The "Works" Please - and make them FIRE too!

So, on Tuesday night we went to the fireworks at Elliston Park. What an awesome show!! Those guys sure lit up the night sky. So before I get ahead of myself... a little background here. They are having an event here in Calgary called Global Fest and as part of the event Calgary hosts an International Fireworks competition . On alternate evenings different countries from around the world compete and put on a fireworks show. Only one country displays their stuff on their designated evening. At the end of the week after everyone has competed, they have a closing ceremony and announce the winner. Competing countries include, South Africa, Germany, Canada, and Hong Kong (returning champions). They are all given the same budget to work with and are tasked with putting on the best damn fireworks show you can squeeze into a 1/2 hour. 2 countries had competed earlier in the week and left us with Canada to watch on Tuesday night.

Let me tell you they kicked ass! It was a really good show. Of course the evening starts much earlier with a bus trip from a local mall to the park where the fireworks are being held. As nice as the park is, there is very little parking around the area.
Try to cram 25000 people or more into the park and you realize that there are few spaces for a vehicle to be safely stashed. So they have come up with a solution to the transportation woes. Buses leave from a nearby mall for a nominal 4 dollar charge (3 bucks last 2 years and - free the first year!) and shuttle you to the park. Then at the end of the night you have to fight with 15000 to 20000 other patrons to find an empty seat on the returning shuttles. The first couple of years they offered this service it was a real nightmare getting onto a bus and making it back to the mall. This year however, it seemed to go really smooth and we hardly waited at all for a bus and didn't have to compete with other traffic to get leave the area. I was impressed to say the least, despite my skepticism.

Once you make it into Elliston Park, there are a number of things to see and do while you wait for the show to start. We were at the park at about 7pm when the gates opened and the fireworks didn't light up till about 930-10pm. There was a beer gardens if you felt the need to imbibe, a burger and hotdog venue, and numerous other little snack and treat places. There were also a few special interest groups looking for support, handing out balloons, painting faces and selling tickets on raffles or draws they were having. I think the scouts had a little booth set up too.

If you are planning on attending the fireworks Tonight (Thurs) or on Saturday for the finale, then make your way to the south seating bowl. It is basically the southern most part of the park with a big hill facing the mainstage where all the music and entertainers perform. From there you have a perfect view of the fireworks and the small lake that they shoot them over. It is totally wicked to see these magical streams of light reflected in the water as well as the night sky. The south seating bowl is probably the best place in the park to watch from so don't share this tidbit with just anyone. We'd like to get a seat there again next year!! :)