There is something about large crowds, fried food and middle aged men with fanny packs that embodies a good festival experience. I don't know if it is festival season here in Houston or what, but there have been some cool gatherings and such lately.
Here we are at the Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park. It was HUGE, with over 300 vendors spread out within the park.
It was amazing to see all the different mediums of artwork. The experience confirmed how unartistic I am, but inspired me to try and be a craftier person...hmm...maybe knitting would be safer than welding metals like this!
These beautiful sculptures were made out of coiled and wrapped wire. If only I had $450 to spend on one- it takes some serious commitment. Someday when I grow up, I'll get a couple to put in our parlour :)
Instead of buying a painting or sculpture, I went for a pretty green bracelet.
This guy was incredible. He slowly meandered through the streets, and had the persona of a tree, very regal and poised.
Our next endeavor was BINGO! Granted, it's not a festival, but it should be! We met up with some friends to experience the lure. The church parking lot was packed, mostly with buicks and cadillacs...perfect! It's not legit bingo if the median age of the players aren't 75 years plus. Once in the church basement, it was on! We purchased our packet of game sheets, our very own dobbers (those who aren't aware, they're basically ink blotters), and some cokes to keep up with the professionals. People were READY!
Each game had different ways to win- four corners, crazy kite, blackout, postage stamp, and the list goes on! There were 'specials' with different colored boards, 2 bingo callers, a projection of the ball and number, and a lit up spread at the front of the room with all the numbers and letters called thus far.
Man, we had walked into an underground, serious, gambling ring masked beneath a catholic church facade!! We knew it was serious as soon as the first game started. Everyone immediately stopped talking, and all you could hear was the sound of dobbers dobbing, and a few oxygen tanks clicking. If someone did call bingo, everyone in the room gripped out 'NO' and 'Uggghhh!!"
If you did win, the cash prizes were pretty good! The smallest amount of money you could win was $70, and the grand prize that night was $750!!! Man, we were not messing around on that one! I ended up winning one of the small prizes, and turned three sheets of red. I did not anticipate actually winning, and when I did, I wanted to make sure I had dobbed correctly! Our friends informed us that if you call out bingo, and didn't really get one, that people get pretty mad...eeek! Luckily, I did everything correctly, and could take everyone out for frozen yogurt. Yep, that's right- I was the sugar momma, bingo winning, frozen yogurt buying winner of the night!
Bingo turned out to be pretty amazing, and lucrative for us...watch out grandma's, Chelsea needs a new pair of shoes!!!
The most recent festival we attended was just today, a Palestinian Festival. It was really fun! The music was so very cool to hear live, with families dancing and singing along. The handicrafts and goods being sold were so unique and beautiful, and all the vendors were focused on projecting information about the culture of Palestine.
Going to this festival really made me want to travel. I love to be immersed in another culture, and experience something new for the first time. I'm hoping there is a Hawaiian festival next- because I could really use a mai tai and a beach... :)
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