A tight-knit community gathers every December to ignite a giant wood phoenix, rekindling their rustbelt spirit and fueli | dG1fUW1nR21wSGhnWHM
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🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00It was so much more effort than I had originally thought.
00:06Part of the issue is we can't test the burning of this bird until it's burning.
00:12Phoenixville is very unique in and of itself, so why wouldn't we build a large bird and burn it?
00:20You could be from the other end of the world and enjoy the Firebird Festival.
00:25It's supposed to be a pyramid.
00:29This is going to be the first time that we attempt to complete a continuous rotation.
00:39To me, the real festival is the three months of build.
00:43It's exciting to work together with people.
00:48It's a fantastic event, and I can't wait to go over here.
00:54I understood that there might be restrictions on how many people we can have, and that would change everything.
01:01COVID is still very much a thing in 2021.
01:04This is not the borough's fault. This is a test to see if we can tell people no.
01:09We knew there would be some backlash.
01:11I've seen information like now, and no one's picking up their phones.
01:14Somebody in control needs to come here and tell us. We can't just run on rumors.
01:18It's so heavy. It's not going to turn.
01:20We only have one more weekend.
01:21I know. I'm very aware of that.
01:27So many years where I said, this is the last festival. I can't do it.
01:31See, I'm not very good at saying no.
01:35In a way, the name of the town tells us something about the community.
01:42This is more than just some festival for festival's sake.
01:45It has a deep meaning to our town of Phoenixville.
01:50I love the Firebirds so much because I've never had to be anybody but myself.
01:56100, 200 years from now, this festival will live on.
02:05Were you a little anxious?
02:06No, not at all.
02:07No? Not at all?
02:08I was just thinking it was going to work out.