Start to a Richmond Folk Festival Weekend

Save the date, October 12-14, 2012! That's the best time of the year to visit Richmond in all of its' beauty and splendid glory. The Richmond Folk Festival and its' eclectic mix of people, music, food and exotic wares set against the backdrop of Richmond's skyline is an event that should be experienced by everyone in our region of the US and beyond. If you are traveling through, it gives you the sense that you are entering the tip of the south but haven't quite made it yet. This year was no different!
Having been to every one of these events since it started as the National Folk Festival in Richmond, I have yet to come away disappointed or unfulfilled. All of the work that is done, from the stage setups, organizing of volunteers, selection of food vendors and management of the facilities is second to none. Every year that you go back you see the things that are being done in order to try and make it even better. I think that's the sign of progress and hope that this will be around awhile.

The weekend festival started for us on Friday evening as we took our seats, that would be my wife Denise and friend Bob Maynes as I prefer to stand, at the Altria stage and took in the performances of Mary Jane Lemond and Wendy MacIsaac, Redd Volkaert Band with Cindy Cashdollar, and Magic Slim and the Teardrops. The chill in the air let us know that we were in for a great weekend and a kickoff into the autumn season, looking forward to leaving the heat and mosquitoes behind. The highlight being the Redd Volkaert Band and Cindy Cashdollar as both of them are the best at what they do. Red with that smooth voice and the Fender guitar, Cindy on the steel guitar. They covered a wide variety of tunes and I came away with the impression that Red is a much better guitarist than I had ever imagined. Many times in his solos he demonstrated a penchant toward some rock riffs, notably dabbling into Hendrix. Whenever I am listening to music I will notice that my cheeks are stiff and that is a good thing. It means to me that I am in the right place at the right time and happy! And this was only the beginning of a great weekend! More to come....

Comments

The Bush League and The Michael Clark Band Light Up the Capital Ale House in Richmond, VA

It was a Friday night, the first night in about three weeks that my wife and I had felt even anywhere near well enough to venture past our front door. When we left the house, Denise and I had agreed that we wouldn't push it and probably would turn in a little early. I was feeling well, but Denise was marginal as we headed to the Brews and Blues function at the Capital Ale House . This is a weekly event sponsored by the River City Blues Society and features great local and live blues. This night it was The Bush League and, having heard them a couple times before, they did not disappoint. With Gwen Frederick (drums) and Royce Folks (bass) holding a strong and steady line on the back end, it allows John Jay (vocals) and Shane Parch (guitar) to play to their hearts' content. There were joined by a few guest musicians, especially Geo Jacopec on guitar. When he takes the stage with anybody, you know something special is going to happen. It has been three times now that I have bee

Second try at Mujaddara is a charm...

Our family has been vacationing in the Myrtle Beach, SC area for about 55 years or so. During that time we have stayed in cottages, small hotels, big motels, resorts and rental homes. This year (2018) w hile visiting Garden City, SC , I had made it a point to get to two restaurants that interested me while planning the trip. On of them was Pacino's Mediterranean Grille , in a strip mall just prior to the entrance into the community of Murrel's Inlet . I realized, just an hour prior to creating the appetite, that a reservation was recommended. I called and they offered a 7:30 - 8:00pm time slot, being already hungry I asked was there anywhere where we could sit and sample some of their more interesting menu items. They offered a seat in the kitchen area and I immediately replied "We'll be there in 10 minutes!" and off we went. The very first dish that we tried was the Mujaddara. Not even knowing how to pronounce it, we ordered it to give it a try and we were

Designing A Mobile Chicken Coop and a Software Epiphany

I had, what I call, a software epiphany on Sunday morning and it goes like this. As a part of my suburban homesteading project, I want to add a few chickens. Therefore I have been Googling chicken tractors, chicken coops, chicken houses, and practically chicken anything in order to come up with some plans to build a somewhat mobile chicken coop. My searches were not too successful as most people are trying to monetize every idea possible. They seem to be less willing to share info on these types of things or maybe some are just not capable of creating the drawings or plans necessary to present a project such as this in any meaningful way. So, I awoke on Sunday morning with this idea in my head and no way to get it out and it was driving me crazy. Once again sitting in front of the monitor I was reminded of Google SketchUp . Having a bit of experience in 2D AutoCAD and Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer , I decided to install it for a second time, after having installed it months a

Swing Dancing To a Plant-Based Beat

Search This Blog