Thursday and Friday got off to a slow start for Mayfest due to the cooler temperatures and spotty rain. But thankfully, Saturday and Sunday turned out to be perfect weather and the people came out in droves.
I attended Mayfest Friday evening to a much smaller crowd than usual. It was very windy and a light misty-rain was just enough to be irritating at times. Still, my friends and I made it over to see Admiral Twin play at the 4th & Boston Stage around 6:45pm. As always, they put on a very energetic show. No matter if they are playing to 40 or 4000, they play their hearts out. If you haven’t seen them yet, they are one of my favorite local bands and I recommend you check them out.
What I thought was so sad was that a lot, and I mean a lot of the vendors had their tents closed before 8:00. The combination of weather and the small crowd caused Mayfest to be an early night for most. Still, even with all the technicalities, we still enjoyed the show and also enjoyed a corndog and some fried pickles. You can’t go to a festival without getting some good fried food.
Saturday turned out to be your typical muggy, humid, sticky Oklahoma day. I don’t even know why I tried to wear make-up. Thankfully, I was able to walk all through the Blue
Dome Arts Festival this time. I love this festival. It has such a free-spirited, indie vibe to it. All the vendors were so friendly and eager to answer any questions you might have. We have a lot of very talented local artists. Some of what was displayed were; handmade jewelry, soaps, candles, pottery, paintings, screen-printed t-shirts and local wineries. There was so much to look at; you would probably have to go through a couple times to see everything.
By the time I made it over to Mayfest, I was getting really hungry. I stopped at F & J Catering and had the Kaiserwurst. It was made with chicken, jalapenos and sun dried tomatoes, topped with sauerkraut. This was by far the best thing I ate both days. But all the food eaten and shared with my family was really good.
Mayfest has local and regional artists. Some of the things I saw at Mayfest that were a bit different from Blue
Dome Arts Festival were; handmade decorative brooms, a family owned sandle company, purses and bags that were made from recycled old plastic bags and hand-spun, individually painted silk scarves (yes, I had to have one of these). Even though both festivals have some of the same type of items, there were so individually different due to the creativity of the artist. It was definitely worth going to both events.
The big show of the night was the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies on the main stage on the Green. I had never heard of this band before but learned they have been around since 1989. I had no idea what a treat we were in for. They came out on stage and were dressed in suits and had a three-man horn section. They had a big- band, jazz, ska kinda sound. From the moment they started playing, the dancing was non-stop. It was incredible; I have never seen so much swing dancing at a concert before. It made me want to take lessons. The band was just electric. There are no words to really describe what it’s like watching these guys. This was one of the most entertaining, high-energy bands I have ever seen. If you make it out to one of there shows, you will not be disappointed. Great music and great entertainment.
I am so glad the weather men were wrong about this weekend. From what was being said on TV, the festivals should have been a complete wash-out. But thankfully Saturday and Sunday turned out to be great days for Mayfest and Blue Dome Arts Festival.