Mirth, Merriment & Shenanigans for Children of All Ages!
I first saw the 9-foot tall chicken at French Connections in Pittsboro a year ago, and I keep going back to study it. Maybe one day it will move to my house, but not yet.
(We’ll get a picture with a person in it to show scale next time we’re at the shop.)
I visited the Giant Chicken today to discover he had new friends, just arrived from across the ocean.
These two chickens are about six feet and four feet tall, respectively.
Clydefest 2012, held annually in Bynum, NC, to honor the local sculptor Clyde Jones, dawned clear and sunny. It’s been a whole year since a tornado ripped through Sanford into Raleigh, but there were no worries on April 14, 2012! Barely a cloud in the sky.
The gates opened at 11:00 and the children, trailing parents and friends, poured in. The Bynum baseball park quickly filled up with children playing games based on Clyde’s art–fishing for floating fish, throwing bean bags into brightly painted crown tires; painting their own penguins and fish.
Several groups, bands, and entertainers performed under the big tent throughout the day. The Bouncing Bulldogs, from Durham, have won many national and international awards for their jump roping. At the end of their performance, they invited people from the audience to try double-dutch. Their coach says, “Jump rope 10 minutes a day, three times a week and you’ll be fit for life!”
John’s balloon line quickly grew and he was busy till the event closed at 4:00, making dogs, cats, the occasional motorcycle, and all the other colorful balloon creatures and toys he knows how to make. He took a break to eat lunch and enjoy the hooping, but the pictures didn’t get uploaded.
Whereever he goes, John the Balloon man makes friends and creates fans.
The 22th of October, which in a previous reckoning of months, would have been the 8th month, instead of the 10th, found my partner Karen and myself hooping and twisting in the well appointed children’s area at the 2011 Pittsboro Street Fair. For unexplained reasons, which I will probably never learn, the crowd ebbed and flowed with a rhythmic pulse almost; affording me occasional breaks without having to end a line.
I took advantage of those breaks to visit with vendors, some who I knew well from the community, others that I met that day; lending credence to my belief that there are no strangers, just friends I have not yet met. I clogged around a bit when Mr. Bluegrass himself was onstage kickin’ out some fine tunes. All the bands were quite good. Even while sitting and twisting, I often got happy, tapping feet and the urge to get up and dance, which I noticed many others doing over by the stage. Great tunes all day long!
My young friend whose folks have the little dress store was there; she always brings a smile. The Lions, Tigers and maybe some bears were there, as well as Chargers, Tarheels, Wolfpack and Blue Devils (at least the fans thereof). All were congenially getting along well along the length and breadth of the fine spectacle that is the Pittsboro Street Fair.
While not on break, I had opportunity to twist the balloon delight of choice (both color and shape) for many dozens of great children of all ages. I took time to twirl the giant hoop around some, again, to the delight of the crowd. I wrangled a stray toddler that was in peril of getting clobbered by hoopers, returning said tot to the embrace of his pater familia, who immediately let him run loose some more, go figger.
Sampled some of the fine roasted sausages, stayed hydrated and as out of the direct sun as I could, and overall had a very delightful time, my own self, which is not at all difficult when spending the day with the aforementioned partner and the great people in Pittsboro!
See you next year, Pittsboro! And keep your smiles smilin’!
