Fire Eaters, Logan Square

October 3, 2012

On my way home from work, I was walking down Milwaukee when I noticed a small group of folks across the street. One guy kind of looked like he was dancing with a small flame on a stick, and another guy in the background was dancing with what looked like an (unlit) weight on the end of a large rope.

I’ve seen a few poi fire dancers before, and figured these guys were either practicing or about to do a show. I jogged across the street to find a small group of kids camped out on the ground, mesmerized.

This was pretty cool to see up close.

A few other folks moved in and out, taking over the “stage.” The whole time, it wasn’t clear to me if this was an official performance, or just a group of friends hanging out and practicing in public.

It’s amazing to me how anyone can do this without burning their lips off. I know the goal is to have the flame be a certain distance from your face, but my fear is that the fire would somehow leapfrog back and light my mouth on fire.

Both performers, working to extinguish the flames with their mouths.

Around this time, the kids and parents that were watching with me packed up… and I took my exit as well, and headed out to run my errands for the evening.

Wish I would have stuck around to watch the sun set, as I imagine this would have been even more awesome in the dark. I’ve still got a lot of questions as to who they were, and whether they’d be performing more in Logan Square… but I guess I’ll leave it a mystery for now.

fire logan square on the way home

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