Thought I would kick this one off for everyone.
Happy Halloween
Already had a few nippers round including my sisters lot, gave them some glo sticks and they started doing star wars fights.
Oh the fun, any sweeties left at the end of the evening go straight to my very needy diet fund since I've got a bit of a hangover.
Nothing very spooky on the television so I'll have to delve into the DVDs.
Have some spooky fun.
Happy Halloween
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Happy Halloween
by vampi » Sun Oct 31, 2004 1:53 pm
- vampi
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by Dreamer » Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:14 pm
Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween... What did you do???
What a weekend we had. It was great. It was filled with lots of good music and great people. The campground we are at right now here in South Carolina had a group come in called the SC Family Gathering. They came with booths, food, refreshments and 3 days of entertainment. Guys with long hair, girls in long skirts and all with pleasant personality's.
It was similar to a mini Woodstock, solstice and Halloween party all rolled into one. Thursday night we watched two stages, with sound equipment, concessions and cookers come in. A few security among scattered early arrivers showed up putting up tents and getting situated for the weekend festivities. There were happy friendly people all over the place of all ages. None forgot to say hello and waved when going by.
By the time the music started on Friday there were dozens of grouping of tents too many clusters to count covering the hillsides. And filling the wooded areas. Cars were not allowed inside for most of the event so they were all parked up on the hills behind us. So there was a steady stream of people passing us this way and that most of the weekend. Friday night there seemed to be alot of people using cell phones but as the weekend got fully underway I notices less and less of them being used and people "roughing it so to speak"
The security people looked just like the rest of everyone and there really wasn't much need for them. Not that I really think they would have been much help as free as the spirits were flowing amongst everyone. Homemade organic moonshine, beers and wines were in abundance and if you had forgot or didn't want to bring any they had their local home brewery on duty with spirits on tap as well as homemade rootbeer for the non-drinkers among us.
Once the music started it was really kewl. The music was something I had never listened too. I heard it referred to as New Grass music. It was a sort of cross between bluegrass and Jazz. Most of the bands has some sort of brass section as well as the usual bluegrass ensemble of mandolins, banjos, guitars and can't forget the huge bass fiddles. One band that has a few records out was Acoustic Syndicate that played Friday night.
This type of music was all new to me and I didn't recognize any of the bands names or songs, though I think most were from the Greenville SC area. Ever Heard a synthesized banjo with effect petals played similar to a lead guitar?? All I can say is wow. Or how bought a synthesized saxophone. Talk about some wild sounding stuff. The whole weekend was filled with the stuff. When the bands weren't playing they were amongst the campers in tents of their own enjoying the weekend as we all did.
Where our camper is located we could hear everything crystal clear from down in the valley below us on the lake front. So I only when down amongst the crowds a few times checking the shops that seemed to gain new things to sell through out the weekend. Friday the music played officially till around 2:30 or so. But then it continued at the small camps around campfires and groupings of people. Bongos and dancing and laughter was heard all night.
Saturday was much of the same all day festivities people moving about. Some in costumes and some in the hippie style of dress. I fit right in with my style of dress. Finally meeting some of my own kind was really intriguing to me.. There was a occasional whiff of something in the air and many bursts of giggling. I went down to see the bands that sounded best from my camp that I wanted to see a bit closer. During the day the music was enjoyed not so much in front of the stage where some people gathered on blankets and chairs occasionally dancing but it was enjoyed from the camps since the acoustics were so perfect for carrying the sound.
Saturday night they had the traditional costume judging and pumpkin carving contests as well as a few raffles with money gained to benefit some charity or another. Traveling from one encampment to another seemed to be the fun for late night not to mention the flying through the park on golf carts. Luckily no one got hurt aside from a little bruising but they were an accident waiting to happen. Most of the time things settled down around 4am growing quite for a few hours. I even had one reverse trick-or-treater come by and give me candy at my camp. M & M's peanut..
