(Above) This structure, sitting on a barge east of Michigan Avenue, is going to burn like a house on fire Saturday evening. It is one of three floating platforms that were moved into position on Monday for the Great Chicago Fire Festival’s “Grand Spectacle.”.
Official Grand Spectacle Schedule
Saturday, October 4, 2014
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3:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Neighborhood River Bazaar along Wacker Drive between Michigan Avenue and State Street on south side of river. 15 Chicago neighborhoods will each have two kiosks selling food, crafts, and other goods.
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Expect thousands of people on both sides of the river, including circus performers such as this fire spinner. |
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8:00 p.m.
Grand Spectacle begins with a tribute to First Responders and the festival’s “neighborhood partners.”
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(Above) A map of the spectacle, with the flame icons representing positions of the floating houses that will be set on fire. One is east of State Street near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, another is east of Wabash Avenue near O’Brien’s Riverwalk Café, and the third is east of the DuSable Bridge at Michigan Avenue.
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8:10 p.m.
The main event begins when Grand Marshals Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney (left), stars of the NBC television series Chicago Fire, ignite a cauldron on the DuSable Bridge at Michigan Avenue. The cauldron will be lowered to watercraft on the river.
This will also be happening on the bridges at State Street, Wabash Avenue, and Columbus Drive. A total of 15 fire cauldrons will be ignited and lowered to the river.
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9:15 p.m.
The beginning of the end of the Grand Spectacle.
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