Vandals Burn Phoenix Meant for Firebird Festival

Vandals early Saturday morning burned the wooden phoenix meant for Saturday evening’s Firebird Festival, organizers said.

The phoenix was burned around 4 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, organizers said.

“While we are saddened to acknowledge that vandals did in fact burn down our beautiful Phoenix ... , the Firebird Festival is still happening today,” organizers wrote on Facebook. “We draw strength from the outpouring of support from all of you, to show that this will not stop us from celebrating around the true purpose of the festival - the community coming together to celebrate life, and our human creativity. We will bring more wood to the site and keep the fire going all day.”

People have been bringing wood to the site all day long, organizers said, and there’s now more than enough wood to keep the fire burning.

Firebird Festival organizers asked the community to turn out Saturday night as scheduled, to “show that this will not stop the true spirit of the festival.”