Clara Mae and The Crucible's Fire Arts Festival

A few weekends back, I really wanted to go to The Crucible's Fire Arts Festival here in Oakland. The Crucible is a non profit arts and crafts education enterprise located in West Oakland. Each year they put on an enormous festival of art made with fire. I have never been and was determined to go this year. The problem was, Clara Mae's mom was not going to be home that night, and (as usual) I waited till the last minute to try and find a babysitter for ole CM. Well, I never did.

I called just about everyone I could think of but could not find anyone to come over and sit with Clara Mae while I went to the festival. I had just about reconciled myself to the fact that I would just not be able to go when an idea struck me: why not take Clara Mae with me? Oh sure, fire is dangerous, and I knew the event would be crowded. But I just figured I would keep Clara on my shoulders or in my arms so that I was certain she could not get hurt. It seemed like a brilliant plan, and I was sure Clara would love to see all the beautiful art there.

So, I packed her into the car and off we went. When we got there, the event was even busier than I imagined! At first I didn't even think we would make it into the venue! But it pays to know lots of people! No sooner had we gotten inside the gate did a GIANT 30' fireball went off fairly close to us. You know the kind... the kind that makes the side of your face hot. Well, Clara Mae (who was in my arms) looked at me, and BURST out crying! She was scared to death, and I felt like a total heel! I promised her that I would protect her and that the fire would not come to where she was, but even so, it took her a good five minutes to calm down. Well, within 10 minutes she was not only calmed down, but exclaiming how COOL every various fire art installation was. Within the half hour she was screaming for MORE and BIGGER fire!

We stayed past her bedtime and saw a lot of very cool performances and art. Below you can see Clara Mae licking the giant ice block that only moments before had a stream of blue fire shooting through the middle of it (they had disconnected the flame at the time).

All in all, I think she totally enjoyed herself and I got to see the festival. For WEEKS after the event Clara Mae would constantly ask: "Where's the fire now, Daddy?"