River Fire!

Celebrating Brisbane with my first

RIVER FIRE!

I have extremely fond memories of growing up in England and having our annual celebration with light, fire and explosions on the 5th of November; Guy Fawkes Night. The children would all have sparklers at hand, Dad's would be hammering Katherine Wheels to the fence and Mothers watched on with caution as the glow and crackle of bonfires, or backyard fireworks captivated the children who perhaps new not the dangers, or the tale behind Guy Fawkes.

From backyard firework shows, to the mother of all light shows, I watched Sydney Harbor light up on New Year's Eve, 2006, and was blown (almost literally) out of the water at the magnitude and extravagance of this firework display.  

However, my first few months living in Brisbane have out done all these experiences, as I have never seen such collaboration between state, buildings and the public that resulted in the truly breathtaking scenes in the month leading up to River Fire.

Throughout the Brisbane Festival, a central hub for activities for families and people of all ages is South Bank. The organizers of the festival light up the night with a delicate lantern display that creates a whimsical and ever so romantic atmosphere beside the river. 

I strolled freely through the displays, milling among the rest of the crowds, and soaking up the atmosphere. The lanterns were a perfect back drop for the Pièce de résistance of the festival in South Bank, which was the stunningly beautiful 'Santos GLNG City of Lights', a laser, water and music show orchestrated from a raft on the river. I have never before witnessed something so innovated and intricate with the water reflecting the lasers to form shapes and move in coordination to the music of Bjork, Hans Zimmer and Peter Gabriel to name a few. What I loved most about this light show most though, was that as a part of truly honouring our beautiful city, it did not overly abuse the environment with fireworks but rather harnessed our location and used the river and community to illuminate Brisbane.

And on the final night, at the closing ceremony, the Brisbane community gathered riverside, under the bridges and above them, to watch the sky explode for River Fire. I was lucky enough to see the show at 27 stories high and was almost parallel to the bursts of colour in front of the Story Bridge.

All in all the Brisbane Festival made for one colourful month and an extremely starry-eyed night!