First night of the fireworks at English Bay.  Just us and a quarter million of our neighbours. 
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I’m not sure why photographers try to capture fireworks, or sunsets.  The result is always going to be a little disappointing, since you’re turning something that generates light into something that reflects it.  So we get a little arty instead.
But here’s something you might not have seen if you don’t stick around after the crowds have dispersed.  Down on Beach Avenue by the Aquatic Centre, there’s a convoy of sanitation trucks waiting to move into action, preceded by a phalanx of motorcycle cops, their lights ablaze.
Engineering Parade   As the parade gets underway, there are cheers from the balconies above; people applaud from the curbs.  Someone even has a trumpet.   This must be a thrill for guys in the Engineering Department.  Talk about respect.
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And for boys, who are genetically programmed to get off on trucks, the engineering parade must be a bigger blast than the fireworks. 

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  1. Your mention of the convoy of police and sanitation trucks moving in on the fireworks aftermath reminds me…
    I know it’s not entirely a fair comparison, but I’d love to see before-and-after photos of the bigger public events in Vancouver — the fireworks, Pride parade, Dragonboat races, etc. etc. etc. Before: lovely immaculate public spaces. After: a sea of garbage. Then the trucks move in with the pressure hoses and giant brooms, and the next day the organizers of the event receive a whopping cleanup bill.
    I can’t help but compare this to the Commercial Drive Festival, where there were 50,000 people, 3,000 exuberant World Cup soccer fans, 300 volunteers, 2 traffic cops, and no problems. And at the end of the event people were on their knees picking up cigarette butts by the curbs (to dispose of, not smoke). The street was left cleaner than when it all started.
    It sure is a different scenario when people make their own party and take responsibility for it, instead of showing up to be spoon-fed a spectacle and then leaving the mess for someone else to clean up.

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