Who won the fireworks competition?

Each year there is a fireworks competition in Vancouver. The fireworks are set off from a barge in the water of English Bay, and depending on where barge is anchored, we can see between 1/3 to 1/2 of the fireworks from our balcony.

They set off the fireworks at 10 pm on a Wednesday / Saturday /Wednesday / Saturday schedule, and we are on the first Saturday show today. 

Tonight we had a group from South Africa doing the performance. We also had a special guest star appearance from Mother Nature. A rare electrical storm started up about an hour before the start time for the fireworks, it has mostly settled down now, but it was spectacular. The fireworks show did go on as well, but you have to wonder who won tonight, South Africa, or Mother Nature.

On South Africa's side, their performance was timed to music (which we listened to on a radio station), and it was quite colourful. They did use the sky quite well, and had many low-to-the-water fireworks, which we can't see, but they are apparently a large part of the competition scoring. The music selection was sappy, but it often is in these shows.

On Mother Nature's side, no special timing to music... but the show did use the theme song from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies... and she did do a damn good impression of a pirate taking over the show. Much of the lightening filled the entire sky with light - and that's the entire sky, much more than the fireworks ever covered. The spiky slivers of lightening didn't come too often, but they stole the show every time. The colours in the sky during the show were all done by the fireworks, but for an hour before the show started the storm made the sky an amazing blue transitioning to purple, pink, orange, and yellow. (See the photo I've attached to this post.)

On top of the visual competition, anyone down on the beach must have gotten drenched watching the fireworks. We typically have loads of traffic going by our apartment building after a fireworks show, there's not that much tonight.

The fireworks are nice, but I have to say, I think Mother Nature did a much better job with her electrical storm tonight.