phocas.net

Another round of diverse events filled October 2003, with a bit more artistic leanings.  It started off with a stop by a local gallery in the West Bottoms, for a show featuring art work from several local graffiti artists, and after finishing up there it was back to the loft space in the same area for another "I" rehearsal.  They were quite a collaboration.  I have to wonder what became of these guys. I know the girlfriend of one of them ended up out in California, pursing theater, but that is about it. The next day I got up early and headed down the street for a little local festival parade that the kids were appearing in, then it was another late night down at Kabal for some Frisky fun with local legend DJ Pat Nice. Rinse and repeat, for another early morning and a full day out at the Renaissance Festival.  One of the kids was an actor during the season.  It was quite a bit of fun, and we mused over all there was to offer from beginning to end, then down to the Beach

It was a pleasant surprise to find the Ozark Trail festival downtown today.  When we last looked to see what was going on in the area, nothing came up. We must have just missed this.  While much smaller than the annual Springfest, it filled a few hours of our Saturday afternoon nicely on a perfect fall afternoon in North Central Arkansas. We got a late start after dealing with a few chores around the house, and did not make it down until about 1 pm.  We headed straight for the car show, since it was to end at 2 pm.  There were not a huge amount of cars, but some of the old standbys were there, as well as few I had never seen before. After getting our fill of perfect paint jobs and glistening chrome, we made our way back down to Spring Park to see what there was to see there.  The arts and crafts were slim and surprisingly in this election year, no political booths to be found anywhere! Maybe we just missed it, but the closest thing we discovered was the Republican Wom

It has been quite a while since we dropped in on the local Gladfest fall festival.  Over the years, it seemed to lose its luster, and became little more than a sideshow of political nonsense, sprinkled over a carnival atmosphere. Things change though, and we thought it might be worth a look. Another couple invited us to tag along with them though, so we went up for a look around. They had been at the parade earlier in the day and echoed many of the same sentiments others had throughout the day, further validating our reasons for not attending the affair. The previously fun-filled parade of school bands, dance clubs, local businesses, and charitable organizations showing off their float-making abilities had been replaced with an overabundance of waving politicians.  That is really the last thing in the world we cared to see on a Saturday morning, so we abstained. As well, the festival portion promised rides, games, and a wide selection of various arts and cra