Please post here your reviews of the display presented by the Philippines!

Cheers,

Trav.

PHENOMENAL SHOW!!!!!! That finale was......I cannot believe it.....I have never, ever felt so shaky after a display since maybe Spain (Caballer) 2004. The show was so complete, from beginning to end.

I couldn't ask for a better birthday blast!

So much to write about this display! It better win a Jupiter!


Trav.

Wow, just wow! Pretty sure I witnessed a finale that lasted, oh say 30 mins lol. Good stuff, really hope they win something!!!

Dan

WHAT A SHOW

I've watched many fireworks shows in the last 25+years in Montreal. This one was pretty damn special.

This was a show for the books. As others already wrote, it was absolutely phenomenal.

Congratulations to the Dragon Fireworks team that has been working for very long to be invited to La Ronde.

With perfect weather conditions, the show was honestly exceptional. From the shell density, to the soundtrack, to the creativity, it was a treat for those who saw it from inside the park. A special mention to the Mario segment that was brilliant.

The finale.... The complete opposite of what we saw with the Canadian team. It was incredible.

This show is easily my favourite show this season and is probably my #2 all-time favourite show (with #1 going to Pyroemotions/Pyrodigit back in 2013).

After the show, the team received a well earned extended applause. Looking forward to seeing them back at the Jupiter award ceremony.

Rankings for this year so far:
1) Philippines
2) Canada
3) China

Did not see: Austria.

Videos could never replace being there in person but please enjoy nevertheless

https://youtu.be/sZFRAAacTSE

For the very first Philippine show in the 34 years history of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition, Dragon Fireworks achieved an outstanding performance. I just begin to recover from what I experienced at La Ronde tonight. That is a show I had anticipated for personal reasons (more on this later) but, quickly, it became obvious that my enthusiasm was shared by the crowd and other fireworks aficionados (also more on this below). I totally agree with ryguy2008 who wrote above that it “was a show for the book.” Well, it is also a show for the movie (more on this below, too)!

It is really hard to do justice to a such 31-minute extravaganza and to know where to begin. I knew from Paul’s and Mylène’s interview reports that about 9500 cues had been scripted for this show, it roughly included about 10,000 pyrotechnic items. So it was one of the most massive setups in the recent competition history, along with Pyroemotions & Pyrodigit (Italy 2013) and Ricardo Caballer (Spain 2016). I posted on my Twitter account many pictures of the setup. Ramp 1 - click here – had many more mortars than usual. Ramp 2 – click here – featured seven firing positions which were so large they extended along almost all the firing area, in addition to five scaffolds which supported additional sets of devices, including some shooting horizontally. Ramp 3 – click here – had about 15 firing stations, including nautical products installed on ramp extensions at each extremity, 7 poles with rotating devices, and a series of 15 angled racks oriented towards the audience which created dazzling 3D effects. About 10 firing positions were setup in a semi-circle on ramp 4 – click here. Finally, ramp 5 – click here - was made of 9 floating platforms in the centre of the lake. At that moment, I only hoped this massive setup was going to give birth to a great show, which is never a guarantee. At least, it was a cue that the technical design of the show was promising.

I started to have a positive answer as soon as the show began. The start of the display was announced by a volley of comets ending in salutes towards the end of the countdown. The opening segment, on the music of “Techno Syndrome” from Mortal Kombat, featured shells of blue stars with colour-changing pistils, whistling serpents, complex patterns of note-synchronized gerbs, as well as an exciting fast sequence of 15 overlapping fans of red stars which created a thick “wall.” It confirmed to me that we were in for a treat!

The theme of the show was quite creative. While Game of Thrones was part of the 21-segment soundtrack, the show title “Of Games and Thrones” refered to the worlds of video games and movies which focus on conquests for power in various kinds of kingdoms. Video games musics is not a standard repertoire for fireworks designers. It was somewhat a bold choice, but it turned out to work pretty well. Thus, the soundtrack comprised 10 segments from video games, 9 from movies, as well as 2 finale segments. The styles were diverse, with some songs and also some serene parts. At this stage of the 2018 competition, I would say it is a good contender for the best soundtrack award.

