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24-25 August 2012 - Sun Dried Music Fest in Mason, Michigan (USA)
For photos of the bands go to: Sun Dried Music Fest - The Bands Page
This third annual event gave the impression of being a huge success. People were enjoying the music and were enthusiastic. The crowds appeared to me to be getting larger during Saturday. The final two performances by Orquesta Ritmo and (my personal favorite) Showdown drew huge crowds with fantastic energy evident everywhere (follow the preceding links to see my photos showing these groups and the dancing crowd).
It all started on Friday night with the Full House Band playing and entertaining the audience in other ways. See the children's musical chairs competition below. A dance competition was held later. My goal during this event was to document every band that performed plus the event in general. There was a good collection of vendors lining Maple Street, a beer tent and two stages. All day Saturday the music was continuous alternating between the Main Stage at Maple and Jefferson and the 2nd stage at Ash and Jefferson streets. Documenting the 14 groups performing on Saturday from noon till 11:30pm kept me busy shuttling back and forth between home and the Music Fest. I traveled via my TerraTrike during the well-lit hours and fast walking when it got dark. By the end I was exhausted but found the event to be a fun and worthwhile experience. Kudos to Mason for providing this exciting event for the local citizens!
The event was too big for one web page so I divided my coverage into two pages, one for the event in general and one concentrating specifically on the 15 bands.
All photos were all taken with an Olympus PEN E-PL2 camera.
Lenses used: Olympus 14-150, Olympus 9-18, Panasonic 20/1.7.
Links to related sites:
Click on photos to see a larger version in a popup window. |
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The children enjoyed the Music Fest, too. |
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| The Full House Band entertained on Friday evening. Shown above is the children's musical chairs competition. Congratulations to the winner Emma! One notable moment: two brothers were participating. The older brother was eliminated and walked back to his family, but his younger brother followed him and insisted that he continue. The young fellow gave his place to his brother! Very nice. |
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| The vendor area provided much of interest. I was particularly attracted by the "Chocolate Sovered Bacon" sign. I returned the next day to get a sample of this intriguing product from Jenna Marie Gourmet Chocolates (Linden, MI). First you get the strong chocolate sensation. After the chocolate flavor starts to fade the flavor of the bacon bits comes on strong. Very interesting! |
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| I previously covered the opening of Tiki Jim's Hawaiian Food Hut. The Music Fest was one of their last commitments for the concession trailer. The following day I asked my granddaughter Hazel to pose in front on their colorful trailer. |
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| The Ingham County Courthouse presents a wonder setting for events, with the spacious grassy areas on all four sides of the building. |
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| Ah, back to the vendor area with the Chocolate Covered Bacon, which had been beckoning to me since I first saw this sign on Friday. The second photo shows the main stage with Ware pharmacy and drug store in the background. The traffic signals were functioning but, fortunate, there were no cars driving through here. Instead, we had music and dancing. |
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| The beer tent above and the other photos below show night scenes, where the lighting was a bit difficult for photography. People were in a friendly and celebrative mood. The amusement structures in the Childrens' Area had been deflated for loading on the trucks. The dog's movement was blurred by the lengthy exposure time required by the camera. |
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| I captured the sceens above as I left for the final time. The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Shoppe was still lighted and active. The owners assured me it had been a "wild night" for them. The darkened windows of The Vault Delicatessen were filled with signs publicising the event. |
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Kids Area
The Kids area was East of the courthouse on Barnes Street with rides, kids' activities and a stage. The dunking tank seemed a popular spot. |
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Farmers Market
The Saturday Farmers Market normally takes place North of the courthouse on Maple Street, but with that street occupied with vendors for the Music Fest they moved it temporarily to Lee Austin Park a few blocks to the west. |
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| It was a bright, sunny day with a good turnout by the farmers. One took the above photo of me with my camera bag and trademark red cap. |
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| The girl scout table always beckons to me with a variety of homemade bakery products. At the right is the Market Master Elaine Ferris. |
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