn't figure out what the fireworks shown above were supposed to be during the Festival of Fire. Were they supposed to be a human face? A baseball? One set was fired off during Elton John's "Circle of Life," so maybe they were just supposed to be circles.

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The "Roundhouse" sign was erected on the coaling tower at the John Street Roundhouse in Toronto, Ontario on 3 July 2009

Not a circle but a half-circle was the shape of the new "Roundhouse" sign that was erected on the coaling tower of the John Street Roundhouse on 3 July 2009. The sign joins other signs advertising the Leon's furniture store that is scheduled to have its opening ceremonies in the higher-numbered stalls of the roundhouse on Wednesday.

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That event will likely receive some local press coverage, but it certainly won't appear on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. Traditionally, the News Hour opened with a news summary. Sometimes, during a crisis covered for most of the show, it would move these headlines to the end of the show. For the past few months, it has moved the headlines to random times in the middle of the show after the lead story. I don't understand this practice--the top story is no longer in the context of the rest of the news of the day, it's not possible to tune in for the headlines specifically, and the show generally feels like it has no flow on many broadcasts. They should drop this practice and either air the headlines at the beginning of the show (my preference) or move them permanently to the end of the show. That formatting would at least make some sense.