Theatre | Travel | VIP

Fab’s GlobalFest Fireworks Fail

August 27, 2012

Last night, the ‘Finale’ of GlobalFest… An event which I listed as 1 of the top 5 ‘must see’ events in Calgary.

Everything was lined up to go; 3 VIP tickets for myself and the Fab team. Blankets, sweaters, sour candies and water all packed up and ready to go!

The annual event which includes a full evening celebration called ‘One World’ opened their gates to the public at 7pm and the evening was to conclude at 11:30pm.

Not one to be overly early, and with the event wrap time listed as 11:30pm my team and I would plan to arrive between 9:30-10:00, leaving plenty of time to set up our blanket and get settled in for the big show.

Boy were we wrong!

9:40 in the car en-route and the unmistakable sound shook the car…

They were happening!

As tears filled our eyes we realized that we had disastrously mis-calculated the assumed start time and we were missing the show we had waited an entire year to see.

As we swerved into oncoming traffic trying to catch a glimpse of the brightly coloured explosions we decided it would be best to just pull over and watch them.

Now, standing in an auto salvage yard, blanket-less we watched what was left of the annual spectacular show. And instead of seeing them paired with live music, a first in the 10 year history of the fest, we watched them to the sounds of the passing train.

This is a fail we will never let each other forget!

Better luck next year.

Mr. Fab & crew



  1. Russ and I went, and the fireworks and music were awesome! But if it makes you feel any better, you were lucky enough to miss out on the hoards of children with “light sabres” and a LOT of what Russ referred to as “Honey Boo Boo people”. Seriously, I didn’t even know Calgary had that many people who own tracksuits….

  2. Ahhh bummer. I can understand the pain you feel deep down when missing out on a big show. That is super tragic. But now you’ll just have to prep to go early next year with a bottle of wine to pass the time and REALLY enjoy the show when goes off! But careful how much wine you consume while waiting, or next year you’ll be there but just not remember it. lol

  3. Awww…that’s terrible. I just blogged about the GlobalFest Grand Finale. It was an amazing show! Love your idea to bring along treats and beverages. You have next year to look forward to….the countdown is on!

  4. Dear friends: it is clearly printed on those tickets GATES OPEN AT 6 PM.

    GlobalFest is a festival, not just 20 minutes of fireworks. There are all manner of events going on at the site – Elliston Park – from the second the gates open, until 9 p.m., at which point, there are LOUD, park-wide announcements to signal the upcoming fireworks display.

    GlobalFest, having been running now for 16 years, also has an excellent website, which has all the details about the festival and timing, and location, of events on site….

    You don’t need to bring ANYTHING. There is copious food on site; there are between 15 and 20 food vendors and lately food trucks as well.

    Regarding Sabrina’s comment, alcohol is NOT PERMITTED on site except in the beer garden, hosted by GlobalFest.

Looking forward to reading your comments!