Clouds? What clouds? I don't see any dark, ominous clouds lurking on the horizon. I don't see any lightning, or hear any thunder, for that matter. This is Bellingham--we don't GET thunderstorms out here, do we?
Um, yeah. We do.
Now, a skeptic might think, "Oh, man, this is going to ruin the third annual Sunnyland Stomp!" (You know, the getting-more-famous-by-the-year art walk that takes place the third Saturday in July in the semi-prestigious Sunnyland neighborhood.) Of course, if a skeptic thought that, said skeptic doesn't know Bellinghamsters too well, now does he? Never one to let a bit of rain (or thunder, or lightning, which admittedly was a little unusual/freaky) put a damper on our fun, the Sunnyland Stompers were committed to marching forth as planned--and boy did we ever!
As usual, the beer and the food stole the show:
Each beer is paired with each food (the cookies with the chocolate stout, etc.) and folks are allowed sample-sized portions to enjoy. I always like hanging out amongst the crowd ("skulking," I believe, is the correct term), and listening to what people say. Beer comments are typically along the lines of, "Oh my GOD! I've never tasted a beer this good before!" Or, "Man, that guy's got real talent." I'll take their word for it (I'm not a big beer fan myself). As for the food, I generally hear, "Are you KIDDING me?" No, we're not. Brian Pahl is that good. His pesto makes me believe that there may, in fact, be a God, and that said God is kind and benevolent and wishes us nothing but fresh basil and juicy chicken breasts.
Then, of course, there's the live music:
A little bluegrass, a little Bach, a little jazz guitar--oh, yeah. Food, beer AND live music? And lots of dry space under the tents? Ours was the place to be. I have no idea how many people paraded through our yard--at least a couple hundred, maybe more. The rain kept some away, but as I said earlier, Bellinghamsters are waterproof. We will not be deterred.
One of the highlights for the Stomp for me was Sarah's lemonade stand. She decided to raise money for the Whatcom Humane Society (seeing as how she loves animals and all). Her suggested donation per cup was $0.50, so we were thinking MAYBE $40 or $50 max. Well, did I mention that besides being waterproof, Bellinghamsters are also generous? Yeah, at the end of the night, Sarah had collected a whopping $120 for the humane society! How cool is THAT? (Very.) So thanks to all who paid WAY too much for a mediocre cup of warm-ish lemonade. The dogs and cats at the humane society say "meow," and "woof."
In the end, it's all about people having a good time, and appreciating all of the talent that we have here in our own neighborhood. Oh, sure, I get a little frantic having people traipse in and out of my house, wandering around in search of the bathroom, trampling my garden, and taking more than their allotted share of "sample-sized portions." But mostly, I'm amazed. Amazed at the community support for our local artists, and amazed at the generosity of my neighbors. And the compliments on my own work are always nice.
I did end up selling one 8x10 print for $15, so I've got that going for me. There was also a guy who was checking out my photos, and he told me, "Yep, I recognize a lot of this from last year..." I'm pretty sure that was a snide way to tell me that I didn't have much time to prepare this year, so I recycled a lot of work from last year's Stomp. You caught me!
Wait, did I mention the biggest thrill of all? Uncle Todd made a surprise visit--all the way from Ohio! Well, I knew about it, but Brewmaster Chris didn't. On Friday afternoon, Chris notices a Facebook post from his brother, indicating that his brother is at Boundary Bay here in town, wondering when Chris will be there to join him for a pint! It was classic. A classic surprise. Sarah was happy to spend time with Uncle Todd, too (although she really wanted her cousins to be there--maybe next year...).
So here's to another successful Stomp. We're already planning what we're going to do for next summer's festivities (like changing the date to August so it might not be so soggy...).
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