The technical and pyromusical design of the third segment, on the well-known music of Super Mario Bros, was highly creative and it charmed many people around me. Mines and groups of stars erupted in perfect synchronization with the music, including the sound effects typically produced when the players gain points. Thus, “point-synchronized” bubbles popped in the sky in the form of shells of rings. Similarly, a fast sequence of purple go-getters crossed the firing area in synchronization with another sound effect. Mushroom-shaped shells were an allusion to the Super Mario's “Mushroom Kingdom.” Overall, fireworks were shot from all firing ramps, including some horizontal effects launched from the scaffolds, thus optimizing the deep of the zone.

Immediately after the funny segments on the musics of Super Mario Bros and Angry Birds, the style became more theatrical, with flash pots evoking the suspense and car chasing on the music of “Soviet Connection” from Grand Theft Auto IV. The style changed again on the theme of Pokémon, which was the first vocal piece of the soundtrack. Later, the first movie segment of the show came from Game of Thrones. It ended with an aerial carpet of about 50 horsetails painting the sky. It led to more serene moments, as fountains then came into life on the poles along ramp 3 on Enya’s interpretation of “May it Be” from Lord of the Rings.

Later, the segment on the song “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman was another epic moment. It began with red/pink and yellow flares, horsetails, gerbs, and some angled mines. Then, as the pace of the song intensified (“oh-oh-oh-oh”), two cakes shooting whistles came into life at each extremity of the 5th ramp. A multicolor pattern began with shells of crossettes, then it continued in spectacular sequences of about 15 mines from the angled racked along the 3rd ramp, shooting multicolour stars towards the audience, creating an amazing 3D effect and causing me to scream! A couple of minutes later, these angled racks came into life once again on the music of Anna Karenina, shooting at least five sequences of mines. I don’t remember having seen a such effect.

So far this year, in my opinion, the quality of the pyrotechnic material was the best. We saw many products doing complex effects. Just to point out a couple of them : shells with one-half made of stars and one-half made of comets ending into rotating go-getters on Angry Birds ; shells with 6-point stars on Uncharted ; cat-shape shells on Pokémon ; shells of ghost-style double rings – that is, which lit up in sequence – ending in small crackling on Tetris ; cylindrical shells bursting into short comets about 5 times during their ascension, before finally bursting into blue stars with an inner pattern of crossing comets on The Prince of Egypt ; and some clusters of stars erupting on the 3rd ramp and changing into very large go-getters on Wonder Woman. I can’t identify a dominant colour as the range of colours was very diverse, often including very deep ones. The arsenal included some changing-colour effects as well.

The synchronization was flawless during all the display, with many note-synchronized segments. The fireworks and the musics actually started and ended together.

One small criticism is that the fireworks were sometimes very loud whereas the musics were more serene and didn’t require effects similar to salutes, whistles or cracklings. I believe it was especially the case on the musics of Grand Theft Auto IV and The Prince of Egypt. Because I was not familiar with most musics from video games, I had taken time to get information about them, mostly from Wikipédia, but I could not find many connections between the pyromusical design and these games. However, some people with more knowledge about them could have a better informed point of view.

This show was also a vibrant demonstration that setting a fifth ramp in the centre of the lake doesn’t prevent the use of nautical products, as we saw many of them in this display.

That performance was breathtaking. Many segments of this show were as intense as what we expect from a finale. I typically scream from my seat during fireworks finales. But during this extravangaza, I found myself screaming several times! So the actual finale had to live up. And it did! Once the display was over, it took me several minutes to recover from this 210th pyromusical show I had watched from La Ronde.

Of course, the Philippine team had a standing ovation from the large audience in the grandstands. It also received loud applause from the many audience members which were still there when the team came down from the control room. In what looked like an unprecedented situation as far as I know, the team was soon stopped by people who approached it for photographs. It took a good amount of time to the Dragon Fireworks team to reach the Salon des artificiers, where they were enthusiastically welcome.

Film maker Jesse Veverka, one of the Veverka brothers who did the documentary Passfire, captured most of these moments. For the original edition of Passfire, the Veverka brothers attended the Pyroemotions & Pyrodigit show in 2013. Now, the newly recorded material is planned to be used in the 3rd season of the Passfire television series. Jesse Veverka has a good sense of timing to come in town, to say the least!

