Peace

It seems fitting that our last outdoor event of the season was held on the last day of summer. We weren't entirely sure the event would take place due to unpredictable weather but we went ahead and set up the stage on Saturday for Sunday's show. Right up until about an hour before we set up the stage we weren't even sure which stage we were using or even where we were setting it up. After multiple meetings in the weeks leading up to the event date, the details continued to change right up until the end. . . A final decision was (finally!) made to put our smaller stage, without a canopy, in this lovely spot:

You'd think the smaller stage would be easier to set up but it's actually more time consuming than setting up the stage trailer. All of these individual decks have to be shimmed up on uneven ground and clamped together. . .


This area looks deceivingly even but when you're trying to set up a perfectly level stage it might as well be rolling hills!! We threw in some 2 x 4's to make it a little easier:

To add insult to injury, the grass was wet from an early morning rain storm! The last few times we've set up this stage, Kurt has had the "privilege" of crawling around under the stage installing the C-clamps so it was definitely Rob's turn this time!!

As we were finishing up the last bit of leveling, the skies turned grey and a storm rolled in. . .

It rained most of Saturday and into the early morning on Sunday but the weatherman promised clear skies so we were back early Sunday morning setting up the sound system.

The "Peace One Day" event started right on time with "Greenman Wisdom" offering a chant and a song. He was also the guy that brought the generator so he was pretty key to the whole event. . .

We did this event last year, too, but I won't be providing a link to it because of an incriminating video I posted of me doing the Universal Dance of Peace!!! Yikes! This is a group called Enchanted and they offered chants and "call and response" songs to bring us all together as one with the universe. . . :

So, I wasn't exactly comfortable with some of what was being said, but I tried to filter what was offered in order to find something I could relate to. . . I'm all for world peace and for finding ways to achieve it. And I think it's pretty cool that there were millions of people all over the world celebrating Peace One Day in their own way on Sunday. . .

This video sums up the essence of the event really well:

The two bands that finished off the day were really good. The first one up was The Middle Income Band:

I just had to laugh when I realized that the guitar player in this band used to sing at BFC when he was little. Jake Ineck was pretty amazing as a 10 year old belting out "Go Light Your World" on a Sunday morning in church and, after 15 years or so, it was cool to see that he has kept right on singing. . .

Another funny thing. . . Gloria found her friend Selena early in the day and kept herself very busy making fun peace-y, crafty things. Even after tracking her down and taking her picture, I didn't realize until looking through my pictures later at home that the shirt she's wearing probably wasn't the best choice for this type of event!! In my defense, she had on a sweatshirt when we left the house!!!

The final band for the day was Equaleyes. We ran their sound at the Roseberry Festival in July so it was good to re-connect.

They're a great band. . .

Amazingly enough, everything fit on the smaller stage. Barely, but it fit!

The weatherman turned out to be right about the weather. It was clear and cool all day long. I love sweatshirt weather!!

The band entertained the crowd until just after 6:00 p.m. . .

. . . Time to take it all down. . .

I actually enjoyed my day and wasn't nearly as tired as I thought I would be after a 2-event weekend. I survived another busy summer season!!!