Culture
Video, Photos and Much Fuss About The Great Chicago Fire Festival 2014 And Its Slow Burn
By SeeBrown · 10/7/2014
The Great Chicago Fire Festival 2014
October 4, 2014 Chicago
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Downtown Chicago, IL (60601)
The much anticipated Great Chicago Fire Festival drew thousands of Chicagoans out on a cold windy fall night to view the promised ‘spectacle of fire’ event produced by Redmoon Theater to celebrate the ‘grit’ of Chicago commemorating the fire that destroyed the city in 1871. But as literature and life teaches us sometimes, ‘best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.’
The Great Chicago Fire Festival event cost City of Chicago $1.35 million in public money. Thousands packed the downtown sidewalks and riverwalk to see a large Victorian house floating on the river ignite.
Most people focused cellphone cameras at the floating house, waiting for a small flame to set ablaze the large house. Attendees waited and waited, then tucked their cellphones away when the flame barely engulfed the house.
After many minutes, some gave up and walked away. The announcer finally made it known that there was ‘electrical difficulty’ and the fire would not blaze.
It is not as if the event wasn’t planned properly. The Redmoon Theater spent three months this summer planning the event and collaborating with more than 30 community organizations. Read Breaking Voices' pre-fest coverage of the Great Chicago Fire Festival.
Following the short-lived fire, two workers on floating apparatuses doused the tiny flame with fire hoses. It seems the house had more ‘grit’ than the organizers expected.
Those who stuck it out after 10pm for the final act of the Great Chicago Fire Festival saw about 50 kayakers rowing west on the Chicago River carrying projected black and white portraits of Chicagoans from different walks of life.
Watch the fireworks over the Chicago River at the Great Chicago Fire Festival:
As anti-climatic as the kayak parade was, the scene looked picturesque. The city's skyscrapers looked like a futuristic city against purple canoe lights and black ripples in the river while ethereal music played.
Watch the kayak parade on the Chicago River during the Great Chicago Fire Festival:
Many took to social media to express their dismay. Read some Twitter comments below.
Walking from the event, one could see homeless people begging in the street. The obvious question is, with so many people hungry, how can the city of Chicago justify a spectacle with a $1.35 million price tag, including an attempt to burn three Victorian mansion replicas, when many Chicagoans don't have roof over their heads?
The Great Chicago Fire Festival was well attended. Both international tourists and locals attended the festival and left with picturesque photos. However, many left shaking their heads asking what happened. If the beautiful photos could tell a the story of the first Great Chicago Fire Festival, it would be that Chicago has quite a beautiful facade.