The morning after thousands of spectators were let down by the failure to burn three model houses on the Chicago River, the artistic director for the Great Chicago Fire Festival promised that the city would eventually see the houses burn, possibly next year.
"We had been building up anticipation of those houses burning. It's not an unfair expectation that they should have burned and burned spectacularly," said Jim Lasko, executive art director for Redmoon Theater, which produced the show in partnership with the city of Chicago.
Had ignition gone as planned, the 30,000 people who lined the river from east of Michigan Avenue to State Street on Saturday night would have seen the floating structures burn away to reveal images of the city's flag, firefighters' ladders and a skyscraper.
Lasko, who first expressed his hope for a second shot Sunday on his Twitter account, said Sunday that the motifs were "symbolic inner core reflections of Chicago's grit, greatness and renewal."
Redmoon officials chalked up the failure to problems with electrical ignition, but on Sunday they were continuing to investigate why multiple pilot lights did not ignite, Lasko said.
Each house was equipped with six pilot lights, which were supposed to release propane through a pipe system when lit and ignite a dry layer of wood at the bottom of the houses.
It appeared, however, that the heavy rains over the last week "tripped up" some of the electrical connections to light the pilots, Lasko said. "The houses didn't burn, and that was sad," he said. "It's hard not to feel like we're being challenged to embrace our message, which is to have grit and resilience and come back and do it better."
Lasko said one of the group's failures was not coming up with a backup plan that didn't rely on the same electrical connections that failed to ignite the houses.
"The bottom line is when you try something new, there are going to be difficulties, and this was one," he said.
Despite the failure to produce the "Grand Spectacle" that drew many to the riverfront, Lasko said the event yielded a number of successes, including the relationships the theater group built in the community.
"We had over 2,000 artists' work represented last night successfully on the river and if it was pyro that you came for, there was an amazing fireworks display."
Redmoon and city officials said they hoped to restage the event. Although production costs for this year's festival amounted to about $2 million, about 70 percent of the props - including the steel house structures and the fire caldrons that were lowered from the bridges onto the river - could be reused.
"We believe this was a smart investment in cultural tourism and the artistic vitality of our city," said Jamey Lundblad, spokesman for the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, in an email.
"We remain committed in helping build a foundation for this new event, which activates our riverfront with dynamic new recreational and cultural uses and experiences for the entire city to enjoy."
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