2023 DATE: September 16, 2023
This post documents my experience on October 7, 2017.
Along Broadway in downtown Lorain…
…a band performance (Exotic Fruit Club)…
…a fashion show (Jevon Terance)…
…and spoken word performed by Hazel Chapman (Tracy Chapman’s mom) were occurring only a stone’s throw from each other.
Welcome to the FireFish Festival…
…where the city’s location along Lake Erie and the Black River (water)…
…merged with its heritage of steel (fire) (FireFish STEAM Academy)…
…to give birth to a creature that would light “the way to a new future and vision” (Pace Academy)…
…something that would happen to this FireFish in the literal sense…
…since it would be ignited at the festival’s close (photo courtesy of FireFish Festival).
The festival was intended to bring life to the downtown area, partially by helping local businesses (Charleston Coffee)…
…but also by having festival goers explore building spaces (Horizon)…
…filled with art, activities and musical performances…
…labyrinths made with fire hoses…
…to honor first responders…
…and seemingly useless junk sculptures…
…to create their own Rocking Recycle Jamboree (Falcon Eddie Cummins).
Exploration definitely was important at the FireFish Festival…
…since visiting the old post office…
…gave you the chance to pick art from PO boxes (with donation)…
…taking a closer look at shells on the sidewalk…
…helped you spell out a message…
…and just walking around gave you art processes to observe…
…art processes to take part in…
…interesting living accommodations to consider (Loren Naji)…
…and tons of entertainment to enjoy…
…as there were stages set up all over the grounds…
…sometimes upstairs in buildings…
…or improvised on the street.
In-between all the activities, there were vendors…
…representing community churches (Episcopal Church of the Redeemer) and service organizations (Genesis House)…
…as well as vendors who sold everything from paintings and glass…
…to clothing and cabbages.
But if cabbages weren’t your thing, there were many other food vendors…
…with offerings that included Indian food (Indian Delight)…
…Polish boys (Dave’s Place)…
…locally grown fresh foods (Hooper Farm)…
…plenty of tacos (The Green Machine)…
…and even some beer to wash it all down.