OTTAWA CONVENTION CENTRE - GRAND OPENING

THE PROJECT:
When the newly minted Ottawa Convention Centre opened in 2011, they wanted to make a real splash with their opening ceremony event. This fantastic new facility is located right on the Rideau Canal in our Nation’s capital and is one of the most striking pieces of architecture in this country. The mandate for this project was to create a show that revolved around the beautiful custom curved glass front of the building. If you have seen this structure you will agree that this feature stands above all else. 

Our show was two-fold. The first component was a custom rigging/clown stunt that started as the guests entered the building and began marveling at the glass and the view as everyone does. One by one the guests began to notice a lone window washer character making his way down the outside of the building on the outside of the glass surface. At first he appeared to be just cleaning the glass as window washers do. As time progressed things got a little crazier as our window washer sloshed soapy water everywhere, hung from one leg and wrote messages to people in soap foam. All this at over one hundred feet up!

Our second part of the event was a full-scale pyrotechnic show with a unique live performance element. This kicked off just as the guests were exiting the indoor theatre and preparing for the social part of the evening. Once again this show was on the other side of the glass.  As our dramatic soundtrack began, pyrotechnics could be seen strobing in the distance. An industrial crane from below hoisted our human powered pyro wheel up, with a dancer revolving gracefully inside. We fired our pyrotechnics from a dozen launch sites along the banks of the Rideau, and from the wheel itself, to create a dazzling display. 

PROJECT RECAP:
This was a fun project as there were many unique aspects to working around the glass. On one hand it was a real challenge, as we had to test everything extensively beforehand to ensure that absolutely no damage was done to this custom and expensive glass. On the other hand it prompted us to come up with some creative performance solutions.

LINKS:
Ottawa Convention Centre Website