National Folk Festival

Well, the Big Show is in town this weekend. Third year of a three-year run, so the organizers and vendors should have their act together (not enough food vendors _or_ porta-potties the first year, which made for waiting lines measured in light-minutes.)

A lot of good acts advertised, blues and zydeco and Acadian and gospel and Celtic. I'll probably kill the entire afternoon and then listen to the rest on public radio.

But they expect over 100,000 "visitors" for this -- I have to assume that represents total bodies measured over three days, rather than separate individuals. And our town population runs around 30,000. So you can see that "things" get a little crazy. Especially parking.

I'll walk. That's the flip side of "small town" America. The far edge of all this conglomeration is maybe a mile and a half from my computer.

Hot!

Both the music and the weather. Our official high was 88F, but the downtown thermometer read 95 when I walked back past there on the way home. This, after highs in the upper 60s and low 70s earlier this week.

Crowd 30,000+ people together in that, and you have one sweaty crowd. The beer tents were running full tilt.

Good music, though. Couldn't hit all of it, five stages going at once, but got some Cajun and Acadian (not same thing), some bluegrass, some Celtic, a good solid dose of Cape Breton fiddle, and a little N'Orleans piano.

And avoided heatstroke.