The Honda Celebration of Light in Vancouver is the longest-running offshore fireworks festival globally. This annual exhibition of fireworks, which was named “Symphony of Fire,” has been running for 31 years now.
It is held on English Bay and takes place during July and August. In the afternoon, you can expect live music and entertainment. At night, the fantastic display of pyro-musical fireworks is sure to leave you in awe.
The multiple-day event has an estimated annual attendance of 1.4 million people.
History
The event had been previously sponsored by British American Tobacco (with the branding Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire). Still, after the Canadian federal government legislated tobacco advertising restrictions, there were fears that the event would fail to receive sufficient funding to continue operations.
The Vancouver event, with various sponsors, has been re-branded as the Celebration of Light.
British American Tobacco informed Ontario Place Corporation, the hosts of the Toronto exhibition, that they could continue holding the annual event, but under a different name, as the Symphony of Fire trademark vested with Benson and Hedges. The Toronto event has since been renamed the Canada Dry Festival of Fire. This year, the current Sponsor is Honda, and it has since been renamed again to Honda Celebration of Light.
Organizers of the Honda Celebration of Light said the three-day fireworks competition would be held on July 23, 27 and 30.
How cultural events like Honda’s Celebration of light make people happier
This is one of those things you probably already knew but now have data to back up: Arts and culture make people happier in a big way.
A study in the UK has found out how much the arts affect people’s decisions about whether to move or stay in a city. And it turns out that the presence of arts and culture, like the Celebration of Light, had a significant impact on how happy and satisfied people felt, how attached they felt to a place, and how much they felt like they were part of a community. In fact, people gave the presence of culture as much weight as the presence of good schools when deciding where to live.
The “Value of Arts and Culture in Place-Shaping” study looked at 1,756 responses to a 2017 survey done all over the UK. The report, which was done by the research firm Wavehill Ltd. and paid for by Arts Council England, makes a good case for community arts funding and suggests that the arts could help bring new people to smaller towns.
About 68% of the people who answered the survey said that arts and cultural events were critical to making them feel like they were part of their community. Over half of the people in their area would like to see more things to do. And almost two-thirds of them said that arts and culture were good for their own health. (It’s interesting that only 36% of people said that arts and culture were “essential to life.”)
At Art-bc, you can learn about cultural events happening in the Illinois area. Whether you live nearby or are planning a trip to visit, you can stay up to date on many of the annual cultural events.
Expand Your World by Attending a Cultural Event
These unique experiences offer insight into a group of individuals and the shared understanding they are bound by. Attending a cultural event lets you connect with your local community and the world over.
