In our last post, the Charnival had just gone dark, waiting for opening hour (7pm on Sunday).

Now that it was dark, we could get a true idea of what Mirror Blaze would look like!

S climbs the lifeguard stand and gets into position by the Big Red Button!:

And we perform a flame test!:

Well, we try to, but this is what happens when you have multiple layers of safety. The glow fly[1] was on, but one of the quarter-turn safety shutoff valves (we had at least two that I remember, one at the fuel depot, and one right by the flame effect) was still closed.

Try again?:

Success! Cackling[2] ensues!

Next, you can see the bunting and a view of stage right/back of the maze in the dark:

Here’s an overhead view of stage left, with Francis the Fantastic on fire in the background providing illumination:

This is the video of Mirror Blaze that I show most often, as it’s short, and shows the striking difference between ‘totally dark’ and ‘on fire’:

While I was up in the chair, S took some time to explain the secrets of the Mirror Blaze to some unsuspecting passers-by:

And then we were open! Here’s a (very) short video of what nighttime burners look like navigating a fire mirror maze:

Success!

To end off, I’ll share my favourite picture of Mirror Blaze and the Charnival. I had thought it was taken by Matt, but I’m no longer sure, as there were a number of people who wanted to climb the lifeguard chair to take pictures. It might have been taken with S’s or someone else’s cellphone. (Please let me know so I can give proper attribution!) This is taken from the lifeguard chair overlooking Mirror Blaze, looking out over the Charnival:

Next time, Charlie visits again for a dance party!

[1]Honeywell ‘hot surface igniters’ or ‘Glow flies’ are the propane flame effect igniters of choice for Site 3 Fire Arts. They’re pricey, but reliable. Putting a wind/gas-directing shield around them helps protect them from wind and makes them more reliable (more pics of this later).

[2]Surprisingly, the cackling seems to have been coming from me.