Smoky Hill River Festival Performers
One of my favorite photos ever came from the Festival, and I've had it at the top of my LJ for years. A dance troupe from San Francisco was performing an interpretative dance about man's relationship with fire. So, if you've wondered about that photo, now you know it came from the Festival.
When I began to pull photos of performances I had enjoyed, I was surprised to see that I didn't have any of the main headliners. I only had photos of one performance in a main venue. There are four stages set up throughout the park with one act after another scheduled from Friday at 10 a.m. to Sunday at 4 p.m. The budget doesn't allow organizers to bring in Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber, but they do an excellent job of ferreting out the up and coming, interesting, and varied talent. Sometimes, the performers are quality, but they just aren't the flavor of the month. We've had knowns like Mary Travers, Kathy Mattea, and the Average White Band. We've also had relatively obscure groups like Needfire (Celtic rock) who we've enjoyed tremendously. The Festival offers something for everyone: big band, jazz, rock, doo wop, a capella, bluegrass, country, classical, and hip-hop music. This year's headliner is George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, the grandfather of funk!
For photos, I obviously prefer seeking out the roving performers, artists who appear throughout the park and aren't listed in the program for a certain time or place. They are a happy surprise to festival goers.
Ballet on stilts! It was amazing to watch a dancer roll to the ground and then regain his feet smoothly and seemingly effortlessly--on stilts.
I felt so sorry for the performers that day. It was probably close to a hundred degrees out, and their make-up was running. Plus, every time they did a movement on the ground, the dirt and loose grass would coat their sweaty bodies.
They were real troupers, however, and the Festival organizers kept them hydrated with plenty of water breaks.
One never knows who or what may be around the next tree.
Hopefully, fire will be involved!
Or magic!
Jugglers are a crowd favorite.
When's the last time you heard a drum and fife band?
Music can run from harp...
to bagpipe.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the roving performers is that they have a great rapport with the audience. Little boys have the opportunity to shake hands or high-five their hero who juggled fire while riding a unicycle.
Big boys and girls have the chance to talk to the performers, too!
The unexpected is just around the corner!