THUNDER BAY – The last Live at the Waterfront concert of the season drew thousands of people of all ages looking up at the night sky along the Lake Superior shoreline to see a reflection of their community.
The drone light show showed images that represent Turtle Island, Lake Superior, the Sleeping Giant, woodland animals, and the natural spaces where Northwesterners of the district work and play.
Presented by the Thunder Bay Airport, the organization unveiled its new logo, designed to pay tribute to the region the airport serves, and passengers will see it when flying in and out of Thunder Bay.
A senior resident said the drone light show was “really enjoyable,” comparing the spectacle to one she had seen on Canada’s Got Talent in Niagara Falls.
“It was just amazing how they managed to keep it all together like that,” she said in an interview.
She said she has seen drone shows in the past and thinks there is a market in Thunder Bay to perform more drone light shows.
A spectator visiting Thunder Bay from southern Ontario said the drone light show reminded him of Light Brite, a toy that was originally marketed in 1967. It consists of a light box with small coloured plastic pegs that fit into a panel and illuminate to create a picture.
“I thought it was pretty cool. I mean, you can do quite a bit with the drones and draw a lot of interesting images and kind of, you know, represent things that are local around here, like they did, Kakabeka Falls and Sleeping Giant. It was cool,” he said.
Two youthful residents said Thunder Bay should do more shows like these.
“We need to invest in events like this that are free for the city, that people can come out to and show that Thunder Bay has it,” the young male said.
A young female resident said she felt that, because the show was cancelled the night before, it seemed that the people of Thunder Bay turned out in droves to Marina Park on Thursday.
“It was like everyone made an effort to make it out tonight, and there was just to see how many thousands of people here. It was really, really cool to just see people from all over the city having a good time enjoying the drones,” she said.
Thursday’s show was supposed to be night two of the drone light shows. Both shows were scheduled for back-to-back nights this week, but Wednesday’s storm forced organizers to postpone one of the shows to Sept. 19.
Sept. 19's event will have live performances prior to the drone light show.
