I'm back! (I think.)

I really didn't go anywhere I just didn't seem to be here, posting. What can I say? It was just a very busy and hectic couple of days around here. Like most weekends, we packed as much as we could into those couple of days.

Our Friday night plans became a wash out but "candle power" does not a computer run. Friday Concerts in the Parks were supposed to start but Mother Nature had a different view of that plan. We were on our way to the park when the rains came. Reversing directions, we found the storm had knocked power out at home so any computer contact was a no-go for the entire evening. The rains did not, however, break the heat or humidity. Temps hovered at 80 degrees through the night and the humidity hung in there at about 90%. It was sticky! (Typical Maryland summer weather.) Saturday dawned clear, hot and sticky. We judged the Beltway BBQ Showdown in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and stayed to enjoy some fantastic blues music performed by a group known as Memphis Gold. They played some heavy duty blues mixed with a little jazz, soul and they really got folks up out of their seats with a resounding performance of When the Saints Go Marching In. I thought I was in New Orleans, again! I was ready to go dancing in the streets behind those horn players!The organizers wisely moved this event form the shadeless Equestrian Center to a fantastic green regional park in the area. Believe me, those big shade trees were very welcome on this hot, sticky day. After judging ended, we settled in under a big tree to just enjoy the entertainment and people watch. (The latter was really interesting!) Some menacing dark clouds began to circle late in the day but didn't hurt the crowd. There were still folks arriving as we left, shortly before the entertainment ended. What can I say? Good BBQ draws a crowd!! What we had there, was some of the best.

We headed Northwest on Sunday to catch the last day of the Western Maryland Blues Festival in Hagerstown.

The Hard Swimmin' Fish

This festival opens on Thursday evening with a free concert in the plaza in the downtown business district featuring a popular local band.

A paid event on Friday evening (again downtown) features four better known regional groups and truly gets the party started. Saturday's paid event is also in the downtown business district and offers eight national, regional and a few local groups, a huge selection of food and beer vendors, and more, from noon until 10 p.m. At that point, a lot of the crowd simply disperses to the many local venues who also feature blues music throughout the weekend.

Flat-Foot Sam & The Educated Fools

Sunday is billed as the Family Blues Picnic and takes place in the beautiful City Park (also in downtown Hagerstown) where they encourage folks to bring their chairs, blankets, picnic baskets and kids. Again, national, regional and local performers are featured. (This year there were 5 acts on for Sunday.) They also offer free children's music workshops and activities. Adult music workshops are usually also offered in the Museum of Fine Art which is on this property and is open on that day. Food vendors in the park offer some unique "festival" foods not always found at such events.

We particularly enjoyed the music of The Hard Swimmin' Fish and Flat Foot Sam and the Educated Fools on Sunday. Both have a hard-driving approach to the blues that appeals to our inner rock fan. I must say, the Fish have the only stand-up bass I've ever seen decorated with flames!
Although we only got there for Sunday this time, we usually go on Saturday, spend the night and make it a mini-vacation.

If you find yourselves in this end of the world, Hagerstown makes for a great week-end getaway. By day, there's shopping at both an outlet mall and loads of small unique shops in town, nearby history (Antietam is only a 20 minute drive), great restaurants and a lively club life at night featuring live entertainment most weekends. If that's not enough to keep you busy, the casino in Charlestown, West Virginia is less than 40 minutes away, too.

We needed to hurry home as we were expecting house guests for the night and The Big Guy also has a weekly Pinochle game at our house every Sunday night. We kept the activity rolling on Monday with a graduation ceremony which kept us out late again! Congratulations to the Class of 2010 at Kennard Dale High School and to ALL 2010 Grads!!

Boy, am I tired. I'm going to get some rest and get back to y'all soon!

Sunday's Post - on Monday, again.

Okay, I admit it. I relaxed just a bit too much when I got home last evening and fell asleep before posting. In my defense, we had a busy weekend!