Sunday had sort of a sad overtone as it was ending.. well for some it was. But the bands played on continually all day once again. Starting out with some more traditional gospel bluegrass around noontime. And right on through 9pm. The local camp bar that is also on the dock they also had an outdoor house band that came in and played on their usually Sunday show. They play more classic rock so we went over there for a while with another couple. Both areas were playing at the same time. Probably what got the local residents fired up and complaining. Unfortunately the festival didn't have all the proper permits in order and the police came and quieted things down to a near silence.
But a group of about 50 were still here and moving around Sunday evening. I had retired to the camper for the evening to catch up on things when once again I heard the music rise from the silence. More traditional sounding clean bluegrass. Yet with a youthful enthusiasm that the weekend seemed to flow with. So I walked down the hill again in the pitch of night and found a gathering of about 25 to 50 people some sitting and some dancing around a three piece group who surrounded a microphone about midriff high with only small PA speakers. (which was eventually their undoing) The light was dim from a nearby campfire and a few lit pumpkins near their feet. The mandolin player even broke a string he was picking so hard. It was a fantastic end to a most peaceful and pleasurable weekend. They were promised stage time next Family Gathering.
The police came in again and broke us all down with threats that if we started up again they would start confiscating instruments. As I flashed a camera in their direction they told me to "Stop taking pictures!" and threatened to take my camera too. Gotta love "The Man" as they were called. They said some of the area locals had called and complained about the volume of the music. That was the end of the music aside from our rebel next door neighbor who took out his guitar and played a little at his own campfire.
So now all this highly ready for music partying people full of energy had to find other things to do. It became golf cart craziness till 4am.. Coming up and down the hills barreling through the campground and laughing hysterically when they would almost tip the carts over or would lose one the their over-crowded occupants on a turn. It was all great fun and we hated to see it all end.
By Monday when I got up there was no reminders on the ground that there had even been a festival here. No trash strewn about. Only a few tracks left in the grass from the enthusiastic golf carting and a few left to be removed stages and equipment.
Today all the creatures of the woods have come back. Squirrels are coming down from the trees and again the birds are flitting about happily singing from tree to tree.
What a well needed solstice celebration..
You can see the pictures in the Envisioned Dreams section or here:
http://www.dreamersreality.com/scfg2004/index.htm
What a weekend we had. It was great. It was filled with lots of good music and great people. The campground we are at right now here in South Carolina had a group come in called the SC Family Gathering. They came with booths, food, refreshments and 3 days of entertainment. Guys with long hair, girls in long skirts and all with pleasant personality's.
It was similar to a mini Woodstock, solstice and Halloween party all rolled into one. Thursday night we watched two stages, with sound equipment, concessions and cookers come in. A few security among scattered early arrivers showed up putting up tents and getting situated for the weekend festivities. There were happy friendly people all over the place of all ages. None forgot to say hello and waved when going by.
By the time the music started on Friday there were dozens of grouping of tents too many clusters to count covering the hillsides. And filling the wooded areas. Cars were not allowed inside for most of the event so they were all parked up on the hills behind us. So there was a steady stream of people passing us this way and that most of the weekend. Friday night there seemed to be alot of people using cell phones but as the weekend got fully underway I notices less and less of them being used and people "roughing it so to speak"
The security people looked just like the rest of everyone and there really wasn't much need for them. Not that I really think they would have been much help as free as the spirits were flowing amongst everyone. Homemade organic moonshine, beers and wines were in abundance and if you had forgot or didn't want to bring any they had their local home brewery on duty with spirits on tap as well as homemade rootbeer for the non-drinkers among us.
Once the music started it was really kewl. The music was something I had never listened too. I heard it referred to as New Grass music. It was a sort of cross between bluegrass and Jazz. Most of the bands has some sort of brass section as well as the usual bluegrass ensemble of mandolins, banjos, guitars and can't forget the huge bass fiddles. One band that has a few records out was Acoustic Syndicate that played Friday night.
