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It's a family-friendly, truly "spectacular" spectacle--and Canada’s first Fire sculpting festival.

So what IS Fire Sculpture?
"Fire sculpture" harnesses the beauty of fire as a creative, performative act: the beauty of "Fire Sculpture" is not limited to the creation of a beautiful object (what is traditionally considered the "art"), but is rather focused on how each unique sculpture burns.

Skilled fire artists are able to use a minimum of means to control and shape the fire, to choke oxygen in order to control tempo and pace, and to manipulate the burning pattern so that the fire sculpture doesn't resemble, or burn, like a bonfire. The big art "burn" is fleeting, kinetic and encompasses a singular moment that can never be precisely restaged.

The lasting value of the unique art form of “Fire Sculpture” is literally created before--and in--the spectator's eyes: the final "art work" is only completed when the sculptures are finally torched and witnessed by the crowd.
Flashes of brilliance by Christina Kallery, Metro Times, 10/1/2003

Image Credit: Gligor Stefanov, 2005 Fahrenheit Festival

WHO'S PARTICIPATING???
The 2008 Fahrenheit Fest opens this year with fiery performances and feats of daring by members of Detroit’s acclaimed FIRE FABULON Troupe.

The BIG ART BURN of 12+ Fire Sculptures will feature works by artists from Windsor and Essex county—and from across Canada:
Denis Bolohan (Cookstown),Patricia Leguen (Saskatoon),Pat Conrad (Harrow),Steve Daigle (Windsor),Vin Halford (Windsor),Tonya Hart (Toronto),Ed Janzen (Kingsville),Suzanne Konyha (Windsor),Matthew Romain (Windsor),Erma Roung (Harrow),Ken Roung (Harrow),A.G. Smith (Windsor),Gligor Stefanov (Windsor),Rod Strickland (Windsor),Wayne Tousignant (Amherstburg).

The 2008 Fahrenheit Fest also features the following public, FREE pre-fest activities:

WED. Sept 24, 7:00 pm
Fred Israel Auditorium, Windsor Public Library Main Branch
Illustrated lecture by guest artist Sophia Isajiw (Los Angeles and Toronto, ON) on the history, ritual and unique collaborative communities behind contemporary Fire Art Festivals, including the wildly popular Burning Man Fest and Oakland’s Crucible Festival.

THURS. Sept 25, 7:00 pm
Capitol Theatre & Arts Centre, 121 University W.
illustrated lecture on Ephemeral Art and special construction techniques of Fire, Ice and Sand Sculpture by guest 2008 Fahrenheit sculptor Patricia Leguen (originally from Sainte-Nazaire, France, now resident in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan).

FRI. Sept. 26, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm:
Artists will be on-site creating and installing their sculptures; the public is invited to drop in to watch--and learn more--about the construction process. (Anyone interested in learning more about fire sculpting by assisting our visiting artists are invited to call Artcite in advance).

SAT. Sept 27 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm:
Founding Fahrenheit organizer and visiting artist Denis Bolohan (Toronto, ON), will lead an informal, on-site, process-oriented workshop explaining the process of “Fire Sculpting” from creation to immolation, with a focus on fire safety.

For more info about this, or any Artcite activity, contact:

Christine Burchnall, Artcite Admin Coordinator or
Leesa Bringas, Artcite Artistic Coordinator @ 519-977-6564

The 6th annual "Fahrenheit Festival" is a special fundraising venture of Artcite
Inc., and is made possible with the generous assistance of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Town of LaSalle’s Department of Recreation and Leisure Services. Many thanks for their generous support! Artcite also acknowledges the additional support of its members and volunteers and the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Windsor.

2008 Fahrenheit Fest Visiting Artists’ bios:

Sophia Isajiw
Sophia Isajiw was born in 1964 in New York City. She has lived and worked variously in Toronto, where she studied fine art at the University of Toronto from 1983 to 1988, during which she founded the student-run gallery, A Collective Stroke; Los Angeles, studying print media at the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia from 1990 to 1992 where she received a Master of Fine Arts degree; Windsor, Boston, Siena (Italy), Saskatoon, Banff for seven years where, between 1993 and 1997 she was the Assistant to the Director of the Visual Arts Residency Programs at the Banff Centre. Also during her Banff stay Sophia founded the Velvet Antler Studio for Print Media and developed a print publishing program called Velvet Antler Editions. Her work was included in the 1998-99 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art. She received the 1998 Award of Excellence in the Arts Honourable Mention from the Government of Canada's Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal, an award that commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was also artist-in-residence at the Rosenberg Studio in New Mexico and Open Studio in Toronto. Her work can be found in public collections such as the Canada Council Art Bank, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, the Walter Phillips Gallery and the Canadian Museum of Civilization, as well as many private and corporate collections in Canada, the United States and Europe.
-- The Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art, The Canadian Art Database

Patricia Leguen
Originally from Saint-Nazaire, France, Patricia Leguen has competed at over one hundred national and international snow, ice, sand, and fire sculpture competitions and festivals since 1991(in Canada, Norway, Italy, Russia, the United States, Greenland, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, France, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, and Mexico). Patricia studied Fine Arts at the at the École des Beaux-Arts, in Nantes, France and at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, and holds several other University degrees, including a Masters of Arts degree in English. She is a government accredited conference interpreter and a certified translator.

The only Canadian woman competing at the international level in snow, ice, sand, and fire sculpture competitions, Ms. Leguen has won numerous international prizes for her ephemeral works, including:

• January 1995, Public choice and Second Place at the International Snow Sculpture Competition in San Vigilio, Italy
• February 1996, Third Place at the International Snow Sculpture Competition in Moscow, Russia
• March 1996, Silver Medal at the World Ice Carving Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska, multi-block classic, 20 tons of ice
• March 1997, Special Jury Prize, International Snow Sculpture Competition, Nuuk, Greenland
• January 1999, Third Place at the International Snow Sculpture Competition in Harbin, China
• March 2000, Artist Choice Award and Bronze Medal, Abstract Category, at the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska, Multi-Block Classic, 20 tons of ice
• July 2000, only Canadian invited at the first International Sand Sculpture Festival in the UK, in Glasgow, Scotland.
• September 2000, Award for Best Architecture and Second Public Choice at the World Sand Sculpture Championships in Harrison Hot Springs, BC, Canada
• February 2001, Second Place at the 28th International Snow Sculpture Festival in Sapporo, Japan
• August 2001, International Fire Sculpture Festival in Fécamp, France
• January 2002, Second Place at the International Ice Carving Competition, in Harbin, China
• January 2003, Second Place at the International Snow Sculpture Competition in Harbin, China
• January 2008, Third Place at the International Snow Sculpture Competition in Harbin, China