Festivals
Today a friend and I went to a small town within an hour from my home to attend that town's annual "festival." My friend works for a large local organization that cares for the disabled and was superintending a home of four high-functioning adult women clients; she wanted to take them on an outing and I agreed to go along to help.
The experience was heightened in that I used to work closely with the woman who was instrumental in starting the festival in the 1990s, and I used to go every year, but it had been at least six since my last time.
I am of the opinion that if you have been to one of these small-town festivals, you've been to all of them. That is unfair, but this one had not changed at all, from what I could tell, so nothing new was experienced. It was pretty hot and I got too much sun; either because of my heart problems or my fairness, I just don't do sun well. On top of that, there had to be 30,000 people there; the one thing that had changed was the popularity of this festival, because it was extremely well attended (that's one take on it; the other is it was just overcrowded and the town wasn't prepared for it.)
But all went well and we got home and I'm cured of any desire to attend another festival. What is more an issue is the why? Why do towns have these festivals, and why do we go? From what my former coworker told me, the festival really helped the local economy, so I suppose that's as good a reason as any. (My little town in North Georgia also has one on Memorial Day weekend, but it's much smaller and not as well publicized; the one I attended today is advertised nationally.) Why do we go? Boredom? To help my friend out? To see other people? (I saw plenty). I am not an introvert but crowds for crowds' sake are not appealing. I would have preferred a nature walk and a quiet book or a museum or lunch with a few friends at a sandwich shop.
The Why of life is a never-ending well of possibilities.
The experience was heightened in that I used to work closely with the woman who was instrumental in starting the festival in the 1990s, and I used to go every year, but it had been at least six since my last time.
I am of the opinion that if you have been to one of these small-town festivals, you've been to all of them. That is unfair, but this one had not changed at all, from what I could tell, so nothing new was experienced. It was pretty hot and I got too much sun; either because of my heart problems or my fairness, I just don't do sun well. On top of that, there had to be 30,000 people there; the one thing that had changed was the popularity of this festival, because it was extremely well attended (that's one take on it; the other is it was just overcrowded and the town wasn't prepared for it.)
But all went well and we got home and I'm cured of any desire to attend another festival. What is more an issue is the why? Why do towns have these festivals, and why do we go? From what my former coworker told me, the festival really helped the local economy, so I suppose that's as good a reason as any. (My little town in North Georgia also has one on Memorial Day weekend, but it's much smaller and not as well publicized; the one I attended today is advertised nationally.) Why do we go? Boredom? To help my friend out? To see other people? (I saw plenty). I am not an introvert but crowds for crowds' sake are not appealing. I would have preferred a nature walk and a quiet book or a museum or lunch with a few friends at a sandwich shop.
The Why of life is a never-ending well of possibilities.
Comments