We arrived fairly early on Saturday morning and finished setting up the sound system that was mostly in place from our Friday set up. There wasn't much for the kids to do (yet) so Zach, Hailey and Gloria toured the festival grounds and brought back some lovely pictures:
(Pacific Recycling was, of course, one of the main sponsors for Earth Day. . . )
Back at the stage, we continued to get everything hooked up, all the while hoping that we would have enough power to fire everything up. We were originally supposed to pull all of our power off of a solar powered trailer but a little research told us that would be like having one or two plug-ins for all of our stuff plus guitar amps and things. A great idea in theory only. . .
The set-up went smoothly, we had enough power when we plugged into the box and we cranked it up. The white backdrop hanging off the stage was provided by someone else and it really added a nice touch to the finished product:
We were set up way ahead of schedule and no one seemed to be in much of a hurry anyway. In fact, the whole day was pretty laid back and fun. . .
Opening ceremonies started right on time. . .
We were set up way ahead of schedule and no one seemed to be in much of a hurry anyway. In fact, the whole day was pretty laid back and fun. . .
Opening ceremonies started right on time. . .
The drummers set the tone for the day . . .
There were several good bands that played during the day and all of the change-outs between groups went pretty smoothly. We have gotten pretty good at transitioning between groups since we are usually only given 15 minutes to manage something that should take 30-45 minutes. . .
Gloria did her usual festival thing and explored all the booths to see what kind of loot she could get. . .
It was a big crowd for an April festival. . .
Gloria and I took a little walk on the trails above the festival grounds. . .
There were several good bands that played during the day and all of the change-outs between groups went pretty smoothly. We have gotten pretty good at transitioning between groups since we are usually only given 15 minutes to manage something that should take 30-45 minutes. . .
I thought the festival organizers did a really good job with this event. There were plenty of fun things to see and do and there was a good crowd all day long. . . 
I think the kids had fun. . .
I think the kids had fun. . .
Tyler came out to help again on Saturday and had a chance to glean some knowledge from Rob and Kurt. They were both impressed with him. . . 
They even had him "fly solo" on a few occasions:
With Rob at front-of-house and Kurt on the monitor board, I didn't have to do much except take pictures and hang out with the kids. It was nice. . . 
Gloria did her usual festival thing and explored all the booths to see what kind of loot she could get. . .
It was a big crowd for an April festival. . .
Gloria and I took a little walk on the trails above the festival grounds. . .
Even though it is a huge amount of work to set all this up (even more work to take it all down), I almost always enjoy the in-between times of a festival like this when I can just hang out and enjoy the sunshine. . .
Gloria even met up with a long-lost friend. This is the daughter of someone who used to work in the office in front of our warehouse about 3 years ago. These two re-connected and had a fun afternoon together:
Gloria even met up with a long-lost friend. This is the daughter of someone who used to work in the office in front of our warehouse about 3 years ago. These two re-connected and had a fun afternoon together:
Meanwhile, the bands continued to play, people continued to dance and have fun and I continued to take pictures. . .
Way back when it was just me and Rob, I was the one who ran the monitors and managed to get the bands on and off the stage in a timely (?) manner. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. When Kurt came along last year, I happily handed the monitor board over to him and I haven't had to run it much lately. Unfortunately, he had to be out at the civic center on Saturday evening, so I knew fun time for me was almost over. Just as he was getting ready to leave the festival, the power went out for a moment and came back on. Kurt and a couple of other guys went to investigate and it turned out that someone was randomly flipping breakers on the main panel so no harm was done. Rob is using a digital board now and he hadn't saved the settings for the new band yet, so it took him a few minutes to re-adjust but I don't think most of the festival-goers ever realized there was a lapse. . .
Since it was actually time for me to do some work, I handed the camera to the kids. . .
Since it was actually time for me to do some work, I handed the camera to the kids. . .
I only had to run monitors for the last two bands and it really wasn't too bad.
It all came back to me and I even had a little fun once I got comfortable with it. . .
As the sun started to go down, it got a little chilly. . .
It was a gorgeous sunset. . .
It was a gorgeous sunset. . .
I was tempted to join the dancing crowd just so I could warm up. . .
The crowd didn't seem to mind the cold. Or the darkening sky. Or the fact that it was getting late and all of this stuff still had to be taken down and put away. . .
When the band finally stopped playing, the crowd all joined together for a Universal Dance of Peace. We were just glad everyone was away from our stage so we could get to work. . .
When the band finally stopped playing, the crowd all joined together for a Universal Dance of Peace. We were just glad everyone was away from our stage so we could get to work. . .
Even though this is the not-so-fun part, we still manage to have a few laughs while we're at it. . .
It just makes everything a little bit easier. . .
Zach and Hailey were a HUGE help and by the time Kurt finished up at the Civic Center and made it back to the stage, we were ready to pull down the stage and canopy. Gloria, however, didn't quite make it. . .
We finished up around 2 a.m. and headed home, cold and tired.
It just makes everything a little bit easier. . .
Zach and Hailey were a HUGE help and by the time Kurt finished up at the Civic Center and made it back to the stage, we were ready to pull down the stage and canopy. Gloria, however, didn't quite make it. . .
We finished up around 2 a.m. and headed home, cold and tired.
Hopefully we'll still have some time in the next couple of months to get better prepared for the rest of the summer festivals . . . at least a little time to re-paint the stage. . . but the next couple of months are pretty busy and we all have to sleep sometime. . .
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