Hey guys,

Well, thank God it is March and that Spring is almost here, not mention that it will be Spring like this week until who knows when (for now). I know we've all been sick of this weather for a long time. If you're like me, you'd be sick of it since the day the it first snowed and became cold, not to mention all the leaves falling off.

Anyways, this is also a reminder that we've gone through more that 7 months since last year's competition! Just roughly 3 months to go! In the meantime, lets enjoy the anticipation months till the new season.

Btw, Paul, are you going to be changing the look of the site soon and putting up the new schedule? Just of curiosity since it will help us feel even more anticipated. I just can't wait till the new season considering we have about 5 new firms and a new guest!

Regards,

Trav.

Trav,

I am not sure who is the new "guest", but I know that we have 3 new firms, from South Africa, Portugal and USA. Only 14 weeks (99 days) before the first show!

Mark Shapiro, the new CEO of Six Flags, was at La Ronde one week ago. As he does in all parks, he did put a lot of importance about other activities than thrill rides to attract family, especially live entertainment, shows, comic characters, parade... and daily fireworks. However, I don't know what is Shapiro's position about the Montreal International Firework Contest. Does Shapiro view it as a good way to bring family inside the park and a component of what an amusement park should offer to guests, or as an event too expensive for 10 nights and which doesn't fit in Six Flags mission? Of course, I hope that first position is Shapiro's one!

Fred

Hey Fred,

Sorry for the confusion. I always thought it was 5 new firms, including South Africa, but apparently, it's 3. The "new guest" I was referring to was, indeed, South Africa.

And thanks for the little 99-day countdown! Indeed, when the triple digits are gone, it makes us all feel incredibly good. However, as I was telling Dan a week ago, I like this time of the year to slow down since it is the anticipation time before Summer, such as end of March, April and May. I don't know about you, but when June gets here too fast, it tends to finish too fast, too. Plus, July is the fastest month of the year for some reason. This also feels the same way in relation to the competition. When it comes, before you know it, it's done, and you find yourself waiting another 10 months for the next year. It's no wonder we age so fast.

BTW, do you know if Michel Lacroix will be Mr. voice man this year?

Anyhow, good to see you again, Fred.

Regards,

Trav.

Happy first day of Spring, guys. It officially arrives at 1:26 p.m eastern standard time. I'm starting to get all these summer thoughts in my head already. It's a shame it's still so cold out there. Not a good start. But be of good cheer! At least we now Spring is here!

Trav.

Hey guys,

Just a reminded to advance your clocks by 1 hour before you go to bed tonight. I always love this time where the days get longer even longer. I know you think that you'll lose sleep, but it's simply because we've adapted to this time frame for almost 6 months. As usual, we'll get used to it in no time.

Oh yes, happy April fools and welcome to April. Yet again, another month has past. In just a tad over 2 months, the fireworks will begin again. In the mean time, let's enjoy the Spring weather from now until then. It's always better for it not to come too fast because it will also end too fast.

Enjoy!

Trav.

Hi Trav,

Speaking about April fools, my computer pulled an excellent joke this morning . I started my computer, everything as usual so far. I try to open some files from my spare drive, and I hear strange noices (I start to get worried ). I try to save a file and I get the following error "access denied" (oh sh*t ). I run some tests and it failed every one of them, too many bad sectors . All in all, my drive failed on april fools. SOB. Anyways, at least the fireworks will start soon .

Hi Dan,

Well, it would seem reasonable to interpret that it's April fools for you, Dan. Indeed, of all days, your computer did this. Really, it sounds like you had a battle with your pc today! "Funny noises"? That's never a good thing. I remember many pranks pulled on me before, especially in high school and elementary! I remember someone put a giant fake crab in my desk.

Anyways, I sincerely hope that your pc fixes itself sometime soon. I'd better save my work on a USB removable device soon before I end up pulling as all-nighter this week.

And yes, the fireworks are coming really soon! In fact, we can safely say that June is after next month!

Good to see you, Dan. And thanks for sharing your story with me.

Trav.

Oh yes, I forgot to say that today was our first thunderstorm, which was this morning. Simultaneously, windchills shall return tonight, unfortunately, for which I never thought I'd see again. All because of that cold front. Yesterday hit 22 Celsius while the low was 11-12 Celsius respectively. Tonight is -1 C. I hate cold fronts!

22 Celsius yesterday and a windchill of -8 Celsius tonight, plus a t-storm this morning??? Really, today is April fools!

Oh yes, sorry for the double post; I couldn't edit my previous one for one reason or another.

Trav.