I went with my folks, since they happened to get a few tickets from a friend and I had nothing better to do. And as we always do when we go during an afternoon, we started with the Ramblin' Lou Family Band.
Ramblin' Lou is an old friend of the family, and has been in radio for years. His whole family are very talented musicians, so the concert is always great to attend. Plus, Ramblin' Lou tells some pretty good jokes. Old, but good.
After that we pretty much just wandered around to all the different boothes and displays. We caught the end of a balancing act at one of the big show domes. The acrobat was doing strength stunts (like a one handed hand-stand) at the top off a tower made from about 12 wooden chairs (the bottom chair was balanced on top of four wine bottles).
There was also a nice little Birds Of Prey display. No eagles, but a couple of hawks, three or four falcons and a handful of owls.
Then we browsed the Agro Center. It's a large building that has mostly commercial displays. As opposed to the non-profit stuff like the birds... or cows.) There were the usual things there like juicers, windshield replacers, gutter helmets.
The one thing that really stood out for me was the display booth for something I think was called Starry Night or something. It was an incredible display. They had a small room set up with luminescent stars painted on the walls and ceiling. While the lights were on, you couldn't see anything unusual, just the regular ceiling and wall-paper. But when they turned off the light, an astronomically accurate star scape appeared. Then, after the saleswoman showed us a stargazer's trick I didn't know about (You rub your hands together to create some friction heat and then hold them over your eyes to warm and relax the muscles of your eyes. This allows you to get your night vision much faster.) the stars really came out. It was as good as being way out in the country on a moonless night. Plus, you could actually reach out and touch them.
Shortly after we left the Agro, the sky really clouded up. But we made it into one of the beer/food shelters about 15 seconds ahead of the downpour. Really good timing on that. It rained for about 25 minutes, and when it was over, we headed for the exit.
Fortunately for us, the path back to our car led us right by the Community Stage where a hypnotist was performing. We walked up right after he had put a large group of people under. And the, after weeding out the people who weren't responsive enough (or in one case, too hypnotized ... all he did was sit there slumped over.) he put them through his routine.
He made them see things, hear things, feel things. He made them laugh, cry, scream, and sing. He made them walk around like robots. He made them dance. Tap, tango, and J-Lo style. I have to admit that it was hilarious, but you will never get me up on stage with a hypnotist.
And that was how I spent my Sunday evening. Not too bad a way to end a weekend.
Posted by GEBIV at August 22, 2005 02:43 PM | TrackBack