Free Bird Wands by Victoria O'Neill for The Phoenixville Firebird Festival 2014

Today is the day of 11th Annual Phoenixville Firebird Festival. A beautiful wooden bird was built by devoted volunteers to burn tonight, to culminate a day of arts and culture throughout the town of Phoenixville. Here is an ariel view of this year's bird, waiting in the field for the big night.

In a bizarre twist of fate, the bird was lit and burnt to the ground at 4:00 a.m. At this point nobody seems to know who set it on fire or why. Last year we had a major snowstorm that put somewhat of a damper on the event. Steady rain is forecast for today and tonight. I cancelled my bird wand making workshop this morning.

The community is determined to rise above all these odds, and today a bonfire is being burned literally on top of the ashes of the Phoenix that already burned. The fire will burn all day and into the night. The festival is still scheduled to go on, and the bonfire will be the focus instead of the ceremonial lighting and burning of the bird.

I am donating all my bird wands for this year to the evening. There are about 200 of them, and they will be available this evening for FREE to whoever gets there first.

www.artypantz.com



UPDATE on festival.....a new bird was made and burned!  Here are a couple of shots of the wands in action.