Monday, August 4, 2008

THE SPLASH!

A perfect blue sky, calm, family and friends, great music ... wow!

The event always starts for me when they move the barge they've been preparing right across from us, for several days, into the Inner Harbour.


Jason couldn't join us because he was the general manager for this event, which also took place downtown this weekend -- but Michael and I and Hailey, Joshua and Mischa and River, a visitor named Laura and Mischa's friends Rye-Ann and Trevor (this event is MEANT to be shared!)trundled ourselves, tons of food and water, and various hoodies and blankets, into three little boats, and 'paraded' over to the Inner Harbour for the biggest event of the year here...

This is what it looks like when we get there...

Everybody gets comfy... here's Scott and Aisha from our marina, who joined us...





We always make sure we get there no later than about 5 pm to get right in front of the stage... so I knit. . .

And once again, I wasn't alone!

And the show begins....

This year the theme was, of course, 150 years of British Columbia history, so it included a dance by a local First Nations group that was pretty cool...

And this is what the crowd looks like a bit later...

It truly is the most amazing evening... symphony music outdoors, shared by about 40,000 fans -- and there are moments during the concert that you really could hear a pin drop in the harbour. The concert began with a piece that was composed locally called the "Inner Harbour Overture" (debuted this year) that included the sound of the Coho ferry whistle, the Johnson Street bridge 'going up' alarm, the carillon bells of the museum, and the arrival of the E & N daily train. It was perfect!
The last piece of the night is always the 1812 Overture, complete with real cannons (courtesy of our local cadets) and fireworks... and then the grand finale is always a pipe band playing 'Amazing Grace' as all the boats (and the 40,000 land-based fans!) are slowly snaking their way out of the harbour. . . truly a memorable night, again!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Splash is something I miss about living in Victoria. We almost came down, but hubby ended up working. I always thought a boat would be the way to go ... the crowds on land are a little much for me, although the music is worth it.

Love the haircut!

-kate