I had the first of three shows at the Great Allentown Fair this afternoon. I signed up for these, in spite of no payment. We’ll discuss this later.
I was inside Ag Hall amongst some of the exhibits that are part of any Americana expos. I was near the 4-H and the antiques, all vying for blue ribbons. (An amazing head of cabbage!) It was a nice professional stage with great sound and about 60 chairs.
I was billed as Fractured Folk for Kids and Adults, and it was an interesting mix of a few kids with moms and grandparents plus various curious adults and elders. It turned out to be a good show that appealed to the diversity of the crowd.
As I played The Cat Came Back, I noticed several of the older folks singing along. As I chatted with a nice lady after the show, she said that she had raised her kids, now with kids of their own, on that song off my Aw Shucks tape. Again, this legacy thing continues amaze and amuse me.
I was hoping to sell some CD’s to cover my expenses. I did. The curious one was a family who had to leave mid-show. The family said they had to make it to the Pig Diving Show at the Farmarama. That was funny.
As I reflected on this on FaceBook, with a picture of a diving pig, I got some great replies, including one from my friend Reid Tre, “They always said you would play the Fairgrounds when pigs fly.” That’s really funny.
I’m back on this stage on Thursday. Let’s see what side show I have to compete with tomorrow. I know its the demolition derby on Monday.