On Saturday, there were more people, good weather, great music and really good sales. A woman from Chilly Brothers brought me some yummy jumbalaya as a thanks for the festive hats I had given the “mothers” of their restaurant, but it took me about five hours to finish my lunch since I had a line with up to five customers in it throughout the afternoon.
While I have formed some nice friendships with fellow vendors at many events, this festival is special because I have been welcomed as a sort of associate member of Painkiller Ridge - one of the longstanding groups of friends who set up camp together. I didn't know exactly where they would be, but it didn't take long to find them at night because the large Peace sign light that adorned their main meeting area was an infallible beacon. It felt wonderful to be greeted like an old friend after a hiatus of 3 years during the pandemic.
"There is no doubt that Blue Heron is a very fun festival. People come with all manner of colorful clothing, tattoos, and behaviors. I didn't have any volunteers to help me at this event, so I especially appreciated having good conversations with customers who were interested in our work in Peru and happy to share parts of their life stories. One memorable regular visitor to our booth was Eric Stayer better known as Bushy Vanderbilt who is a part-time wizard that has won multiple competitions for his well quaffed beard."
"I appreciated getting to know other neighboring vendors who each have their own fascinating life stories. Some vendors have built a business traveling to festivals to sell their wares (lots of tie dyed clothing) or services (henna drawings) while others are people with other careers who mostly want a chance to share their creative efforts and make some extra income if they can. I made a special connection with an artist named Nate who offered to do a sketch of me while we discussed ecology, spirituality, and prisons."
Meeting with artisans from Puca Urquillo to design a market bag with chambira palm fiber...
"That afternoon I met with two Bora artisan groups and one Huitoto group in Puca Urquillo. It was great to see that a few samples really hit the mark, and I placed an order for one design with all three. With luck we will have our first batch of chambira market bags ready for sale by mid-summer."
