INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM FESTIVAL FIREWORKS 2004

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

 

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

 

My friend Scott and I decided about 4 PM to go downtown to see the fireworks. I hadn't seen them--except once on the Canadian side in 1986--since Ed and I used to take our 13' Boston Whaler motor boat down there in the 1970s. What I remembered from those adventures was ash raining down on us, and a bumpy trip home as we rode the competing wakes of dozens of big boats. Scott, a visiting Californian, had never seen our Detroit fireworks. My husband Ed told Scott, who had regularly seen San Francisco's fireworks display, that Detroit's were the best in the country. Scott just laughed because Ed always says Detroit is the best...at anything!

We got downtown about 5 PM. I knew enough to park on the street at least a mile east of Hart Plaza, and to be sure the car was headed toward home. The few times I'd driven down to the fireworks had taught me that getting home can take a long, long time. And we don't even have to take the expressway. I was happy to find a good parking place on E. Lafayette and Rivard, a few blocks east of Greektown.

To give you some idea of the size of the crowd that generally descends on downtown Detroit for the fireworks, they expected at least a half a million people. And being the Motor City meant most folks would be driving and would have to find some place to park. The police closed the expressways coming into the city at 7 PM, three hours before the fireworks were scheduled to start!

This was another instance of my being grateful for the ease of traveling in my new handicap-accessible minivan, Sojourner. Scott, a dear friend from San Francisco, had certainly done his share of schlepping my Amigo scooter in and out of cars, so it was a treat to let him sit back and watch the magic of my easy exit via the automatic-unfolding ramp.

After parking, we walk/scooted the three blocks to Monroe street in the center of Greektown. We decided to have a light supper at the New Athenium restaurant, one of Greektown's few unchanged reminders of this old neighborhood's pre-casino days. After enjoying a yummy salad and sageki (garlic/cucumber yoghurt dip), we joined the stream of folks walking the 5-6 blocks over to the riverfront.

It was 7 PM by the time we arrived at Hart Plaza, our destination. And was it crowded! We scouted out a number of possible spots for viewing the fireworks, and finally ended up right behind the Noguchi fountain--irreverently called "The Donut on Legs" by locals--in an area where folks seemed to be giving each other lots of breathing room. By then, the fireworks were still over two-and-a-half hours away. Lots of time for a good long visit--which Scott and I wanted since we'd only be together this one day--and for us to get to know our neighbors.

We met and talked at length with Casey, a home health care aid, who had come in with her friend and their collective children/grandchildren from Monroe, 40 miles southwest of Detroit. With her was Kevin, her friend's grandson who was in town visiting from Utah. Next to them were Gloria, a business consultant, and Dale, a nurse at the hospital where my husband was born 74 years ago. They had driven in from Ann Arbor, 50 miles away. Behind them, we met Brian who had smiled for a picture I'd taken earlier. He wanted to know if Scott and I were married. Since Scott is in his mid-40s and I'm in my early 60s, we got a chuckle over that!

After awhile Scott went off to brave the porta-potty lines and to buy an "elephant ear," a traditional Detroit-area sweet that looks tempting but tastes like sugar-covered dough. He waited 45 MINUTES to get his treat and paid $5 for the privilege. Everything was $5, including an ice cream cone. And no one seemed to mind.

During the entire three hours, we were being serenaded--more like blasted--by a "classic soul" radio station being broadcast over mammoth loudspeakers. It made talking a bit of a challenge, but again no one seemed to mind. Actually, no one seemed to mind much of anything at Hart Plaza that night. Scott and I didn't see or hear one angry action or word, not even a child being reprimanded. From where we sat, this was exactly as we'd want the world to be: culturally diverse, all ages getting along together, friendly interactions between strangers, and everyone just happy to be there. Right before the fireworks began, I told Scott that even if there were NO fireworks, I would consider this to have been a perfect evening. But I had no idea what was to come!

There are no words to describe the THRILL, and occasional SHOCK, of Detroit's fireworks extravaganza! It goes on for a solid 40 minutes, with three sets of fireworks being set off from three barges positioned in the middle of Detroit River between Canada and the U.S. A medley of music blares from the loudspeakers, but instead of detracting, it only adds to the excitement. The BOOMS make the ground rock under your feet and can even cause your hands to cover your ears involuntarily. We were so close that the fireworks exploded RIGHT over our heads, and ash came tumbling down! I kept telling myself to close my mouth so it wouldn't get filled with ash, but I couldn't do it. I just HAD to "ooh" and "aah" and scream. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!

After the final sizzling firework had exploded over our, by then, ash-covered heads, Scott said, "It's going to be tough to top that!" We decided to sit tight and let thousands of folks "beat" us out of Hart Plaza. Our neighbors stayed too, and little Kevin asked for a scooter ride. His job was to toot my pink horn so we wouldn't run anyone down. He was a great "tooter!"

After 20-30 minutes, Scott and I gathered up our gear and made our way toward the entrance to Hart Plaza. At E. Jefferson Avenue we had to pass beside a large area that was cordoned off by yellow crime tape and guarded by dozens of police. Someone said there had been a shooting, but I hoped it was a rumor. The next day we learned that there had indeed been a shooting and nine people had been wounded.

I am putting up this photo-journal to show that that one random act of violence was NOT the norm, but an aberration, a tragic occurence that is not indicative of what happens at large gatherings in my city. In 39 years of living in and around Detroit, I have never before been in such a situation...and I attend dozens of VERY crowded free festivals in downtown Detroit every summer.

May Detroit continue to draw people from around the world to join in our downtown celebrations of great fireworks, music, sports, entertainment and community. And may those who were wounded on Wednesday night be healed.

 

(click on thumbnails to see photos in a larger format)

 


 

photos by Patricia Lay-Dorsey & Scott Weldon



Windchime Walker's blog
Windchime Walker's journal
Windchime Walker's home page