In anticipation of the first Celebration of Light night of 2011, happening tomorrow at 10:00pm in English Bay, I was a part of a media tour of the fireworks barge this morning with Producer Patrick Brault.
Patrick has been involved with the Celebration of Light since it began 21 years ago and he says to this day, not much has changed except they’ve been able to make some improvements in the technology. In the first year he said they had kilometers worth of wiring on the barge and manually controlled the firing of each shell. The soundtrack was on large reels and they had audio cues, “line 1, line 1, GO!”.
“Now it’s all computer-controlled,” said Patrick. “We program the time that we want the fireworks to shoot and the computer system shoots them. There is a lot less cabling because we have computer modules everywhere on the barge.” While a computer controls the firing and timing, there are still manual settings and safety systems in place that can fine-tune timing and shut any section off manually in case of an emergency on the barge.
Aside from the behind-the-scenes technology there’s a big difference this year that some have already noticed from afar. “We brought the barges closer to shore so that it’s more in your face for the people on the beach,” Patrick told us. “Usually the distance between the fireworks and the public is all in relation to the largest size of shell that we shoot.”
Patrick said an example would be those large willow-like shells that shoot high into the air and cascade downward. So in order to keep the large shells, not compromising the show at all, they moved those to a third barge that will be located further away, in the regular barge location (from previous years).
With far too many grey days than we’d like this season, Patrick said cloud cover doesn’t bother him and the fireworks crew and that rain and humidity are more of a factor (in terms of the setup and firing of the shells). “Some effects do look better in the rain,” he added. “Personally, I like to have a little bit of a cloud cover or no moonlight because if it’s too bright then people might get distracted from the show itself.” He went on to explain that his whole family comes from the show business and theatre worlds so you want “lights out” and no distractions when the show is underway.
For Saturday’s fireworks display, China will present “China Storm”, a representation of the 24 seasons in Chinese culture, and will feature world music. Next Wednesday’s show presented by Spain is called “Odyssey” and Canada’s finale will be “Then and Now” on August 6th.
The City of Vancouver is strongly encouraging the hundreds of thousands of fireworks goers to “cart out what they cart in” and put garbage in bins. There will be “Zero Waste Stations” around popular viewing areas like English Bay and Kitsilano as well.
You still have until Monday to enter to win reserved bleacher seating for Canada’s fireworks display in my final Celebration of Light contest. Head down to your viewing spot early to catch free concerts at ShoreFest happening around English Bay and Kitsilano beaches.
The August long weekend has crept up slowly and I’m almost in disbelief that July is coming to an end. While it was a bit of a grey month (with many soggy patches) hopefully things will pick up for August before scarves, sweaters, and back to school clothes in shop windows bring on the grim reality that summer is almost over.
With the sun finally shining, there’s so much going on this weekend that, aside from doing my main monthly event listings for August, I’ve decided to serve up a special long weekend event roundup:
To list your community, non-profit, family-oriented, public or ticketed event for free, you can email me to be included in my monthly event listings. Please include the exact date and a link (website or Facebook event).
I just found out that the critically-acclaimed film will be playing at the Denman Cinemas this Friday, July 29, 2011. Starting at 7:00pm, it’s part of a double-header and will be followed by A Wake, directed by Penelope Buitenhuis, which will start at 9:30pm.
Katrin Bowen’s Amazon Falls is a gritty story about a faded B-movie actress who refuses to give up her dream of being a star in a business that seems to punish virtue more than vice.
Penelope Buitenhuis’ A Wake is a mystery about a troupe of actors who reunite for the wake of their eccentric theatre director (Nicholas Campbell). But when all hell breaks loose over the weekend, all secrets and lies are exposed.
The Denman Cinemas are located at 1030 Denman at Comox in downtown Vancouver’s West End. Follow them on Twitter @DenmanCinemas or on Facebook for show information. Admission is just $7.95 for adults every day except Tuesday when it’s just $5.95.
This feature was written exclusively for Miss604 by actor, writer, and producer, Michelle Kim. Read all posts contributed by Michelle for Miss604.com and follow her on Twitter @miju.
Yesterday I participated in the Nokia Xplore Challenge using a new Nokia X7. The idea was to take an urban blogger (me) and switch them with a suburban blogger (Jodi from RantsnRascals.com). We would make up a route that included five stops of interest and each use our Nokia X7 handsets to plot the course, take photos, check-in to the locations on social networks, and tweet.
I sent Jodi around Granville Island, False Creek (Olympic Village), to Stanley Park (Klahowya Village), and ended her course at Casa Gelato in East Vancouver (where you can find 516 gelato flavours). The route she planned for me went through Aldergrove and Abbotsford. I picked up my sister and one of my nephews in Surrey and we spent the afternoon getting from one location to the next with the help of Ovi Maps (the map application on the Nokia X7). I saved the stops under Favourites > Routes in Ovi Maps and used the GPS to navigate to each location. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
It’s no secret that I was born and raised in Surrey, and when people ask where I went to school or which neighbourhood I was in I do not hesitate to say Whalley – despite the judgement that may follow. You see, Surrey has a bad reputation in the eyes of some and once you take a closer look, you might wonder why.
I lived next to a park with playground, wooded area with fitness circuit, baseball diamonds, swimming pool, and soccer fields. I rode my bike or walked to the corner store to buy penny candy (which was 5 cent candy at the time) and stayed out past twilight playing adventure games in our yard or tree-fort. I loved my childhood home. When my friend and I would walk over to Gateway SkyTrain station to head downtown we were always nervous to get off at Broadway or Granville stations. Were they safe? It was pretty much news to me that I grew up in the area people are currently calling Surrey’s “Inner City”.
Photo by: Jenny Miles
A few weeks ago I went for a photowalk with my sister and three of my nephews around my old stomping grounds. We checked out the new community centre and skate park, the home of Whalley Little League, walked down King George Highway, and ended up at the Surrey Farmers Market at Central City.
Photo by: Jenny Miles
Photo by: Jenny Miles
Over the next few weeks I’ll be profiling a different neighbourhood in Surrey by way of a photowalk with my sister. If you’re in the area, feel free to join us (I’ll put a note on Twitter with exact times) as I capture Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, Cloverdale, and Fraser Heights and South Surrey.