As I said yesterday, we had houseguests come in on Friday night and our crowd went out for steamed crabs that evening. (Eating steamed crabs at a true "crab house" is a Chesapeake thing. It's different from just going out to dinner as you need to work at eating crabs. It is noisy (people banging on their claws with mallets), messy (tables are generally covered with brown paper, newspaper or disposable plastic), time consuming and, truly, a lot of fun. The most common beverage is cold beer by the pitcher. It's not just a meal, it's an evening's entertainment. A good time was had by all.

Also, as I said yesterday, our guests left early Saturday morning and we spent the day at a local winery with yet a different crowd of family and friends.

After an evening of resting up, we rose fairly early Sunday and headed off to the 14th Annual Western Maryland Blues Fest in Hagerstown, Maryland. Held the weekend after Memorial day weekend, this is one of the leading blues events on the East Coast. Just east of the Appalachian Mountains, the City of Hagerstown is located amidst some of the most scenic rolling hills of the Mid-Atlantic region. They go all out to show the many music loving residents and visitors a terrific good time for the festival weekend. We've been attending for the last seven years or so and have seen some fantastic acts over that time.

The weekend kicked off this year with a free concert by a local band held in a downtown city park. Friday featured a limited admission, paid event held on a downtown parking lot and featured four regional and national acts. That same lot came alive on Saturday with two stages featuring eight regional and national acts performing from 11 a.m. until approximately 11 p.m. This, too, is a paid venue. This year admission was $40 at the gate. (They do offer non-refundable advanced tickets at a slight discount.) Sunday wraps up the weekend with a rocking free family event in the huge and beautiful Hagerstown City Park, also located downtown.

Normally, we attend the paid Saturday event, spend the night in town and then wrap it up with the Sunday in the park. This year, we just felt we really couldn't afford the $80 in admission fees plus a hotel fee. Since it is a two hour, one-way journey for us, it is simply too far to commute to the event both days, especially when you consider the time we would be leaving on Saturday night only to return early on Sunday. They do not allow you to bring in food or coolers to the Saturday venue so you need to add in another $50 in expenses for food and drink. (Nobody ever said festival food was inexpensive!) This year, we elected to go elsewhere on Saturday and simply go to the Sunday in the Park portion of the festival.

The park itself is absolutely fantastic. There is a huge lake with ducks, geese and visible fish. Picnic tables and permanent grills dot the landscape throughout the park and near a large playground. There are numerous paths for walking and, at least during the festival, there is a small train ride for children. The "train" is made up of several little wagon-like carts being pulled by a small tractor. The little ones seem to enjoy the thrill of the ride. Parking is plentiful, free and easily accessible. They have a large bandshell with a fairly good size area of permanent seating in the form of wooden benches, surrounded by huge shade trees. Definitely a pleasant place for warm weather concerts. There is a mansion house on the property which houses an art museum. Further down, near the parking areas, are some other buildings which are used for educational purposes. Some years, music clinics have been held in those buildings by some of the performers.

This free portion of the festival featured four regional groups this year (some years there are five). We were able to hear all four groups although we did slip out shortly before the last group finished up. They bill Sunday as the "Family Blues Picnic" because coolers and picnic baskets are welcome, as are the children. There are special music performances, musical workshops, free souvenirs and arts and crafts projects for the children. A wide range of foods are available for purchase. This year, the weather was fantastic.

Let me tell you, it was crowded!! Bumper-to-bumper blankets, chairs and people in general. At a free venue, it is difficult to count heads but I am 100% positive they set some attendance records this year. There were literally thousands of folks sitting throughout the park. People had their chairs and blankets set up in parts of the park where I've never seen them settle before. (The sound system is great and the music can be heard for quite a distance.) The lines at the bathroom facilities were long. (Very long!)

These pictures of the stage feature a group out of Loudon County (VA) called Jumptown. I understand they have a MySpace site. If you're in this part of the world, look them up. They're well worth a listen. (Of course, I'm a sucker for any band that does a good job playing a bit of Santana!)

I hope y'all had a great weekend, too.