A such achievement is even harder to believe given the transportation issues the Philippine team had to deal with. Dragon Fireworks had manufactured some special products for this show (e.g., some Pikachu-shape shells for the Pokémon segment, instead of the cat-shape shells actually displayed) but had to find appropriate substitutes. The team worked hard to setup everything and to make sure that all the stuff was connected in the right way. Some team members told me that they had left the firing ramps at 9:30pm on Friday night, and were back at 6:00am on Saturday morning. When I rode the Ferris Wheel, around 7pm, many crew members were still working, wrapping the material and checking connections.

On a personal note, I have to confess that I was somewhat skeptical regarding this show. On one side, I was really excited to see what long-time forum member Vander Tendero (reflections_of_earth) could do. I met with him a couple of times since the beginning of the 2018 season and, as a forum member, he attended a forum 15th-anniversary dinner I had recently co-organized. I also knew that Dragon Fireworks has a good record in international competitions. However, on the other side, while Vander had carefully studied Montreal shows through this website since his teenage years and had good knowledge of the competition criteria, it could not be a guarantee of success. I do know very well that it is one thing to make comments and criticisms about the shows, it is another story to design and to setup them. Also, almost all companies which participate into the Montreal fireworks competition had won awards in other prestigious competitions ; nonetheless, all don’t achieve that sort of performance. And big doesn’t mean good.

I do hope the best for Vander Tendero, his colleagues and Dragon Fireworks in the near future. In my opinion, to say that the Philippine team is a serious contender for a Jupiter is an understatement. Of course, there is another anticipated display around the corner, at least for all those who remember “Rock Loves” in 2008. The challenge is to beat the one we just saw. In this context, “Of Games and Thrones” takes another, real-life, dimension now.

My ranking so far :

1. Dragon Fireworks (Philippines)
2. Apogée (Canada) (tied)*
3. steyrFire (Austria) (tied)*
4. Dancing Fireworks (China)

*Subject to revision at the end of the competition.

Fred

THE DAY AFTER (EDIT). Following a couple of hours of sleep, I woke up this morning with some puzzling feelings, wondering to what extent all this had actually happened! Last night, as Paul and me discussed with Vander, I said jokingly that he has had good readings during many years on this forum! For sure, he knew the criteria very well! But more important are the talent, determination, and hard work, not only from him, but the whole Dragon Fireworks team. After the show, I had a discussion with Jovenson Ong, owner of Dragon Fireworks, who explained, in an emotional way, how important this opportunity to perform in Montreal was for him, and that doing a standard appearance wasn't an option, even less withdrawing. With all the transportation issues it experienced, I believe that some lyrics from Pokemon theme song apply well to the Philippine entrant:

I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was [...]
I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide [...]
Every challenge along the way
With courage I will face
I will battle every day
To claim my rightful place
Come with me, the time is right
There's no better team
Arm in arm, we'll win the fight
It's always been our dream

Soon, we will know whether some of these lyrics, as well as the title of the last soundtrack segment, “Victorious,” are prophetic. The game is not over yet.

My video of this magnificent and monumental display (be sure to turn up the volume accordingly to hear that often fearsome noise):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4z_6yjZua8

That Tetris segment was quite astonishing, too!

Luckily, we had cooperative weather conditions (notably the correct wind velocity) for this extraordinary performance - really, that plume of smoke that drifted towards NE Notre-Dame Street was massively thick!

Trav.

So many WOWs during that show ... and my camera crashed at the end with a buffer overflow - as it did with Pyrotechnico in 2008 (hmm ... I guess my camera is old!).

What a truly outstanding display. Everything all of us maniacs in the forum could want ... though I teased Vander because there were no studatas (though that was not because he didn't want any ... just they didn't arrive ...).

What an amazing evening!

Paul.

I follow this forum and the competition since 2010, and back then my dream was JCO and Dragon Fireworks to perform in the competition, in 2015 half of my dream came true, and last saturday I was pretty excited to see what the Philippines had prepared for us... and what a show they gave!!!

Since the first song it was intense and amanzingly syncronized, the soundtrack was pretty good edited and putted together and the effects followed the music as a whole. The setup was simply great, they used the entire site as much as they could, and the 3D mines fans were very neat! The quality of the products was good, a lot of diversity of colours and shapes was seen, with almost no repetition, but I can not avoid thinking on how even much awesome the show would be with the italian and very own effects that did not arrive to Montreal.

I'm sure it will be on the top 2 this year, the theme and emotional connection the show had give an advantage to DFI, but let's wait to watch what USA do this year.

