April 09--The Great Chicago Fire Festival that was dubbed "the fiasco on the river" by a prominent alderman last fall after floating houses failed to ignite as thousands of spectators looked on will be reprised this year with another infusion of public money, the city's special events commissioner confirmed Thursday.
Commissioner Michelle Boone said steps will be taken to make sure the prop buildings burn better. Her pledge to continue with the Redmoon Theater-produced festival was not unexpected, since she gave the inaugural event strong backing after the centerpiece conflagration fizzled last October.
"We're still planning to present the Fire Festival. There's $100,000 allocated in our budget to support it," Boone said after appearing at a City Council committee meeting Thursday to talk about the 2014 special events ordinance.
Many attendees left last fall's festival disappointed when the structures, which had been sitting out in the rain on the river prior to the event, didn't catch fire as spectacularly as promised.
"We're working to ensure the houses will ignite in a way that will ignite the imagination as well for the spectators that will be there," she said.
Boone said the specifics on how to make certain the fire works would be left to Redmoon but suggested the houses could be covered, or built off-site and transported to the river shortly before the scheduled burning. Redmoon officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Days after the inaugural festival, 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke called the event "the fiasco on the river" and demanded an accounting of how taxpayer dollars were spent.
Boone at that time said the city provided $100,000 in Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events grants from the 2013 budget and $250,000 more from the 2014 budget. There was also $1.5 million raised for last year's event from companies and foundations, according to Redmoon.
jebyrne@tribpub.com
