The eighth annual Fire Arts Festival is a one-of-a-kind showcase of innovative works of fire and light art and is hosted by the one of the most celebrated arts education centers on the West Coast. Working in conjunction with the City of Oakland and the Oakland Police and Fire Departments, the Festival showcases fire and light sculpture with a series of lectures, workshops, demonstrations and dazzling nightly performances held at the Crucibles 200,000+ square feet Fire Arts Arena.

While in past years performances and displays in the Arena have been limited to weekend nights, this year the Festival kicks off on Wednesday evening with a full-blown presentation of creations by local fire artists and metalurgists in addition to the debut performance of the Crucible's Festival centerpiece, 'The Fire Odyssey.'

A mix of industrial fire theatre, ballet, opera, hip hop, aerial dance, fire performance and more, 'The Fire Odyssey' follows in the footsteps of the Crucible's acclaimed fire operas and this year's celebrated production of 'Romeo & Juliet, A Fire Ballet.' Each evening at 10 p.m., performance brings together an amazing cast of dancers and performers to create an epic as Homer never imagined it. Participants include opera singer Aimee Puentes singing the role of Penelope, Mongolian contortionist Byamba Serchmaa as Circe; members of the renowned hip-hop troupe Flavor Group play Odysseus' men, and a live soundtrack provided by noted Bay Area musician Mark Growden and his hand-picked ensemble.

Other highlights during the four nights of Fire Arts Arena include an appearance by Oakland's own hip-hop revolutionaries the Coup (Friday), a dance performance by Sacramento-based modern bellydance troupe Unmata (Wednesday), a presentation from acclaimed SF performance art group Capacitor (Thursday), gypsy world-music outfit Fishtank Ensemble (Saturday) and numerous other dance troupes and live fire performers.

Instead of hosting it's traditional fund-raising Fire & Light Art Auction Soiree on the closing night of the festival, this year The Crucible gives supporters of the arts a different way to help the organization by offering the Patron Pavilion Pass for purchase. By adding $50 to the general admission ticket price for any day, attendees can enjoy an exclusive entrance and access to The Crucible’s Patron Pavilion with it’s own courtyard, live video of main stage activities, a private bar and tasty tidbits, preferred seating, as well as exclusive entry to the phenomenal Steampunk Tree House (a spectacular 30-foot-tall interactive sculpture that makes its first Bay Area appearance here, despite being built by an Oakland-based collective). Purchasing a Patron Pass gets a full tour of the structure with a bird’s-eye view of the Fire Arts ArenaFor more information on the Fire Arts Festival, please visit the Crucible's special web page.

Date(s):
2008 Jul: 9-12

Location: Oakland

Venue: The Crucible

Time Info: 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Price Info: $35-$55