Pretty great show by Dragon! They put their foot on the gas peddle right from the start and just rocked it! Super Mario was super creative and was such a big hit.
Congrats to their team no matter the results, this was HUGE and it's amazing they got it all in.

Now I have recovered from the excitement of that INCREDIBLE display its time to put things on its place.

To start with, let me say I was a bit affraid of not getting what I expected from the show. Even with some info I had from Vander about the display showing it would be a big one the expectations were too high, and high expectations use to be a problem. If we add to this that I was travelling 6000 km for it the result could have been a big reality check. BUT IT DIDNT HAPPEN.

The show was incredible from beginning to end. A statmemt of intent, a declaration of an own style. I am aware of the fact that some people and specially some pyros do not like to see that much material in a show, and I understand this position. We apprecite the art of fireworks and too much matterial can be a synthom of a lack of ideas. But what Dragon Fireworks did has nothing to do with a lack of ideas but with an statement: MORE IS MORE.

It was a super well planned show, perfectly structured, from the music to the material used. That night the Lac des Dauphins got another dimension. That night we witness the main purposes of fireworks, the reason for which they exist: entertaint and impress.

I have so many favourited segments.

The opening was great, with the song of Mortal Kombat, it started with the one shots facing each other from each side of the lake, as if it was a real battle, two opponents. Then that massive wall of fireworks appeared, it was amazing, super thick.

The Mario segment was super well done too in terms of creativity. It was like the fireworks giving birth to the game. Loved the moment with circular shaped shells emulating the coins in the actual game, exploding at the same time as the sound, as if it was Mario picking up them (mario being represented with walls of single shots like if he was jumping to get the coins).

Tetris segment was also a favourite. It was more “classy” in som way. I LOVED the mines in the pontoons and all one shots used in this segment. The cakes at the last part of the segment and the the build up reminds me the korean show in 2008.

My least anticipated song of the soundtrack became probably my fav segment of the show. The Mariah Carey song. The build up was magnific, that moment with gold shells + aerial mines + nauticals was amazing, its there when I realized it wasnt a regular show. The scream mines over the high notes of Mariah was also great. I am with fred about the cakes with reports during this segment being a bit “distracting” and maybe too loud. Anyway the segment was brilliant.

An special mention also to the Nero theme and This Is Me. That 3D sequences of fans facing the audience were absolutly spectacular. One of the best fireworks sequences I ve seen. The colors were so bright and the wall was so thick.

And well, of course the finale. What a finale. My only criticism about that is that it lost its intensity after the faux finale. Starting from a lower peace and loudness than seconds before. The dramatic pause was very well done. It was a pleasure to saw it live. People around me were crazy, like, ok, its not over.

I invited my two europeans friends living here and they were absolutly wowed. One of them is from Valencia, where fireworks are truly a massive thing, loud and crazy. They found the place the perfect scenario for a fireworks show and they didnt imagine before the show half of the things they were going to see. I have to say I kept their expectations low. Next day they bought tickets for the USA.

I ve seen many fireworks during my life, i came from a place where fireworks are a big thing and this display was a reminder of why I love fireworks. I just want to say THANK YOU because I had a great great time.

Cant wait for the USA show. It will be a massive one too if the info I have is true. The battle will be though because the philippines show raised the bar super high. What a time to be alive! What a great year to be in Montreal for a fireworks enthusiast!

Great review Rovira!
Paul.

The warmest late-evening temperatures (28 C, dropping only slightly from the maximum of 31 C achieved during the mid-afternoon) of the 2018 Montreal fireworks season thus far were present for the debutante country/company (the highly anticipated Dragon Fireworks of the Philippines) on July 21st. Skies were partly cloudy, with increasing coverage of high-level cirrus clouds as the evening progressed. Light ESE to SE surface winds (9-12 km/h – slightly faster speeds at higher altitudes) were just enough to displace the gradually dense smoke accumulations clear to the right of and somewhat directly away from the La Ronde audience (but towards far left-hand sections of Notre-Dame Street). Due to overall smoke-rich pyrotechnic material and the moderate humidity, a large plume of smoke could eventually be seen drifting towards Eastern Notre-Dame Street, so we were fortunate to have the correct wind speed and direction for La Ronde viewers and for most of those on Notre-Dame Street (and elsewhere). Indeed, the closer to the bridge Notre-Dame viewers were positioned was the better in order to avoid smoke interception.

