No ideas but a fire festival would be pretty cool.

I read your post a few days ago and have been giving it a lot of thought since for what you say is correct. . . there hasn't been a cohesive fire community for some time.

Yes there are lots of fire peeps in Vancouver. I know quite a few personally but we don't all play together.

Before i go any further I feel it important to state that I've not been a real 'staple' within the fire community here. I've been flitting in and out for the last five years but in that time have seen it shift, morph and change. So the things I may be stating could stand to be corrected which is fine. My statements come from my personal experience and my personal opinion.

Fire Jams.

When I very first started going to Fire Jams here in Vancouver it was the Wednesday night jams at Trout Lake. WOW! They were absolutely amazing! 60 people all gathered together to watch, support, teach and learn from each other. It was a social gathering. It was also a place for Lori Miller to touch base with the community and sell her wares. Lori never had a fire permit for these jams. The cops always turned a polite blind eye to them as nobody was causing any real harm.

Over the course of a few years a few different things happened to change the overall energy of the fire jams. Some folks discovered fellow fire peeps that they wanted to work with and it gradually began to split off into different sections. This meant that not everyone was attending the weekly jams as they then had practice on that night.

Another major occurance was that Lori moved away from Vancouver to the Island to have her lovely baby Devon with her husband. Lori, IMHO, brought a lovely air of genuine generosity to the fire jams. I was away during this time living in San Francisco. When I returned back to Vancouver she had been gone awhile. I went to a Wednesday night jam and found something totally different than what I'd known.

I moved back to Vancouver in the fall of 2005 and stayed on until the following summer. In that time I began teaching poi classes as I normally do. I attended a few fire jams as well as I wanted to have a place for my students to go and spin. Needless to say I didn't really feel the welcome vibe from most people at these Wed fire jams. Sure, I could come and spin if I wanted but I didn't feel the sense of communal camaraderie that I normally felt when at these things. These folks were amazing spinners and a true joy to watch!!! But I felt the loss of teaching each other and sharing of knowledge.

In San Francisco I stopped going to fire jams as I didn't like them. Why? Because they'd turned into a place to go and show off, not share your knowledge. I was hesitant to reffer students to some jams as it wasn't the right place for them to go and learn. The reason I loved the Vancouver jams so much is that they hadn't reached that point yet when I'd first started attending. They were still a great place to go and feel accepted and share the common thing...a love of fire. Upon my return to Vancouver in 05/06 I felt that the fire jams had stopped becoming a place to learn and had become a place to merely show off.

Even these Wed night jams had split as there started to be a Sunday night jam with a 'dj'. I am unclear if these are still happening.

It is in my opinion that Fire Jams are a place to spin fire in a safe communal setting. It's a place where those who know the in's and out's can share their knowledge with those who are still learning. It's a safe place to make a mistake as opposed to making a mistake alone and in your back yard. One shouldn't be judged by thier skill level when lighting up at a Fire Jam. One should be supported in thier endeavors to learn.

That all being said there are some fire jams that happen sporadically. Random usually posts out about jams that happen either on Kits Beach or sometimes underneath the Burrard Bridge. I suspect that more will happen as the weather is getting nicer.

I think there is inspiration to continue....it just needs a kick in the pants is all ;) There's some wonderful people here who are very talented! There are also some amazing people who are just learning and need a place to practice with other like minded individuals! (I am teaching on a regular basis and have lots of students who ask me bout fire jams.....)

In regards to reviving the Van community....I would encourage anyone to start up a weekly jam session. Be sure to have proper safety practices in place and a good place to do it. Then put the word out. (I would do this but seriously don't have the time to commit to it right now with my teaching and rehearsal scheduale)

It's natural that the juggling and poi/fire communities should merge. I used to go to the juggling nights randomly with my poi and hoops and always had a wonderful time. The more the merrier right???

In regards to a Fire Arts Festival. Check out this link. This is where I have been working for the last five years off and on. I created thier fire arts program and was the Dept Head of the Fire ARts Program last year.....it's a freaking amazing event!!!

thecrucible.org/fireartsfe.../index.html

I ask people to correct me and chime in on the spots I've missed.

I would love to see a supportive place for people to spin fire together be created here in Vancouver. It needs to happen. I'll totally assist in spreading the word and doing whatever it takes...I just can't commit fully to being there every week to run it.

With Kindness
~MF~