Come on baby light my fire

By: Y. Murad Erzinclioglu

The night sky will be set ablaze in Lasalle Sept. 28 and more than 2,000 people are expected to attend.

Artcite Inc., Windsor’s artist-run gallery, holds their Fahrenheit Festival at the Vollmer Complex in Lasalle. The festival is the only one of its kind in Canada. The event, which originated in 2001, features hand-made wooden sculptures that are burned before an audience of thousands. The sculptures are made of wood, hay and wire with minimal amounts of metal to aid in the movement of some sculptures.

Steve Daigle has been participating as a sculptor at the event since 2002. His backyard in Windsor’s west end has transformed from a garden to a makeshift workshop for himself and several other artists who will be participating. Daigle and other artists put countless hours into the concepts, designs and construction of sculptures, some the height of a two-story home, just to burn them to the ground. Daigle said it’s all worth it.

“I’ve got maybe 20 hours into [building] this particular sculpture this year and in five to ten minutes it’s gone,,” Daigle said. “A source of light and warmth and energy and it’s an endlessly fascinating process, it’s very deep in our culture, very deep in our psyche and it just fascinates people.”

Bernard Helling is the artistic coordinator at Artcite Inc. He said he agrees that the event is an opportunity to share art with the masses and not just the higher-brow crowd the gallery usually caters to.

“This kind of work is not an elite work,” Helling said. “I don’t think you’d get 2,000 people, 3,000 people showing up for a high-art, performance art type of event, but basically these people are, it’s just not packaged that way. You can still present a valid artistic experience, something that will move you, something you’ll remember, something you’ll experience.”

The festival not only features the burning of the sculptures but a DJ playing fire-themed music, a fire dancing squad from Detroit and concessions. Artcite has specifically chosen to keep the festival’s family-friendly appeal intact, so don’t expect anything akin to Nevada’s Burning Man Festival.

“There are some people who always yell at me, ‘When are you going to have beer?’ and we’ve stayed away from it because it’s a family event,” Daigle says. “And the instant we put a beer tent up, it would not be that much of a family event.”

Festivalgoers are encouraged to head to the Vollmer Complex before the burn starts at 8:30 p.m. and to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. Entry is $5 for adults and $2 for children 12 years old and under. More information is available at www.artcite.ca

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