There were so many aspects that I would like to cover for this very spectacular fireworks display that it is difficult to find a suitable starting point, but I suppose that the opening piece would naturally be an appropriate section to begin! This display was sectored into three principal parts – the first directed at well-known video games, the second depicting a selection of popular films, and then the concluding section. I comment here mostly on the section devoted to popular video games, as I am largely familiar with some of the games being represented.

As some may recall from the Philippines soundtrack thread, I was ecstatic when learning that the display would commence with the Mortal Kombat theme song (at least a variation of it). Being a big fan of and growing up with Mortal Kombat, as well as a few other games featured over the first section of this display, I was quickly emotionally drawn to this opening segment. The games of Mortal Kombat are fundamentally based on the player battling a series of warriors in a (usually) 2-D fighting arena. The idea of the one-player mode, at least in the original games, is for the player to battle their way through a number of fighters before facing off against the leading sorcerer, Shang Tsung, and the emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn (depending on the game), in order to defend Earth’s realm. How many fighters the player must defeat before achieving this goal will depend on the skill level setting that the player chooses to begin with (hence, the relevance of “CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY” at the beginning of the soundtrack). Protect Earth realm from Shao Khan’s invasion is done in a tournament called Mortal Kombat. The movies are mostly faithfully based on the games’ plot, though the sequel, “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” received a very negative reception, as compared to the original. It is also because of Mortal Kombat that I was initially motivated to select my username on this forum as “Smoke”, since Smoke is one of my favorite fighters in the game.

Apart from the history of Mortal Kombat, the Philippines team did not waste time bringing the skies and music to life with the pyrotechnics, with this segment becoming one of my favorite openings to any fireworks display in the history of this competition. At the same time, as others have pointed out previously, it further became apparent through this segment that the audience would be in for a real pyromusical spectacle (and, for me, a real birthday treat)! Indeed, the splash of color that quickly ensued into the opening was so spectacular and so rich with life that the theme song was already being so well represented through the fireworks, and the manner in which the gerbs were being used deeper into the soundtrack really defined that portion of the song well. The strobe lights were also a really nice added dimension to illustrate the music, as they were later on in the display (such as during the Pokémon segment).

As the opening transitioned to the primary Zelda theme segment, my expectations were still high, as I am also a big Zelda fan (I still very much play the games whenever I can!). Once again, I found myself not disappointed as this segment progressed and evolved. The fans of green stars, in my mind, were symbolic of Link, the protagonist who is destined to be the courageous Hero that would protect the land of Hyrule from the evil Ganon and his minions. Link’s standard tunic is largely a forested green. The fans of multi-colored stars prior to this also worked well with the soundtrack and reinforced some of the key notes that encompassed the song.

The Mario segment, as Rovira already well described above, was also very well done and was one of the more memorable sections of the display. For those familiar with the original Mario game, which was released in 1985, the theme song, as well as the sounds that emerge as a result of certain actions, were similarly brought to life in this exquisite section. Indeed, the sound of the coins upon Mario hitting the question-mark blocks matched perfectly with the firing patterns of the stars astonishingly well. The “jelly-fish” shells were also carefully implemented to, presumably, represent the mushrooms (which are power-ups that allow Mario to grow from his small form). The concluding portion was also so well done as Mario would enter a castle, showing that an outdoor level was successfully completed. In a situation where the player would finish the level reasonably quickly, too, fireworks are ironically awarded, and extra points would be given with each firework.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Pokémon segment, and I do agree with Fred’s comments concerning the lyrics of the theme. At the time, the meaning of the theme song, which I was exposed to extensively in the late-90s (I still think that this is the best Pokémon theme song!), in connection to Vander’s goals and aspirations over time, raced across my mind, and I honestly thought that I was the only one who carried these thoughts! It turns out that I wasn’t! This segment really did bring out a sense of determination and fulfillment that it did yield a strong emotional appeal. The illustration was also very nicely executed, and I particularly liked the choice of pattern shells that made what appeared to be Pikachu, the most familiar Pokémon. The bursts of nautical shells were also extravagant, as they were later in the display, as well.

The Tetris segment was also something to behold – the entire segment was making me uneasy because it was a constant reminder of those moments when the height of the blocks would be dangerously high, and panic would be setting in as one awaits that piece (especially the red stick piece) that one so desperately needs! Indeed, this segment was very fast-paced and creatively represented as the music intensified. The firing patterns shown here were simply magnificent, especially the variety of fans of comets and mines!

