Burn the Island in Celebration

I propose we burn Keefer’s Island every spring in a renewal festival. That’s right, burn the entire island down to the dirt.

Idaho Falls‘ political leaders have positioned our strengths as a service economy, so why don’t we embrace it and host more tourist events? Let’s face it, our signage is still schizophrenic so visitors rarely venture past the greenbelt, and our biggest event is the great 4th of July fireworks. We are predominantly a gateway to other significant tourist destinations, yet the only tourist dollars we capture are at a few gas stations, hotels, and restaurants (usually nearest the river).

The greenbelt around Keefer’s Island is our most attractive spot, and the island is obviously the center of attention. What do we have to focus on at that center of attention? Overgrown weeds and a broken-down old cabin is all we have to show. No wonder tourists keep driving if they see our most popular spot showcases weeds.

Why not move old Keefer’s cabin to the greenbelt to preserve our history, and do something different on the island? We used to shoot the 4th of July fireworks from the north end, until that show grew too large (which is a good thing). Sculptures have been proposed, most notably a 10-foot stone ball that is made of the same material as the temple.

I propose every spring Idaho Falls hosts a renewal festival or carnival along the greenbelt, held in late April or May. A barge could be anchored along the greenbelt, and anyone can throw onto it anything burnable they want to forget about and put in their past (mortgages, ex-lovers’ letters, bills, evidence of bad things that happened in the last year, etc).

On the evening of the festival, the barge would move from the greenbelt to the island, and dump the burnable collection onto the island along with the weeds. When darkness arrives, the entire island would then be set on fire.

Imagine the amazingly huge fire that could be seen for miles away. Imagine the cheering crowds as we all put the bad things behind us and collectively focus on a more positive future. After the festival, we could put sculptures out on the island for the rest of the year, or grow specially-selected flowers or plants.

This is just one idea to leverage our local assets more strategically. I imagine this idea will meet with resistance and ridicule, but at least it is a new idea.

Does anyone else have any ideas to leverage our assets?

Does anyone else have any ideas to better use Keefer’s Island?

Does anyone else have any ideas that are original and out of the (proverbial) box?

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4. Idaho Falls ought to shoot 13 guns on the Fourth of July
5. Idaho Falls 2007 Fourth of July Festivities