Tag Archive for: origami

A Magical Lighted Launch

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The night of the “Lighted Launch” at Fife Lake was magical.  There’s no other way to put it.

To begin, the weather was perfect.  The night was warm and the lake was calm.

Second, the turnout for this event was incredible.  Rockin’ Beach, the name of the Regional Park at Fife Lake, is situated about 16 kilometres east of Rockglen, which has a population of about 350.  There’s no more than a hundred students in the K – 12 school.

Yet, there was easily 60 people at the “Lighted Launch.”  One lady had driven over an hour with her two children to attend.

Many of the students who came had continued making origami boats at home after the workshop I did at Rockglen School, and that’s what they brought to the “Lighted Launch.”

After a brief welcome, we assembled the candles and boats.  Then those who wanted to set sail stood on the dock and waited to have their boats lighted, while the rest stayed on shore and watched the sparkling fleet.

Once all the boats were launched we just absorbed the magic of the night.  Such a pretty sight, it was.

If a critique had to be made, I’m sure it would be that the kids had wished we had more boats.

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Preparing to Launch

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My second visit to Rockglen took place in the Library.  A group of us met Wednesday morning and made Origami Boats in preparation for our ‘Lighted Launch,’ which will take place on Wednesday September 24th.

Like before, I gave a demonstration on how to make an Origami boat and played a short video that reinforced this teaching.

Then, we broke off into smaller groups and went through the process step-by-step.

All and all, we made about fifty boats that day and I hope to return one more time before the launch.

Later that night, a couple of Rockglen residents took me to Fife Lake (about a ten minute drive out of town), where the ‘Lighted Launch’ will take place.

It’s a beautiful lake.

The two residents, Richard and Darcy, (who are in their early sixties) explained to me how when they were young this Lake/Regional Park was the place to be.  The campground was always full.  Locals came for the weekend.  There were swimming lessons, ball tournaments, a rodeo, etc.  Then in the late 80s the lake began to dry up and by the year 2000 it was nothing more than a small puddle.

In the last two years, however, the lake has been completely restored.  The night I was there, people were kayaking and boating.  Kids were skipping stones. People were camping.  And others were playing ball in the nearby diamonds, practicing for the ball tournament that was about to take place that weekend.

Listening to people talk about the lake I really got a sense of how relieved they are that “it came back.”

I was told that it’s the ebb and flow of nature, the cycle of water, that makes it so that a lake can completely disappear and then reappear.  Plus, I was told it’s our human ‘footprint’ that disrupts nature “like that.”  Many blamed a local coal mine for the water disappearing.

Either way, all seem happy to see the return of their lake.  And rightly so.  From a Cultural perspective this lake is of utmost importance. Look at all the activity that is dependant this lake.  Even at it’s rudimentary level, even if a person does not participate in any activity at all,  it is a gathering place.  People who live in the same community, but do not necessarily visit,  gather here and share.

Keeping this in mind, I find it wildly appropriate that we are having a ceremony that will celebrate this lake–a celebration that will further bring people together.  I can’t wait.