Although I was less familiar with the soundtrack from the section that was dedicated to films, the execution of those segments was exceedingly well done. The manner in which those fans of salutes often raced left to right and vice versa was often so stunning. The arrangement of color was excellent throughout this section, and the sequencing of the mines just prior to the penultimate part of the display was simply phenomenal, creating what looked to be an exemplary 3-D visualization.

On the more technical end of the spectrum, the display was often very well balanced from left to right and top to bottom, with much harmonized sequencing. It was remarkable how well each musical piece was portrayed through the pyrotechnics, and just how much thought, depth and substance was given to so accurately bring out the essence of each and every song. It was also incredible to see that the detailed choreography never really lost its luster throughout the display. The effects were substantially well executed, too, and there were so many moments where the one-shots greatly emphasized critical elements of multiple soundtracks. The level of detail was not quite as high as Italy 2013, but this display featured many entertaining and beautifully sequenced pieces. There was also a great diversity of rhythm and pace in this display, which allowed for very effective transitions (even within segments).

It is difficult to really pinpoint any notable negative aspects of the show, but the few that have occurred to me are of minor nature. Firstly, as much as I enjoyed the theme and its structure, I felt that the inter-connection between the sections of the display was not always clear, as they felt like virtually two independently occurring themes. That said, there were moments when the feel of some songs led to notions of conquest and determination, as was highlighted vividly during both primary sections of the display, and, of course, during the finale. Another minor aspect was that perhaps the firing of the nautical shells appeared somewhat asymmetrical during the Pokémon segment (skewed to the right – our right). Finally, I do agree with Rovira that perhaps the faux and real finales might have been even more mesmerizing had they been combined into one massive conclusion. Still, the finale was simply incredible, and as I mentioned above, I have not felt so shaken after a display since the massive Spanish conclusion of 2004 (by Vicente Caballer), or even that of France 2005 and, to some extent, Canada 2010, Italy 2013, and France 2015. From the time the (faux) finale initiated, if combining the entire finale section, it lasted two minutes and five seconds! The break between the faux and real finales was also quite small, so in some ways, it did feel like one virtually continuous piece! As I have outlined numerous times in the past, the danger of having an active display is that the actual finale would need to be able to oversee or eclipse the series of mini finales beforehand, which has not occurred in many such displays previously. Not in this display, however, as the Philippines team did it justice by bringing the finale to a whole new level of intensity, crescendo, length and color, relative to other (very) active sections of their display. The prolonged use of salutes in a finale, in my mind, is also critical for something truly memorable, and that is exactly what was done. In conversation with Vander the day after the display, while probably overwhelming him with praise, I expressed to him that not only was the display a masterpiece, but also that it was one that brought me to tears of joy briefly, as it was a true reminder of what a real finale entails (and reminiscent of what we used to witness more often during the 1990s towards 2004).

Overall, this was truly a highly successful display that will be remembered and embedded within our memories (in a good way, of course) for the years to come. Really, the performance was so complete that it satisfied all types of tastes held by spectators. There was so much to enjoy, and at many points, it was difficult to keep track of everything that was occurring due to the abundance of activity and how well reinforced all altitudes of space was. The firing area and ramps at La Ronde was also well utilized. The display was, furthermore, rich with salutes (one of the most salute-abundant displays that I can recall), as well as with large calibre shells, which really captivated the audience, especially their rapid firing patterns and sequencing at low-level. The sequence of crackling pistils was also a notable point in the show, too, creating a forceful sound that mimics heavy rainfall. Like the Italian display of 2013, this display also produced a strong nostalgic feeling, but in a very different way, for those who grew up with video games during the 80s and 90s, so this was a very welcoming and emotional aspect of the display for me and, I’m sure, for others. The display was also quite immersive, as many familiar songs managed to have many audience members interacting with them and even occasionally singing/humming along! At the end of the show, the audience on Notre-Dame Street gave the team a seemingly incessant round of applause!

Shortly after the vehement finale(s), my family and friends shouted, “Happy birthday!!!” Indeed, as far as I could tell, this was certainly an unforgettable birthday gift that I shall cherish for the rest of my life! What a terrific way to conclude an already enjoyable day!

Trav.