Thread: Hang on to your canopy; tractors and gale-force winds but it's all ok with music

I've spent the last two evenings drawing caricatures for a small rural festival. Thursday evening went well in spite of the July heat, last night, though (the night of the parade), a major storm was blowing up as we got to our booth. The word came down the line, "Damaging winds predicted with this one, wait to set up till it's over."

We hadn't set anything up yet so we wandered around to the other vendors as the sky blackened and lighting bolts lit up the horizon. Vendors were milling around making sure that everyone was ok for whatever was to come and buying food from the vendors who'd already opened. There was a general feeling of uneasiness, wondering if we'd get blown off the map.

We took cover in the food pavilion (mom wanted to go to the car, I told her that not only did I not want to spend the time of the storm in that sweatbox but I didn't want to miss the show) and ate as the rain started. Canopies were billowing, people's hair was fluttering nearly sideways, and the rain droplets that made it to where we sat felt marvelous after the heat. There was an overall feeling of gloom, the area needed the rain badly but it was set to rain out a whole evening's profit and we had no idea if any of us would have a canopy left at the end of it.

As we were sitting eating and watching the lighting just fry a nearby town, thunder rolled and growled, echoing off the hills...and then someone fired up some music at the stage.

I love a rainy night.

Music changed everyone's view of things. The parade, complete with tractors, lined up in the light rain. People danced in the rain, the thunder and lightning just became background. Eventually we ended up with a great evening.

Still didn't make any money but it was a nice evening anyway!

Back tonight, hopefully it'll be a good finish for the festival.

It is amazing how music can transform a mood and the feeling seems to be contagious in a big crowd like that. Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all, hope you have a great last evening. I love festivals like that.

Music can change the worste of times into something better. Watch all of your room mates sit down with nothing to do and then turn on the music, everybody starts to simle and then shake to the beat.

It didn't turn into a wonderful evening money-wise for me, unfortunately it was a total bust. I did make a bit more the next day but still, after expenses, not quite enough to buy a large pizza. Oh well, you have those. I've pinpointed some problems with what we crammed together in one booth and we won't do that again.

Still, it was great to get my hands back in to doing caricatures, just as fun as I remembered!

I had made some jewelry, including little girls' bracelets, to sell at the festival. However, the festival boss's daughter-in-law had a jewelry booth and I was told not to sell since I hadn't mentioned it ahead of time. SO I stuck a bunch of bracelets on my arm and gave each of the girls who got their pics done a free bracelet. Considering that most of them were sitting for the caricature because Mom wanted them to, it was a nice perk for them and made a few little ones happy anyway.

Sure had no talent for making money the last three days, though. Argh.

Oh no, politics. They show up everywhere, don't they? Good for you for making those little girls happy, that was a class act.

It was more fun than selling them though I would have appreciated the cash.