現地時間2025年8月23日（土）、午前9時半に起きた。夕方、弓道の練習をした。
練習のあと、ニューウェストミンスターの花火大会を見に行った。私と同じように、多くの人がぞろぞろとイベント会場へ向かっていた。街がいつも以上に賑わう様は、日本の花火大会に通ずるものがある。
花火は21時に始まり、30分もたたずに終了した。花火はほぼ間髪なく打ち上がり、日本の花火のような緩急は感じなかった。
もう1つ気づいたことは、観客がかなり大人しかったことだ。「フォーッ」と叫ぶ人はいたものの、大半の来場者は花火への反応が薄かった。なぜそんなに静かだったのか、理由はよく分からない。多くの人が動画撮影に集中していたことや、花火があまり大きくなかったことが関係しているのだろうか。
On Saturday, August 23rd, 2025, I got up at 9:30 a.m. PDT and practiced Japanese archery in the evening.
After the practice, I got off at New Westminster Station and went to the Fraser River to watch a fireworks show that was scheduled for tonight. Like me, many people were heading to the venue to enjoy the show, which reminded me of fireworks festivals in Japan.
The show started at 9:00 p.m. and lasted less than half an hour. The fireworks went off continuously, which was different from those in Japan, where shows usually have varied pacing, with several bursts followed by pauses.
Another thing I noticed today was that the audience was relatively quiet compared to what I have seen in Japan. While some people occasionally shouted things like “Fohhh!”, most of the spectators didn’t react much to the fireworks. I don’t know the reason for their subdued reactions, but it might have had something to do with the fact that many people were focused on filming, and the individual fireworks weren’t particularly large.