Fire Arts Festival, Oakland

I'd had the Fire Arts Festival recommended to me in my first stay in San Francisco, so this year I made a point of forking out for the expensive ($45) ticket and headed across the San Francisco Bay to Oakland for an evening of ... fire. It was pretty much what the name says, although the name could really have been the Amazing Incredible Fire Art Spectacle without much exaggeration. Towering vortexes of flames (so huge they reached up to the overhead suburban rail, and caused the drivers to slow down and have a look, passengers plastered against the windows), giant sculptures repeatedly emoliated in flame, perpetually burning cacti and people dancing with high-voltage electric discharge were just a few of the things I saw.

Somethings, like the fire-spitting fire engine and the steam punk tree house, were familiar from Burning Man 2007. It was great to see them again, especially since I had made the decision not to go back to Burning Man this year. I didn't realize how much the Crucible Workshop, which hosts this event, contributed to Burning Man - and this seems to be one of their major fund raiser activities.
There are more photographs on my Flickr page.