Ring of Fire returns to Indian Lake Sunday
Wrapping up the summertime and marking the beginning of autumn, the Ring of Fire returns its annual red glow to Indian Lake on Labor Day weekend, with some new environmentally friendly-changes taking shape this year to protect the waters for future generations.
The Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce and its partners are currently selling 8,000 battery-powered LED flares to help light up the night for the event Sunday, Sept. 5, instead of using the traditional, combustible flares that can leave chemical residue on shoreline.
“This is a project that we’ve been working on for some time now, and this year felt like a great time to roll it out,” Chamber President Amber Fagan said. “Traditional flares have been banned in some locations, such as in Canada and New York. We’ll be able to have a beautiful display with the new LED flares, which also are reusable.”
Spend-A-Day Marina and Bud’s Marine provided financial assistance for this conversion, providing the LED flares for all of the Indian Lake State Park grounds, Fagan noted. Volunteers from the Indian Lake High School Key Club and soccer team are preparing more than 2,000 flares to set out at the state park.
To make the Ring of Fire, volunteers and homeowners will line the 5,800-acre lake Sunday night. They are asked turn on their LED flares from 9 to 10 p.m. and to space them about 10 feet apart along the sea wall.
Kicking off the festivities at 8:45 p.m., the Grimes Flying Lab Foundation’s experimental plane out of Urbana will circle the lake with its multitude of lights.
Then at 9:30 p.m., a fireworks display is planned for the first time to add another a new visual and celebratory element to the Ring of Fire tradition, Fagan said. The show is produced by the same company that presented the Indian Lake Fireworks Spectacular for July Fourth, Pyrotecnico Company of Pennsylvania.
“We can’t wait to see the fireworks over the lake alongside the Ring of Fire — it should be a spectacular sight,” Fagan said.
The soundtrack for evening’s activities will be broadcast on 93.5 WRPO FM Community Radio, including special music for Ring of Fire and then choreographed fireworks.
In preparation for the event, the LED flares are currently available for purchase for $8 each at the chamber office, 8200 State Route 366, Suite 2, Russells Point, and at Indian Lake area businesses, including: Hurley Farms, Framing by Fuller, Aries Pharmacy, Choice Properties, Lakeside Pro Bass Shop, Spend-A-Day Marina, Bud’s Marine, Lakeview Hardware, Gene’s Marine Bait and Tackle, Winner’s Lakeview Market, Community Markets, Cranberry Resort and RV Wholesalers.
Each LED flares comes in a reusable bag and with batteries included. The device also can be used as an emergency flare for stranded motorists and other purposes, Fagan said.
Chamber officials report the Ring of Fire tradition dates back to 1965, when Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce board member A.M. Brown, Amusement Park manager, presented the idea for a “Red Flare Spectactular” to Warren Edwards, president of the chamber at the time.
Brown brought this idea from Buckeye Lake State Park, where he had been park manager. The custom originated many years before that at Seneca Lake in New York State by the Seneca Native Americans, when they celebrated a successful harvest by lighting bonfires on the shores of the lake.
He suggested that the chamber sell the flares to the residents and visitors of the lake. The chamber members agreed to sponsor the project and the annual “Red Flare Spectacular” started at Indian Lake during Labor Day weekend.
For further details, visit the Indian Lake Chamber’s Facebook page.