Small Town Festivals and a Comic GPS

I must apologize for misleading you, I knew exactly what adventure I would get into this weekend but now that would not have been so enticing would it? I spent the weekend attending a free music festival here in Kentucky.

If you have never been to Kentucky it is full of small, Main street only towns that you can pass through in a blink of an eye. Henderson, Kentucky where the festival was held is a little larger than that but still a small city located right along side the Ohio River. Every year they hold a free Blues and Barbecue festival located in a riverside park. For the past 10 years this has become a “must do” summer outing for us.



In those ten years we have become educated with all the ins and outs of the festival. No pets, no coolers, bring rain gear, come early, park close, because you can bring your own drink glass. Who wants to walk a mile for a refill?  Most of all just enjoy the music and the sideshows. We did all of the above.

When you become a regular of an annual festival you begin to recognize locals who attend every year as well, we have achieved this status. Like the gentleman whom has jet-black hair that looks just like the hair you put on a Lego man. in fact, I’m not sure it is not Lego hair.

Then there is the 90 year plus black lady who just loves to dance, and her dance partner? Well she will pick anyone up out of a chair. I was so glad to see emerge when the sun went down, right down front, dancing away with some other woman's husband in her arms.

There are the locals who just attend because it is free and have no idea what they are attending. You constantly hear them asking, “Who is this?” The women who I presume have been told they are going to tea party and have dressed appropriately whom men who look like they just ran a marathon escort.

There are plenty of small sideshows like this throughout the festival you just have to look. It also is a very family oriented festival and the kids love it. I enjoy watching the parents take their children up to the autograph booth and watching them feel special, and then they run right back to dancing.

In Henderson it is not like going to a show at the big city venues, you actually can walk right up to the stage and meet the artist after their set. You bring your own chair or blanket, sit in the sun or the shade, dance or not dance but the show is free. People are polite, they form their chairs in rows,and leave room for walking, why you can even leave stuff un-attended and it will be there when you return.

When it comes to the music, it isn’t just a local band festival. Henderson has and does attract known blues artist, big names. This year I got the chance to see several artists I had wanted to see for years now and they did not disappoint. In fact the only disappointment of the weekend came on our drive home.

I do not know if our GPS has a malfunction or it was just trying to entertain us, either way it was about to amuse us. First it tried to make us laugh by telling us, “Turn right onto Western Keniky Parkway.” It must have taken us to long to laugh because it repeated the instructions followed by a route change.

The blasted thing had told us to turn right which took us back to Henderson on another parkway. Oh, but there is the rest area we looked for on the way down. We decided once back on course the thing has A.D.D. and it was just now answering the rest area question we had asked it on the way down.

My closing remark is that if you plan on visiting Kentucky do try to visit the Henderson festival, you will not be sorry. But what ever you do make sure you have a printed map.

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