We love the Philly Rail Park project! It’s been awesome to be involved with their fundraising events over the years, and their latest event at Brick and Mortar was super fun. The weather was beautiful, the crowd fun and the space was awesome. Geri’s man Marc helped us out by taking some photos, so glad we’ve got friends who help us document our shows. Thanks to Michael Garden for bringing us to your fundraiser, we hope we got the guests to donate lots and lots of money!
Back in May one of Lux Arati’s own got hitched! Nicole and Chris got married under the Shambles at Headhouse square. The rain pushed the fire show back a bit, but the clouds cleared to beautifully slicked down cobblestone and dramatic skies. It was awesome to see the guests’ faces watching the show. For many of them it was the first time they’d seen Lux Arati in person, and they all seemed sufficiently wow-ed. In what is perhaps the best compliment ever, Chris’ 9 year old nephew (who helped out by lighting the fire bouquet to start the show) excitedly asked when the next wedding was going to be. His mom had to tell him not every wedding has a fire show! The wedding photographers, Black White & Raw, did an amazing job covering the whole event. Nicole picked them specifically because they not only had a great wedding portfolio, they also had a lot of experience with sideshows and fire photography. They did not disappoint. Nicole worked with artist John Howell to commission a metal flower for the center of her bouquet, and lighting it with Chris started off the show. The finale was, of course, an amazing fire breath by Michelle. What a way to get a party started! Check out video and some of Black White & Raw’s photos below.
We’re happy to be a continued part of fundraising for the Rail Park! Join us for the latest and greatest, #BAMFest! Info and tickets here.
If you’re in Philly and you haven’t heard of the Front Street Cafe in Fishtown yet… this is the event for you. The Cafe is a really great space, owned and operated by some good friends of ours. They’ve been in a soft open for a little bit, but are having a week of festivities for their Grand Opening. We’re excited to be spinning some fire for their Saturday night entertainment. It’s predicted to be pretty cold, but we’re set with layers and hand warmers, and there are windows so all the warm patrons inside can watch the performance in comfort 🙂 We’ll be spinning from 11pm to around 12, for a late-night happy hour. We might even be joined by some other fiery friends, so it’ll totally be worth braving the cold for!
Additional info about the event can be found on their facbeook event page here. The cafe is located at 1253 N. Front St., one block north of Girard station on the El. Some write-ups about the great space can be found here and here. The TL;DR- great space, friendly atmosphere and fresh menu featuring farm-to-table, locally sourced and organic food with lots of options for omnivores, vegans & gluten-free folk.
As always, life gets in the way, and I only realized yesterday that I still haven’t posted a recap of Krampuslauf. What to say? The Krampuslauf kids… wow. We’re so proud of them! Tara, Xtina and I met up with the kids the night before our fundraiser and taught them a little choreography. (Well, Xtina and Tara taught them. I’m rubbish at that part, haha.) They recorded the dance, took great notes and practiced all month. Watching them on stage was great. They had fantastic faux fire props- hoops with battery powered tea lights, LED hangers made from wire and fan operated fire pots. I hear they’re already working on how to make the props brighter and planning for next year. Can’t wait!
The weather- how could it have been any better? I’ve never been sweating in my Krampuslauf furs before! This freakishly warm East Coast might make the holidays feel a bit strange, but it’s great for a mid-December outside gathering. We did have one small incident though- our intrepid Safety and All-Around-Awesome-Guy Alex ran eyeball first into a tree branch while he was helping back stage. A cornea scratch and eye-patch later he’s on the mend. You’d think our first major injury would be related to the dangerous things that we do, not an angry tree! Glad he’s feeling better.
On to the photos. Of course, this is one of our most photographed events of the year. The costumes! The parade! Not to mention that the Krampuslauf group consists of some really great photographers. Steve Schultz and Michelle got together after the show to capture some great fire breaths. We’re so proud of our dragon! Ryan Wismer from PHL17 came by again and posted a really fantastic gallery. We’ve got a ton of photos over on facebook, here are some of my favorite.
Here’s to a New Year, looking forward to everything 2016 will bring!!
Lux Arati 