You could see this fire dancer as performing a ritual ceremony in a futuristic society, surrounded by acolytes who worship 21st Century suspension bridges. It's just the awkwardly-named Stan Musial-Veterans Memorial Bridge across the Mississippi. Looks cool at night, though.
Okay, terrible joke. I still have a few pictures from Artica I want to use before I move on. The is another one of the fire dancers who performed before the immolation of Our Lady of Artica. The surrounding people and building give it a sense of scale.
The Artica festival site is close to the Mississippi but almost all of it is behind a flood wall. However, there is a long bike trail that runs along the river for a miles north of downtown. People ride on either side of the wall and it;s common for them to stop by the festival. Bike clothing has become elaborate and brightly colored.
Been a long time since I rode a bicycle, although I did it a lot when I was younger. The last time I tried my knee got so inflamed I needed a steroid shot. (Thanks to you, Steve, if you see this.) It's scared me off since.
On the Artica main stage, the musician who calls herself Celia entertains the crowd. The festival has a pretty good logo, a graphic representation of Our Lady of Artica, the giant effigy that goes up in flames at the end of the last night.
Jalapeños and poblanos make an effective shield to ward off evil. The headpiece helps scare everything away. This guy shows up for Artica every year but, you know, he's hard to talk to.
