After more than a month of hiatus – not to mention the tormented imprisonment in school – I’ve decided to finally embark upon the journey of writing freely again! This summer I’ve spent quite a lot of time volunteering around the city (blog posts to follow…), and with 2012 being the tenth anniversary of GlobalFest Calgary, I definitely couldn’t miss out on the fireworks.
The Fireworks & Cultural Celebrations
Being on the battle front of collecting entry tickets and passes every day of the event, I didn’t really get the chance of visiting all the food stands and cultural performances.
From what I could see from the gates, though, the performances were really engaging and culturally expressive (of course, this is solely based upon the judgement of performers’ vibrant outfits and makeup at the gate … which wouldn’t be too senseless, would it? But hey, the balloon man earned bonus points for the performance team).
Food-wise, I was finally able to find the Pimento’s – Chef Mario food truck, a rather hard food truck to find, even with Twitter (review will be posted in the future). In the Taste of Vietnam tent, they sold scrumptious Vietnamese noodles with spring rolls.
There were many other food tents at GlobalFest; from the Great-Wall-of-China-long lineups, one can conclude that they all sold enjoyable food from around the world. In the end, though, the People’s Choice Awards for the ethnic food booths goes to Ukraine; which unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to try.
Aug 16 – Philippines
For having watched the fireworks from the Philippines for two years of GlobalFest now, I think it is safe to say that their fireworks are known for their tremendous variety of shapes – from happy faces, to butterflies, letters of the English alphabet, and yes, great waterfalls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGvFyk0XTFo
Aug 18 – Mexico
Though Mexico’s fireworks were not as explosive as the fireworks on other days, they were still very bright and timely with the music (also obstructed from view from where I sat, which was unfortunate).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Y-SVW2mjI
Aug 20 – China
I wouldn’t say China’s fireworks were very creative in the sense the Philippines’ were, nor were they particularly dull per say. What is very notable about this day’s fireworks is the brightness at which one of their fireworks lit Elliston Park – it was incredible!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlILZVqWEnc
Aug 22 – Brazil
Brazil’s fireworks presents a great combination and balance of Philippines’ and Mexico’s styles; they incorporated a variety of shapes into their rhythmic performance – ultimately capturing the People’s Choice Award of Pyromusical Presentation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvWpfkLCUI
Aug 24 – USA
I’d have to say the United State’s performance was by far my favourite. Perhaps it was their use of catchy modern day music, I’m not sure… Overall, they achieved great heights (both physically and figuratively). They received the honour of Best of Trico Homes International Fireworks Festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7XAhCHLfM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uLkpbVwwd8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u-orbAuXu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_eu6IDhp7U
Aug 26 – Finale
The Finale was grand, to say the least. There were so many people at the park it was unbelievable – the great line-ups for the porta-potties were a sight on its own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GEfte6SDZE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgSAdM8wTbQ
Volunteer Experience
As part of the Operations Team, I was responsible for welcoming guests into the park at one of the entrances. As much fun it was to watch the fireworks, I had mixed feelings about the volunteer experience.
The Good
- can develop customer service experience
- being able to enjoy fireworks, food, and cultural experience
- meeting new people through volunteering
The Bad
- dealing with upset comers, second-hand smoke, and traffic exhaust
- having to stay well into the night to help with park clean-up
- being over-staffed on some nights and under-staffed on other nights
- transportation – traffic and alternate routes for public transit made the circumstances very confusing (trust me, being stuck in Forest Lawn near the midnight hour is definitely not on top of anyone’s to-do list…)
