Tonight is the final night of the Celebration of Light showdown. First we saw China. Next we saw Spain, the 2010 Celebration of Light winner. Tonight we’ll sit on our patios and recline on our picnic blankets, craning our necks to see Canada’s light show. But how do we pick the 2011 winner?
The judges use five criteria: colour, conceptual presentation, originality, quality of production and soundtrack.
Read on to get the details you need about each country to choose the champ. Who do you think is gonna take the title?
Canada
When: August 6 Theme: “Then and Now”Soundtrack: Tune in to SHORE 104.3 at 10:00 pm. It hasn’t been released yet.
Visual highlights: To be determined.
Musical highlights: To be determined.
Rounding off the Battle of Champions, the 2007 and 2008 Celebration of Light champion, Archangel Fireworks, will rep Canada. Known for their “out of the box” music selections, the theme “Then and Now” explores music itself.
They say:
“Music naturally goes through changes as time passes. The author of a song intends to deliver a feeling, emotion or message through their music. Once another musician or band plays the same song, the emotions often change depending on the intention of the new artist. While cover songs are looked at as stolen by some, our display will prove just how valuable new versions of classics can be.”
Spain
When: August 3 Theme: “Odyssey”Soundtrack Visual highlights: Impressive colour and geometric shapes. Huge floral arrangements. Musical highlights: Tunes from Cowboy Bebop, Freddie Mercury and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Wednesday, August 3rd, brought Spain (the 2010 Celebration of Light winner) back to Vancouver. This show was produced by Pirotecnia Igual, Spain’s largest Fireworks Company working in all pyrotechnic areas including manufacturing and performance displays.
The inspiration behind Spain’s show: Odyssey represented an exciting boat journey from Barcelona, across the tumultuous seas, to Vancouver. The powerful synchronized music recalled the idea of an adventurous journey.
China
When: July 30 Theme: “China Storm”Soundtrack Visual highlights: Massive, monumental movement. Powerful finale.
Musical highlight: “Twisted Nerve” by Bernard Hermann, also know as “the whistle song” in Kill Bill.
Saturday, July 30th, was China (2008’s winner) with pyrotechnics done up by Red Eagle Manufacturing and Mystical Fireworks
The show used the seasonal calendar as inspiration to provide a trip through the year of the Rabbit, and fireworks, demonstrating Chinese tradition. The Chinese calendar is still used for marking traditional East Asian holidays like Chinese New Year and wedding dates.
The term, Jiéqì means “Solar Terms”, and each node is the instant when the sun reaches one of the 24 equally spaced points along the ecliptic, positioned at 15-degree intervals.
Last modified: August 6, 2011
