It's very interesting to have a firework display on Christmas' Eve, though it's not the best time for everyone to attend... I plan to go again to the Old Port next Saturday and I hope that the show will be as good as BEM's one was.

I won't be able to write my comments in this forum right after the show, since I don't expect to have an access to Internet until January 3th. However, I will keep some notes and share my comments with other participants in this forum as soon as possible.

Season's greeting!

Fred

Just so you know, the truck is loaded and we're ready to start the set-up tomorrow

Bon montage man!!

BenHur

ah toé

Hi guys,

I just returned from Old Port.
This post is dedicated especially to Smoke.
Sit back, and enjoy the read!

Well, I have to say Fiatlux's display was enjoyable with particularly 2 great segments.

I arrived there at 6pm. I was surprised to see how close the ice skating area and the metro are. The ice skating place, which looks actually quite cute, is located between Old Port and the Saint Lawrence rivier.

The temperature was very comfortable. But it felt a bit cold, probably because we were next to the river.

So when I arrived there, I had 1:30H to kill. So I decided to start exploring the area. I could see on the other side the Jacques Cartier bridge and the Tour de l'Horloge. So I decide to go and visit there. The walk was long, but worth it. The Tour de l'Horloge area looks like remantic place. You could hear the noise of the Saint Lawrence rivier and see the bridge, but most *importantly* La Ronde and our (Smoke and I) Notre Dame street, well barely. Watching this made me feel rather sad. I miss the whole area so much... I miss watching the bridge and La Ronde! Finally, after this little emotional moment, I decided to return to the ice skating place. I noticed by 7pm, there was a lot more people. The ice skating area was getting jammed. I walked on the mini bridge to go to the other side, on Ile Bonsecours, as directed by the speaker. By 7pm, already my hands and especially my feets were freezing as hell.

At 7:25, the closed the lights as I could hear the ahhs, lol. And after 2 minutes, the fireworks began.

As I said, I found the display enjoyable and cute. I think there's two segments that really shined, one was, I think, Ginette Reno's and the other Celine Dion's song. The Ginette Reno segment was amazing. Ginette Reno's voice was strong and stunning. It integrated very well with the fireworks. I think at that moment, I was in a emotional state. That segment was very well synchronized, unlike other segments. Actually, the synchronization wasn't excellent in my opinion, maybe just between ok and good. My other favorite segment was, as I said, sang by Celine Dion. In the beginning, it was somewhat redundunt, but it got better. I'm not sure, but I think that was the finale segment. What surprised me the most was the finale. The show ended with red and green fire balls (you'll see them on the video I recorded). I'm not sure if there was a real finale before those. However, I didn't know the show had already ended and didn't notice the finale. Anyways, the show, overall, had pretty much everything, from candles to bombs. We saw many red and green bombs which reminded me A LOT to England's 2003 display (you'll see be them on the video). There were 3 turning fountains, but the middle one didn't turn. There were many huge bombs, but the funny thing is, they didn't make huge noises. There was one segment (I think it was Ginette's segment), the sky was filled with brown stars, kinda like kamuros, but better. That looked like a finale and it was really nice! The show wasn't repetitive at all, I guess that's normal since it was a 15 minutes show. On the other hand, I have to say the quality of the piece were just as good as La Ronde.

At the end of the show, it was said that there will be a second edition of this event next winter. I wish I had gone to every single display, but because of the exams I couldn't. I also have to say to the organizers that that skating area needs a huge tree. The old port and that place's decorations are nice, but it's missing a Christmas tree. I think I have New York's Christmas tree in my mind, maybe that's why I'm saying this. But I think it would be nice, specially with the fireworks...

Anyways, I did bring a digital camera with me. So I did take pictures. Unfortunaltely, most pictures came out really dark. I just picked the best ones. Also, the camera allows you to record 15sec clips. So I recorded some parts of the display. But know that the quality is really bad and there's no audio.

Here's the pictures:


(notice the Fire Ice banner looks similar to La Ronde's)









Here's the 1:30min clip:

http://s48.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0JW5740NLUR1J21T1GMEWIQT98

Finally, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hi there, Mr. Anomymous, (Enkil)

Well well, I'm rather pleased with your report's details, not to mention some pretty decent photos and a cool recorded segment.

The show, in general, sounded pretty neat, from what you described to me, though the ending was hard to notice! But no big deal! I'm happy to see those effects used as they are popular and ideal for this type of approach. By the way, did you see any shell of shells or some mediocre loud salutes?

Your visible view of our area made me feel the same way when you mentioned it. However, I bet you said what I would have said! "I'll see you in about 6 months!"

