In 2018, the dragon brought fire and flames to music festivals, maker faires, and regional burns across the continent. We broke down, we built it up, and we made a tonne of friends along the way. We checked off bucket list items, we threw parties, and most of all, we had a lot of fun. Check out Heavy Meta’s “Year in Review” below.
Toronto Light Festival
We began this year with our biggest appearance yet, an installation in the Distillery District seen by an estimated 200,000 people throughout the 8-week festival. We were thrilled to be such a visible piece of public art, serving as a stage for amazing musicians like Dr. Draw and performers like Crimson Fire Show.
Photo by Fa Hud @paintednegative
Whiteout
Our inaugural white attire party at The Mod Club, and a collaboration with The Ark Car. We were ecstatic to see so many people coming all in white, in the tradition of Opulent Temple's annual white party on Wednesday at Burning Man.
Bon Soo Winter Carnival (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)
The Bon Soo Winter Carnival is Northern Ontario's premiere winter event, and the farthest north most of the team has ever been! Despite temperatures around -30º C, we had a great time bringing our brand of bass music to the icy climes.
Metaverse 003: The Fermenting Cellar
The Fermenting Cellar is a beautiful, historic venue in the Distillery District, and we were overjoyed to be able to use it. As always, the costumes were on point, and the existence of a dozen massive pieces of playa art right outside the venue made this event almost like a decompression party.
Casa Loma March Break
For their annual March Break festivities for schoolchildren and their parents, Casa Loma presented Imagine Dragons, a medieval-themed event with knights, aerialists, and us, a giant fire-breathing dragon!
Minus Zero Festival (Mt. Snow, VT)
Minus Zero was an amazing festival held on a ski resort in Vermont, featuring art from some crews we have gotten to know well over the years like Reliquarium and Orijins. There were some beautiful moments, like the summit sunrise set, and some down-and-dirty awesome moments, like Ben Cormier and Jesse Champagne opening up for Holmar at the afterparty.
The Flood
The Flood was a collaboration between The Ark Car and Heavy Meta. After we lost our venue (the ill-fated Fairland Grocery Store in Kensington Market) with 30 hours to go until the event, we called literally 40 venues to try to move the event... and found one! The River Gambler, one of Toronto's most legendary party boats, had room for us and was happy to let us hold the fundraiser there. The night was amazing, especially the Heavy Meta debut of me time.
Madison Mini Maker Faire (Madison, WI)
Madison was a great Maker Faire, and a great city. We enjoyed the massive indoor robot exhibition, as well as tasting our first Impossible Burger near the state capitol, and experiencing some local flavour at Plan B. What a town!
Hyperborea (Stone Mills Township, ON)
Last year, Hyperborea was our first-ever event, and we were not ready; this year, we came with bells (and propane valves) on, and rocked the dancefloor and fire button all weekend. We also debuted our new nightly activity, Midnight Putin, a playful take on Midnight Poutine with a decidedly Vladimir-themed twist.
photo by Andrew Miller
Lakes of Fire (Rothbury, MI)
New wings! Thanks to the fabrication awesomeness of Matt Von Wilde, Lakes of Fire was the first place we showed off our new articulating aluminum wings, and were stunned to see the amazing new Michigan-based art car The Ark of Orenda.
Pride
Producing a Pride stage has been a bucket list item of ours since the mid-aughts, and we were thrilled to be able to team up with Queens of Cannabis to make it happen this year! We appeared in a Church St. alley for three days, hosting amazing DJs like Mark Baker, Luis F, Borzoo, and the Box of Kittens crew.
Front page article in the Toronto Star for their Pride Sunday coverage
EDEN w/Tarna
Just to add to the insanity, on the same weekend as Pride, we also co-produced Tarna's first fundraiser party at Revival, one of our favourite rooms in the city. It was a beautiful, ethereal night where the venue was transformed with ivy, a really nice plounge upstairs, and hundreds of dancing souls.
Maker Faire Detroit (Dearborn, MI)
Detroit is truly one of our favourite cities in the world, and The Henry Ford is certainly one of its shining cultural gems. We were pleased to be invited back to Motor City to bring giant fireballs to this venerable museum, alongside hundreds of other amazing makers.
Metaverse 004: Expansion
Our second Metaverse in the Sterling Lot brought us one step closer to our dream of a Ten Art Car Toronto. Featuring The Ark Car, Heavy Meta, the Heart of Tarna, The Cool Bus, the Zombie RV, the Moon Shot Swing, Crimson Fire Show, Zel Tyrant, and a tonne of awesome DJs, this was the most immersive presentation of art car culture the city has ever seen.
photo by Fa Hud @paintednegative
Burning Man (Black Rock City, NV)
Burning Man this year had too many amazing highlights to name, but if we could pick just three: one, driving across the country in our new tour bus, the TTZ (nicknamed the "Zebus"), teaming up with Mayan Warrior to host a wedding for Arius and Gwendolyn, and joining soundsystems with Dusty Rhino for the Tycho sunrise set really stood out as some incredible moments.
Maker Faire Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)
Maker Faire Milwaukee was held at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds, where we had the distinct pleasure of being presented alongside a number of fun rides and deep fried food items. We also loved touring the city's largest maker space.
City of Gods (Brooklyn, NY)
We have been going to House of Yes parties since the very first location, which tragically met its end in a fire, and its second location, an underground event and performance space on Maujer. We are incredibly proud to see HoY grow into a true force of nature and legal nightclub, putting on a 2000+ person off-site event at Grand Prospect Hall, and we were pleased to be invited to anchor the entrance to the event. Thanks for having us!
New York City Halloween Parade (New York, NY)
We have never been in a parade before because we are so tall (18.5'!) but when House of Yes asked us to be their float in the Village Halloween Parade, there was no way we could say no. We navigated nimbly though thousands of people while blowing smoke from the dragon's mouth and providing some phat beats. Thanks again!
Cleveland Mini Maker Fire (Cleveland, OH)
We love the Cleveland Public Library!
Sacrifice
Sacrifice was our year end offering to the gods, who have carried us so far in the last year and a half. It was a dark, sexy, beautiful evening until dawn. Thank you for joining us this year!
