brisbane river festival '08

The noise, the crowd, the expectations and excitement. Conversations, at a loud volume, swelling and diminishing as people walk past, laughing, cheering, holding hands and slapping sweaty palms. Me, rooted in one spot, trying not to get pushed or stepped on, perched on the edge of a tiny iron railing, a seat made of metal and the fabric of my jeans. I can't fall, I'm safe, there's only concrete and crowds around me, but still I sit, precarious on my metallic throne.

Cameras are flashing all around, little glittering globes of light that pop for a second with blinding brilliance. Bright white orbs, dancing in air, going off in my face, making me blink, shake my head, blink some more. My friend standing next to me is doing the same thing, my camera in his hands. It gives off little pops of white light every two minutes or so. My friend is making lightning white flashes of his own. Recording posterity. Recording the crowds. Recording a specific moment in time.

This, I think, is expectation.

Everywhere I look there are people. Hundreds and thousands and hundreds of thousands of people. Babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults, the middle aged, seniors. Drunk people, sober people, stony faced people, joking people. A thousand different accents, and me caught in the cradle of their voices, listening but not understanding a word.

I'm here, at the heart of this massive event, almost by accident. Luck and chance brought me to this place, and now I'm standing in the middle of Brisbane, Australia, waiting for one of the nation's biggest shows to begin. Brisbane River Fest is an annual event celebrating an amazing city, and the RiverFire is perhaps the greatest extravaganza during the festival, a sweeping show of fireworks and burning jet fuel along a great expanse of the Brisbane River.

It seems the whole world has come to witness the event, and it's a great feeling. All of us, pale faces, Asian faces, dark faces, have come to be a part of this moment. It's communal. It's all of us in it together. It's children and old people coming together.

Expectation and tension mounts as we wait for show time. Finally, when it feels like we can't stand another moment of craning our necks heavenward, it begins. A jet flies low over the crowd, and then zips upward, letting loose a stream of fuel that is then set alight. A streak of fire fills the sky, a stunning sight that makes the crowd gasp.

And then -- the fireworks. Oh, the fireworks! Hundreds of them, shooting up into the sky, beautifully timed to music. They glitter and glisten and gleam, just like pyrotechnics should, and all of Brisbane stands there watching, gasping, oohing. Every two minutes I turn to my friend in awe and ask, "did you see that?!" or "how much money did all of this cost?"

There's a lull in the fireworks, a little trick to make the crowd think the show is over. And then boom! The show begins again in earnest.

It lasts for a long time. The technicolor glitter, the show in the sky, the burning jet fuel and impressive fireworks. I haven't been this enchanted by anything in a long time, and it's a good feeling.

My second night in Australia, and this happens. What a beautiful experience. I want to open my arms wide and say thank you to this wonderful country for arranging this event specially for me. Of course I know it isn't really in my honor, but I can't help but feel like that.

This is the moment when I realize that I love this place. Australia is welcoming me with open arms, and I am doing the same to her. We love each other. It's a love affair that has begun with literal fireworks.

I smile to myself at this thought. I don't tell my friend what I am thinking, but he can see it in my face. "Happy?" he asks.

I nod and then start to laugh from pure happiness.

"Very," I tell him.






(clip from the opening of the River Festival ... fast forward to 3 minutes to see the actual start of the show -- it's high quality footage!)