It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Well… Guy Fawkes Night. But it’s starting to feel like Christmas too.

Last night a group of us went out to Maxilla Gardens to watch a mob (read: performers, policemen, and firemen) burn an effigy of the notorious Guy Fawkes. There were fire jugglers and kids running around with sparklers. There was a drumline and men on stilts. 

For the finale, the base of a large structure was set afire, on top of which sat the effigy. The base of the structure was decorated with large panels painted with the face of Guy Fawkes. A great cheer rang out when the head fell into the flames and people clapped as the flames reached higher and higher. 

When the bonfire settled itself down a bit, we had a fantastic view of the fireworks. The best thing about the night were the children’s reactions. So funny. At one point, one child's cry rang out in almost dead silence, "YYYYYEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" And there was a small child (probably about three-years-old) sitting up on his Daddy's shoulders that let out an awed, "Oh. My. GOD." upon seeing a particularly large explosion.

The flames were over fifty feet high.

This Guy Fawkes night will never be forgot.

---Victoria Hargrove