Blog du Wren

ShBang 2013 In Review

Sh'bang, the annual festival of awesomeness out at the Lookout Arts Quarry, again went off without a hitch. Well, more specifically, there were lots and lots of hitches, just like usual that included but were not limited to running out of toilet paper, oodles of mud*, high ticket prices, blown sound system, and a super frazzled organization staff. But, despite all that, it was a pretty dang neat festival.

The highlights of the weekend seem to fall into a few categories: stage fun, racing fun, and swimming fun.

I myself am not much of a fan of live music, but the bands that found their way to the stage(s) even gave me pause to tap my foot a time or two. And the fact that circus acts took the stage throughout the weekend was a definite plus.
The soapbox derby racing was as fun as always, this time without too many crashes*. I brought old Al the Pallet out of retirement for one more trip down the hill. He performed admirably. But the real action was with the serious racers, those who put more than 3 hours into building their carts and actually know how to weld. Those guys keep the festival more than just another cool music festival.
Each year for Sh'Bang, it seems we have a new water feature. Two years ago it was a janky carpet and tarp waterslide that lasted a total of a couple dozen trips down. Last year it was a much improved waterslide complete with minimal ass scraping. This year's addition tops them all: a zip line across the quarry into the water. Needless to say, there was a line most of the weekend. Many got in on the action.

Another bonus highlight for me this year was the turnout of so many and friends. The quarry is a place I'm proud to be a part of and I really like showing it off. It sometimes takes a festival to get people to come out and enjoy it with me.

The passing of Sh'Bang ushers in the close of Quarry Season, as it were. I'll still try to pop up there a time or two to work on my cabin (or have a rustic getaway weekend from gritty city life.) But I doubt there's many more runs in the zip line for me this year. It's all good though. It's that much more to look forward to next season that, again, will all build up to Sh.......BANG!

Tuesday September 17 2013

File under: quarry

Toggle Comments (2)

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on Fri 20th Sep, 2013 12:35 pm PDT Mr. Sharpe said:
Fun!! Looks like a great time as always! and yay cabin!!
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on Mon 30th Sep, 2013 08:06 pm PDT Jule said:
Great family photo!
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