{"id":2468,"date":"2020-02-02T10:15:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T15:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steamboatsir.com\/blog\/?p=2468"},"modified":"2020-02-02T10:15:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-02T15:15:38","slug":"lighting-up-the-night-sky-on-skis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/2020\/02\/02\/lighting-up-the-night-sky-on-skis\/","title":{"rendered":"LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT SKY, ON SKIS"},"content":{"rendered":"

A behind-the-scenes look into the Steamboat Winter Carnival Night Show Extravaganza, Feb.8th, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all fireworks for Blair Seymour, who in addition to devoting 20 years of her life as the Youth Program Director and Cycling Director for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, is now also the Creative Director for the Winer Carnival Night Show Extravaganza. \u201cI\u2019m the one running around behind the scenes with my radio cueing everyone that night,\u201d she says of being the producer and choreographer of the nighttime show. \u201cThe funny thing is, we have no dress rehearsal, so you never know exactly how it\u2019s going to turn out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Night Show Extravaganza is the pinnacle of the town\u2019s long-standing celebration of winter, now in its 107th year. Winter Carnival was originally started by the SSWSC as a way to cope with cabin fever in the middle of winter, but over the years, it has evolved into a celebration of the town and its long-standing tradition. While the evening event is best known for its spectacular fireworks display and The Lighted Man, who skis down the mountain wrapped in lights with Roman candles shooting out of his backpack, there\u2019s a whole lot more to it than that, according to Seymour.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For starters, over 400 kids from SSWSC participate every year, and it\u2019s considered a rite of passage to reach the age of five to be eligible to take part. Local kids look forward to it partly because they get to stand up at the top of Howelsen Hill and look down at a crowd of thousands of people who gather to watch the festivities; partly because they get a bird\u2019s eye view of the fireworks; and mostly because at the age of eight they get to ski down carrying a real, live flare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried using glow sticks with the little kids, but then realized they don\u2019t work when it\u2019s super cold,\u201d Seymour says, explaining that they spend a lot of time the week before the show going over safety protocol. \u201cAt least we know the flare will go out if it falls in the snow. But it\u2019s so exciting for a little kid when they are finally handed a flare. It\u2019s such a novelty for them.\u201d Ponchos and vests that have been elaborately donned in LED lighting are also worn by the kids for a light show on skis that is rigorously choreographed and produced by Seymour. \u201cI literally have these body diagrams for parents that show where the lights go and how you attach it. Many, many hours go into just prepping the lights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is just one of several seemingly outlandish traditions that the show encompasses. The freestyle skiers slide a rail that\u2019s on fire. The ski jumpers (age 14 and up) launch the 75-meter jump dressed up in LED lights in complete darkness. \u201cLast year was the first time we did that, and it was so cool,\u201d Seymour says. \u201cThey can\u2019t see the landing, so they are literally launching themselves into the dark abyss and hoping they land, eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ski patrollers jump through fiery hoops, one pulling a toboggan that\u2019s\u2014you guessed it\u2014lit on fire. The most historically anticipated moment of the show is, of course, The Lighted Man, none other than Jon Banks, who will be participating in the event for his 49th year, continuing a tradition started by his father, Claudius, in 1936.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To top it all off, the Steamboat Fireworks team, led by the Borden family, will once again attempt to capture the world record for the largest single firework (they tried and were unsuccessful in 2019).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As soon as it\u2019s over, it\u2019s back to the drawing board for Seymour, who says she always immediately starts thinking about how to make it better the following year\u2014and doesn\u2019t stop. \u201cI think about what worked and what didn\u2019t work. All summer I\u2019m thinking of ways that I can improve or be more innovative. It\u2019s all about thinking outside the box.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Night Show Extravaganza is a fundraiser for SSWSC and spectators are asked to purchase a button for a $10 donation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photography: Rory Clow, Couloir Images<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A behind-the-scenes look into the Steamboat Winter Carnival Night Show Extravaganza, Feb.8th, 2020. It\u2019s not all fireworks for Blair Seymour, who in addition to devoting 20 years of her life as the Youth Program Director and Cycling Director for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, is now also the Creative Director for the Winer Carnival […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64295786,"featured_media":2472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1380,1381,1371,1373],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-outreach-and-advocacy","category-steamboat-area-events","category-steamboat-springs-area","category-what-to-do-in-steamboat-springs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfNAsR-DO","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/largest-firework-in-world.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64295786"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}