The Phoenix Has Landed

On December 14, 2013, the town of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania hosted its tenth annual Firebird Festival, the highlight of which is the burning of a wooden phoenix that stretches thirty feet high and one hundred feet wide. Last year, more than 16,000 locals attended the festival, witnessing several amazing street entertainers, exploring the great downtown shops, and even visiting the historical Colonial Theater, home of The Blob. The Firebird Festival displays the reincarnation of the burned phoenix as multiple, smaller phoenixes, representing the resilience of Phoenixville as a town. Attendees may make a small phoenix out of clay and place it inside the larger, wooden phoenix. The burning of the larger phoenix acts as a kiln, firing all of the handmade phoenix miniatures.

The 2013 Firebird Festival’s phoenix effigy (Photo: Firebird Festival)

When asked what the festival means to her, Building and Meal Preparation Organizer Laura Grablutz responded, “To me, the festival means community identity, common goals, and the amazing way that people working together can turn ideas into real, great things.” This year, the Firebird Building Committee, an all-volunteer group of citizens, has depicted the structure as a landing phoenix. The structure has two doors, one in each side, and it is hollow, which helps it burn. It is big enough for someone to live in, and it also supplies its own power through a solar panel on the bird’s back.

Henrik Teglbjaerg, the Firebird Festival organizer, said, “To work on something that is so much larger than myself, we need each other to make it possible. Through this festival, there is so much more working together. Alone the world can be overwhelming, but together we can do a lot.” Yes, the phoenix does burn down every year, but it will be back next year, and the year after that, because the phoenix is immortal, and will come back strong for years to come. Though it may be sad to see it go, one has to say to oneself that, when next year rolls around, it will return. So goes the tradition of the firebird.

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