At least you attended the show, my friend and others and especially me, some nice photos, a clip and an accurate report! I'm happy to know that you did try to get your camera after we finished our discussion yesterday! Btw, in the photos, it reminded me of a lot of things, especially the good old Summer fireworks, though people are in their Winter gear. One comment on the pictures, I noticed these circles all over in the sky. I thought it was the moon and or some planetary effect, but I know last night was overcast, so I'm sure it was the camera, but it looks pretty cool to see several "moons."

As for the weather, it's quite understandable that you were feeling cold. Yes, being close to any body of water will deliver an enhanced effect of cooling, even in Summer. Also, keep in mind that despite the temperature being above freezing in the past 24 hours, as I've monitored, it is still quite cold enough to give you that feeling if you're out for a long period of time. In your case, you had an 1h and 30 mins. That's a while. I believe there was no preciptation along with calm winds, overcast, and just above freezing, though I know you were hoping for some flakes.

Today, however, could be rain or snow! I was happy to see the rain last night and waking up to it this again morning which put a smile on my face!

Anyways, thanks for your response, Enkil. You really made me feel like I was there, especially with those photos!

Merry Christmas,

~Travis.~

Hi Enkil and Travis,

I also attended the display on December 24th, along with members of my family. The crowd was the largest I had seen in that series of 4 firework display, by far! I did enjoy the display very much, mostly because the music was Christmas related! I was hoping for snow to fall during the display, but unfortunately it did not happen....oh well, there's still next winter!

In general, I really enjoyed the display, but I was a bit disappointed by the finale and its lack of intensity.....it ended very softly, probably because it was Christmas.

Thank you for your description, Enkil, and also for the great pictures!

It was great to get to see fireworks in the middle of our long wait, until the next competition.......there's only 5 months or so left, until the 2006 season starts! Yessssss!

Have a great year, everyone!

Pierre

Le spectacle pyromusical "Féérie de Noël" présenté par Fiatlux le 24 décembre était un bon divertissement pour amorcer le réveillon mais, à mon avis, la performance était moins réussie que celle de BEM présentée le samedi précédent.

D'autres participants à ce forum ont eu raison de souligner le caractère particulier de la "finale". Quelques bombes de gros calibre ont été suivies par l'allumage de fusées éclairantes rouges et vertes sur toute la longueur du quai Jacques-Cartier. Puis, quelques strobes blancs ont retenti. La musique et le feu ont alors pris fin, pendant que les fusées éclairaient toujours, ne s'éteignant que quelques instants plus tard. C'était une bien curieuse façon de terminer le spectacle.

D'autres moments étaient plus réussis. Dans un tableau, les spectateurs ont pu s'émerveiller devant une accumulation de bombes kamuros qui ont rempli le ciel de traces dorées. Dans un autre tableau, trois spirales rotatives blanches sont entrées en action, suivies par des chandelles de comètes blanches déployées en "V". On a aussi pu observer au cours du spectacle des bombes d'étoiles bicolores, des bombettes, des "go-getters", des chandelles de tourbillons et plusieurs mines aériennes.

À mon avis, il y avait davantage de répétition dans les pièces pyrotechniques utilisées que dans le spectacle de BEM. La synchronisation était très bonne dans l'ensemble. La bande sonore était constituée exclusivement de pièces de Noël.

Une foule encore plus nombreuse que celle présente au feu de BEM était réunie pour ce dernier spectacle de la première édition des Feux sur glace TELUS. Nous sommes arrivés un peu tardivement sur les lieux et, compte tenu de l'ampleur de la foule et de la difficulté que j'avais eue à sortir du site la semaine précédente, nous avons décidé d'observer le feu en demeurant quelque peu en retrait, c'est-à-dire sur le bord du bassin Bonsecours plutôt que sur l'île Bonsecours. L'environnement sonore était cependant moins intéressant puisque le son était répercuté par l'édifice massif du Marché Bonsecours, ce qui produisait un écho désagréable pendant le spectacle.

Vraiment, il est souhaitable que cet événement soit répété au cours des prochaines années. Il est très agréable de voir ces feux pendant la période hivernale. La Société du Vieux-Port sera peut-être contrainte, cependant, de prendre des mesures pour mieux gérer la foule et rendre le site plus propice aux grands rassemblements. Le Vieux-Port, avec ses sentiers étroits et ses aires de service limitées, n'est pas aussi bien équipé que La Ronde pour recevoir autant de gens!

Bonne année!

Frédérick

i'd like to thank everyone about the reviews and comments, they are always appreciated

and yes the finale WAS particular
sometimes we try to think outside the box
and yes, too bad about the center post "merry go round"

here's a picture that I took... enjoy !
i have about 55 more like this one so email me if you want some
marc_beaulieu@hotmail.com