STORY:
Seattle Fired Up for Year 2000

Northwest City will light art on fire to celebrate New Year

The city of Seattle wants to make an impression this New Year's Eve, a fiery one. While some cities are lighting fireworks to mark the end of an era this Northwest city is going to set its art on fire.

Hoping to leave 1999 behind in a blaze of glory, the city plans to torch a large-scale art installation on New Year’s Eve. While the art is burning the city will hold a dramatic fire ceremony to symbolically release the past and welcome the future.

"We wanted to knock the socks off the country" Seattle Mayor Paul Schell told a press conference. The mayor says he also wants to capture the city’s humor, whimsy and panache.

Seattle certainly will have a unique celebration. Here’s what will happen on New Year’s Eve.

At twilight four sculpted horsemen, a dozen farm animals and a massive egg representing " a hopeful vessel" will roll through the Seattle Center in the downtown area. The sculptures, which range in height from 6 to 17 feet, will be parked in front of an International Fountain. Bells will ring, drums will pound and the structures will each burst into flames by remote control.

This idea brings back a centuries old fire festival in Valencia, Spain. The Spanish city once celebrated by burning giant creations of paper mache’, wood and wax that kept the firelight glowing for hours.

"We wanted to create something with more meaning than just additional fireworks" the Seattle Center Director, Virginia Anderson, told members of the press yesterday. "We believe it is the most unique millennium celebration in the country".

The city will also have fireworks at midnight. Every year an elaborate firework display is set off Seattle’s space needle. The art fire will be in addition to the annual fireworks.

This bonfire is part of the city’s ongoing Millennium Project. Seattle hopes to light bridges throughout the downtown area as well. However, the money is in short supply for the bridge lighting part of the project. Seattle was hoping to light up nine city bridges, but at this time only one or two will actually be lit for the New Year’s Eve party. Only half of the $500,000 need to light up the bridges has been raised so far.

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

DATE: 11/11/99

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