Following the Rules

The website said "No cameras or recording equipment of any kind", it was printed on the ticket too. So I left my trusty camera at home because I follow the rules. So there I was without a camera while the throngs around me who ignored the rules were all happily snapping away. And you poor reader are subject to having to look at others pictures to get a glimpse of the inferno that is The Crucible Fire Arts Festival. But no picture can capture the heat or the noise that accompanies a towering tornado of fire at least three stories high. My face felt singed and the light was blinding. There was a stage of Dance Dance Immolation where the dancers, dressed in protective suits were blasted in the face with fire when they did poorly. There was a demonstration of iron casting where the molten metal was poured slowly from a large bucket into a mold, the liquid bubbled and sparks flew everywhere lighting up the sky like sparklers. Everywhere you looked large flames jumped up into the air with a whoosh and a blast of heat and the crowd would cringe. There were several gigantic Tesla Coils spitting bolts of crackling electricity. It's amazing to think the Oakland Fire Department allows thousands of people to walk around in a field of pyrotechnics, but thankfully they do. The fire arts festival is a fascinating display of the power of fire, the sounds and the heat are truly astounding. For three days in Oakland the sky is on fire. It's a guilty pleasure to derive enjoyment from so much energy being used solely for entertainment. It makes one wonder is this a small touch of what it feels like when a bomb goes off or a forest fire roars nearby? The fire is scary enough in a controlled environment that I hope to never face it uncontrolled.