People's Choice Festival, Boalsburg

It was a perfect day for a visit to the local arts fest, except for one thing: my big sister wasn't here. For the past 20 years or more, my oldest sister has been my loyal companion in visiting the fests: first, just the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, which occurs in State College, PA, around the second week in July; and then we added on the People's Choice Festival, which occurs in Boalsburg, PA, the very same week.

We used to try to do both of them in the same day. But somewhere along the line, we started focusing more on the Boalsburg fest, as it seemed to be more our style, featuring local artists, affordable prices, and a lovely rural setting at the Boalsburg Military Museum grounds.

A barefoot girl might just be inclined to soak her hot tootsies in the refreshing, cool waters of the little stream that runs through the grounds; and on most occasions, we've done just that (and one time I nearly dropped my little niece into the waters of the creek itself, but fortunately, that potential disaster was averted by sisterly intervention).

However, this year, my sister is in the rehab hospital, learning to do things like walk again, prepare food for herself, and independently use the restroom. She has much work ahead of her before she may be released, but the fact that we are even talking about such a thing is good news indeed. Until she can rejoin me again in our favorite activities, I keep the faith. I keep it in my heart of hearts, where I keep love and hope alive, too.

Most years, we spend the better part of a day at the fest. But this year, I decided to do a quick strike. So I marked two hours vacation from work, and I hustled off to the Boalsburg fest in mid-morning. I got there just as the booths were starting to open, and as I walked onto the grounds, the first thing I smelled was the FOOD.

It was 10 am, and one of the first things I saw was a line of old men sitting along one of the booths, chowing down fiercely on hot sausages with all of the toppings of their choice (a decision I suspected they might come to regret at some point later in the day; but hey, why not throw caution to the winds once in a while?). For those who may be interested, a further list of festival foods is provided here.

I took a speedy walk around the grounds, taking many pictures. Several of my favorite artists were there again this year, including the lady who makes the shiny, colorful dichroic glass earrings, and the gentleman who does whimsical drawings of all kinds of creatures suitable for children's books (and indeed this year he had two new books for sale).

I did not realize this when I first saw them and strolled over to investigate, but the little glass hanging planters in the image above were this year's new merchandise offered by the lady with the earrings I always buy. I checked out the little glass planters, talked myself out of buying one (though a friend later pointed out one would make a lovely home for a Dancing Girl, and she is so right!), and then allowed myself my single purchase at the fest: a $25 pair of beautiful, dangly, dichroic glass earrings in happy shades of bright blue.

There were all kinds of wares for sale: food and drink, wrought iron, crafts, yard implements, brooms, ceramics, clothing, trivets, jewelry, items made of wood, photographs. There were also things that I can't even tell you exactly what they were, such as the green dude wearing a hat and waving his flag around like he just doesn't care (see extra photos area - and, hey, let your freak flag fly!).

There was a small petting zoo with various animals, and I should have paid the dollar and gone in to get a closer look. But it was fun watching from the sidelines as a little boy fed a llama and then it chased him all around the enclosure. Live music was on the agenda, but not until a bit later in the day. The last thing I did was to watch a BMX bike show that featured chills, spills, and thrills, and then I walked back to my car and drove back to work.

The song to accompany these images of one of our local arts festivals has to be a song about a summer party, and I think this one will fit the bill. Turn it up loud and sing along if you like! Here are the Beach Boys, with Good Vibrations.