A Vancouver Travelogue
Spain put on a great show last night at English Bay. I’m glad we went early because there was an awesome airplane exhibition AND by 8pm it was just crazy busy at the beach.
I didn’t bring my dslr last night so I did not even bother to take photos of the fireworks. I did find this post that had a timelapse of the fireworks, which you can see here.
Vanier Park is right on the water and is home to Vancouver Maritime Museum, H.R. McMillan Space Centre, and Vancouver Museum.
After viewing Team USA’s fireworks display from English Bay, friends and I went to Vanier Park to watch Team Mexico.
Almost on the south side of the water, Vanier Park offers a good view of the fireworks minus the mob. You can never completely get away but Vanier Park might afford you just a bit of sanity you won’t get from going to English Bay.
We also highly enjoyed the speakers Bard on the Beach set up outside their tents. Nothing like hearing the accompanying music at full volume.
Reason for the speakers?
Bard on the Beach and H.R. MacMillan Space Centre are doing a fundraiser called Bard-B-Q & Fireworks on all four nights of the Celebration of Light for $103 per person. The evening includes a performance of a Shakespeare play and during the intermission; dinner, coffee and dessert will be served while fireworks illuminate the sky.
Team USA took over the Celebration of Light fireworks show in English Bay on July 21, 2010. According to the organizers, the show is a tribute to the Big Band era and promises to be high energy, with a lot of hoppin’ swingin’ fun.
It sure did not disappoint.
The music was great with songs like Fever and Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York playing during the finale. The bursts of gold at the end had a real wow! factor. It reminded me of cabaret dancers in frilly skirts.
If you’re worried about crowds, I walked down to the beach with a bunch of friends at around 8pm and still found a good spot. Just be ready to arm yourself with the necessities: towel, picnic-friendly food and radio. Here is a video I took from where we sat: You can hear the live broadcast of the soundtrack on each of the evenings on SHORE104.3FM. The next show is on Saturday, July 24th with Spain on the helm. If you want to know more, this is an interesting read on the prep done for Celebration of Light.
Photo Credit: Ian Lindsay PNG