Random cancelled plans let to other cancelled plans, leading us to improvise, ultimately ending up in Lawrence for a completely chance sighting of an invasion of buskers. We did not even know it existed before that morning and it appeared reasonably safe, in spite of weather that seemed to be leaning in an unforgiving direction.
While cloud cover edged towards an all encompassing stance, the sun shined down on the early part of the afternoon. A quick lunch at Free State Brewery, home of the event sponsor, set the tone for us to take to the streets between Vermont and New Hampshire on 8th and enjoy amusements available.
The entire situation really did not feel too far out of line with the normal for Lawrence, even though the event has been described by some as a "once-a-year-get-weird" for the town. It is usually a weird town all on its own, without any supporting cast. This just centralized the weirdness, if it can be characterized as much. We enjoyed a few moments of "weird" before being called away to other affairs planned for the day, and will be keeping an eye on the Lawrence Busker Festival calendar for more time in that state next time.
While visiting the great state of Arkansas, we had the opportunity to check out this event, which had been elusive for several years. The endurance of some of these hand manufactured boats was quite surprising, and amusing at times. Apparently, the theme of the year was Star Wars, and there were quite a variety of flotation constructions about the landscape of Sandy Beach. All of the contraptions endured the warm waters quite well, and really did not take on any water. It was quite surprising, considering the construction materials permitted. A few, while water tight, contained a few minor design flaws that caused disintegration under pressure. One almost fell apart at the starting line, and eventually did, prior to the finish line. It was quite a lot of fun though, and a full house on the beach in spite of threatening rain. We look forward to getting back to it again. view more photos from this event or add your own to the mix
An amazing night of multimedia and live performance flowed through a packed house at the Charlotte Street Foundation, highlighting the imaginative world of artist Donald Ross, known popularly as "Scribe." screenshot from scribbleversestudios While most immediately recognize his work stretching across decades of Kansas City buildings and alleyways, his recent efforts are likely the most impactful. Larger-than-life murals commissioned by Children's Mercy Hospital throughout their campus inspire happiness and offer hope daily in children facing greater challenges than many of us will see in a lifetime. It is this visual storytelling that is celebrated in the film that was but one part of the audio-visual-lyrical trinity this evening. Produced by Kyle Dykes, "Enter the Scribbleverse" premiered at the Kansas City International Film Festival in March of 2025, after which Dykes and Ross began collaboration with the Charlotte Street Foun...
Freedom Fest on the Lake turned out a little more inundated than anyone anticipated. A wetter normal spring and summer left Greers Ferry Lake higher than normal, with barely twenty feet of beach. In some places there none to be found at all. It is not as if that were a bad thing though. All of the surrounding communities continued alignment with the fourth of July, leaving this little resort town with Saturday the 5th all to itself. A shortage of beachfront pushed folks to improvise. They met the challenge and it did not become quite as overcrowded as in the past few years. Lining the edge of the parking lot offered space to dance. After the band, it enabled relocation for optimal firework viewing, and there was no shortage of space in the water or flotation devices of all sizes, complete with kids jumping from the trees.
We had not been out to the bull riding spectacle in quite awhile, and the upcoming Professional Bull Rider Built Ford Tough Championships seemed to be as good of a time as any. It was in Kansas City, at the Sprint Center, and featured some of the best of the best. I took several photos throughout the night, and experimented with a feature I found on a small camera that I didn't know it had. Slow motion video of these rides is just the thing to do. I pulled all of those little videos together, along with the photos, laid in a track and created the YouTube below. view more photos from this event
The Oak Park High School community gathered for the dedication of a new Vietnam Memorial Healing Wall within the school. This new memorial will stand as tribute to the hundreds of Oak Park alumni from the classes of 1966 through 1975 who served during the conflict. It also includes special recognition to a select twelve former students that offered the ultimate sacrifice. While this memorial will never make up for the loss families suffered, or the negativity showered on recruits lucky enough to return, perhaps it will help remind everyone that were just kids doing what they had to do to succeed in life. As one of the speakers pointed out, most had little choice. Many that left were only looking forward to returning home to friends, family, and enablement of new opportunities offered by the military. video by cwarnes . . . View Photos from the Dedications SmugMug.com . . . The...
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