This type of music was all new to me and I didn't recognize any of the bands names or songs, though I think most were from the Greenville SC area. Ever Heard a synthesized banjo with effect petals played similar to a lead guitar?? All I can say is wow. Or how bought a synthesized saxophone. Talk about some wild sounding stuff. The whole weekend was filled with the stuff. When the bands weren't playing they were amongst the campers in tents of their own enjoying the weekend as we all did.
Where our camper is located we could hear everything crystal clear from down in the valley below us on the lake front. So I only when down amongst the crowds a few times checking the shops that seemed to gain new things to sell through out the weekend. Friday the music played officially till around 2:30 or so. But then it continued at the small camps around campfires and groupings of people. Bongos and dancing and laughter was heard all night.
Saturday was much of the same all day festivities people moving about. Some in costumes and some in the hippie style of dress. I fit right in with my style of dress. Finally meeting some of my own kind was really intriguing to me.. There was a occasional whiff of something in the air and many bursts of giggling. I went down to see the bands that sounded best from my camp that I wanted to see a bit closer. During the day the music was enjoyed not so much in front of the stage where some people gathered on blankets and chairs occasionally dancing but it was enjoyed from the camps since the acoustics were so perfect for carrying the sound.
Saturday night they had the traditional costume judging and pumpkin carving contests as well as a few raffles with money gained to benefit some charity or another. Traveling from one encampment to another seemed to be the fun for late night not to mention the flying through the park on golf carts. Luckily no one got hurt aside from a little bruising but they were an accident waiting to happen. Most of the time things settled down around 4am growing quite for a few hours. I even had one reverse trick-or-treater come by and give me candy at my camp. M & M's peanut..
Sunday had sort of a sad overtone as it was ending.. well for some it was. But the bands played on continually all day once again. Starting out with some more traditional gospel bluegrass around noontime. And right on through 9pm. The local camp bar that is also on the dock they also had an outdoor house band that came in and played on their usually Sunday show. They play more classic rock so we went over there for a while with another couple. Both areas were playing at the same time. Probably what got the local residents fired up and complaining. Unfortunately the festival didn't have all the proper permits in order and the police came and quieted things down to a near silence.
But a group of about 50 were still here and moving around Sunday evening. I had retired to the camper for the evening to catch up on things when once again I heard the music rise from the silence. More traditional sounding clean bluegrass. Yet with a youthful enthusiasm that the weekend seemed to flow with. So I walked down the hill again in the pitch of night and found a gathering of about 25 to 50 people some sitting and some dancing around a three piece group who surrounded a microphone about midriff high with only small PA speakers. (which was eventually their undoing) The light was dim from a nearby campfire and a few lit pumpkins near their feet. The mandolin player even broke a string he was picking so hard. It was a fantastic end to a most peaceful and pleasurable weekend. They were promised stage time next Family Gathering.
The police came in again and broke us all down with threats that if we started up again they would start confiscating instruments. As I flashed a camera in their direction they told me to "Stop taking pictures!" and threatened to take my camera too. Gotta love "The Man" as they were called. They said some of the area locals had called and complained about the volume of the music. That was the end of the music aside from our rebel next door neighbor who took out his guitar and played a little at his own campfire.
So now all this highly ready for music partying people full of energy had to find other things to do. It became golf cart craziness till 4am.. Coming up and down the hills barreling through the campground and laughing hysterically when they would almost tip the carts over or would lose one the their over-crowded occupants on a turn. It was all great fun and we hated to see it all end.
By Monday when I got up there was no reminders on the ground that there had even been a festival here. No trash strewn about. Only a few tracks left in the grass from the enthusiastic golf carting and a few left to be removed stages and equipment.
Today all the creatures of the woods have come back. Squirrels are coming down from the trees and again the birds are flitting about happily singing from tree to tree.
What a well needed solstice celebration..
You can see the pictures in the Envisioned Dreams section or here:
http://www.dreamersreality.com/scfg2004/index.htm
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