Skyfire means two things:
1. Fireworks set to music.
2. Canberra’s annual rush hour – with drunkenness and Canberrans (unnaccustomed to serious traffic) in the mix.
Oh, and jet fighters.
People gather all around Lake Burley Griffin for hours before any kind of show begins. Around six o’clock, stuff starts happening. Jet fighters, helicopters, Jessica Mauboy, radio people (it’s run by 104.7FM), and so on.
The barges above are where all the explosives are. The helicopter is either part of the entertainment or standing by in case of drunken accidents. Beside it is the Carillion, which lights up at night (you can see it in most of the photos below).
It was very cold, and even rained.
And then it began!
Here’s a video to show you what “fireworks set to music” actually means.
The final song was “Firework” by Katy Perry.
The instant it was finished (as captured above) we elbowed children and drunks out of the way willy-nilly in order to get out of the crush before it fully congealed.
As always, totally worth it.
Tomorrow is the FINAL DAY of the Year of Daily Awesomeness.
There’ll be a greatest hits video.
Given how much you dislike the cold, I’m amazed that you stay in Canberra. Saturday night really wasn’t that bad, I dont think it got under 15 degrees!
Ann: It was so cold it gave me a headache (yep, 15 degrees sounds about right). I’m not comfortable under 26 degrees. But my friends, family, and work are here.
suggest you move to the coast where its warmer, and still only a couple of hours away.
Ann: As long as I’m still walking distance from my students’ school – and riding distance from CJ’s work – sure!
15 degrees? Cold? Nay… I’ve decided that it isn’t cold until it’s -10 degrees (that’s the point at which I stop riding my bike), and -20 degrees is when I decide that it’s just not worth going outside 😉
Jolyon, I’ve experienced -20 degrees, and it’s not cold. It’s coldER.
(Psst – Jessica Mauboy)
It was fun to watch. My recommendation for avoiding drunkenness is to stay away from Regatta Point and go further along towards the carillion.
W: We don’t generally go anywhere near the main stage (ptooey!) but we had a cunning plan to stay in civic all arvo (after Lord of the rings) and just walk to the closest observation point for skyfire. (Thanks for the spelling crit – I fixed it.)
As I recall, it was more like coldERRRRMYFACEISGOINGTOFALLOFF
Nick: The blood was beginning to ice over in our veins, yes 🙂