A True Celebration of Light!!!

Having grown up in Montreal, I am no stranger to firework festivals; however, I've spent the last four summers away at camp, so I was still very excited to go see Vancouver's Celebration of Light fireworks. The first was on Wednesday: Canada. Chelsea and I arrived at English Bay (the best, and closest spot to the firework barge) at about 9pm. Though the fireworks only started at 10pm, it was already packed. Luckily, we were meeting up with two other friends, who had the forethought of arriving at 7pm, and were able to save us a prime spot.

(Side note: finding two people in a crowd of 100 000 is no easy feet! Especially since the only landmarks are beaches, logs, trees, porta-potties, and boats... in a bay shaped like a U, so all perspectives are shot!)

Yesterday was South Africa's turn. We decided to try to arrive at English Bay a lot earlier, around 4pm, and have a beach afternoon and picnic in order to insure a prime spot (On Wednesday we were very close, but off to an angle, so things were a bit out of sync, but really, still, amazing!). Four of us got there at 4, picked up a party-tray of sushi, and saw around playing cards and Chinese Checkers. Others called to say that they were on their way. And then, a drop. Could it really be raining? After weeks upon weeks of sunny 25+ weather, it didn't really seem probable. The clouds didn't look that bad, and we deemed that the rain would pass in a few minutes. Instead, it grew steadily worse for a half-hour until it was too wet to stay in our amazing spot. We made a mad dash to the Starbucks, only to discover that hordes of people already had had that idea and that there was a line to get in. So we settle of another café. Meanwhile, we had phone calls for other friends that were going to meet us. Surprisingly, only one said call was to cancel. By then, it was about 8pm, we still had 2 hours to wait for the fireworks. We were able to find all our missing parties, and most of us decide to camp out, in the rain, under a tree, and wait.

Now, you could think that the wait was miserable, but really, it was the highlight of the night! You see, the clouds came in from the East, and English Bay faces the West, so we got to enjoy one of the very best sunsets I've ever seen!! The sky went from blue to a Honey-Mustard yellow (or Dijon to some) to a rusty Orange to a doomsday red. Meanwhile, above our heads and to the North, the clouds were stormy, dark, and lightning galore! Hours of lightning, some going horizontally through the whole sky, some vertical, some flashes. So much lightning that it was rather surprising that Andrew wasn't able to capture any on film (though he did try admirably). And I also think that all the electricity in the air gave me a headache... but it was worth it. Truly one of the most beautiful and dramatic shows Mother Nature has put on.

You can easily imagine that after all this, the South African fireworks were overshadowed. The music was good and we were in a prime spot, but I couldn't help thinking: "even after all these years, we humans cannot compete with Mother Nature", which seems to be a theme for me this summer.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing the displays by the U.K. on Wednesday and China next Saturday. I also picked up 3-D glasses that they were handing out yesterday that are said to enhance the whole experience, but forgot to try them out. Next time!

Honey Mustard Yellow

Doomsday red!