StringGrrl sees the World

  Shady Stage 3 My first Blissfest experience was in the late 1900's on my way back from Michigan Tech, downstate. That was the 13th or 14th annual festival back then. This year marks the 44th Blissfest -- 2020 & 2021 were paused for global pandemic.  Taste of Bliss - Beer and Wine tasting Stonehound Brewing shared a  Local Winery who kept dumping their rinse water over StringGrrrl's head before paying us in wine Stage 1 viewed from a shady spot  Early morning calm on Mishigaami (Lake Michigan) Brewed Fresh just for us Brought a few beers up north from GPW Hiding out in the shade Deployed for second year in the same spot between stages 1, 2, and 3 Disc Golf Camp, new favorite spot, let's see if i can grab it next year Last beer before wildcat camping on the shores of Lake Michigan and Sturgeon Bay Dunes Theo Katzmann or Galactic, I forget which night was which. Edit: not until a week or two after returning home, did I and many others learn that Saturday night (or...

Early Access to Camp for Volunteers, makes set-up easy peasy Back in the late 1900's I attended my first Blissfest. I was coming down from MTU where i was near completing my BS in Mechanical Engineering. My friends convinced me to stop in Bliss, MI for a multi-day music festival. And since it was end of term, i have most of my worldly possessions with me, so camping was pretty easy.  Chilling in the free standing hammock from Republic of Durable goods and a beer from Ascension Fast forward 28 years and I returned to Blissfest for the first time in 2022. I learned that Volunteering gets you in for nearly free. And since my neurospicy brain likes music festivals, but FREE Music festivals even more, i signed up to volunteer for 2 4 hour shifts to get the 3 day festival ticket for $170, with $160 coming back after i finish my shifts. Headliners the Wood Brothers take the stage Blissfest Stage 1    The line up Saturday to return to Bliss Stretching far behind, guess i should n...

StringGrrl's travel companion Eric is getting old.  I find myself "leaning into" my mid-life crisis and regressing to relive my mid-twenties. As the "kids" are launching into their adult life post university, I took StringGrrl to Blissfest , which was quite literally my first "adulting" trip.  Photo credit: Nicholas James Thomasma via localspins.com I haven't returned to Blissfest since 1995 when on the way downstate to move-out from MTU and down to the Grosse Pointes to live, work, fall in love, raise a family, fail at remaining part of another's future happiness, lose love & entire parts of myself in the process , and eventually come full circle and find myself back at Blissfest on the threshold of individual adulting life. The Woods, where many campers have established communities that span decades, is decorated with surprising detail for a weekend festival. Main Stage at night Night falls over one of the many camps around Bl...

Olivia and Clarissa, The Artful Dodger and Oliver, Consider Yourself Clarissa as Oliver, Where is Love? Annalisa as Nancy, As Long as Bill Needs Me.

From the 2013-2014 production of Oliver! by the Grosse Pointe North High School Drama Club

 

Parcells 7 and 8th grade mixed Choir (superior) --> Parcells Concert Band - 8th grade (excellent)

Six Flags Great America in the suburbs just north of Chicago and west of Milwaukee is a smallish but quality Midwestern theme park. Much smaller than Cedarpoint in scale and number of rides but larger than Michigan Adventure  Six Flags Great America was the destination for Parcells Middle School for the 2013 Music in the Parks Festival. StringGirl and Amber arrive at the park I had not been there since I was nearly 15-17 years old so my memories of the park were quite vague. For StringGirl, Amber, and IssaK this was their first visit to Great America. As Parcells Middle School aims to do each year, we attended with the 7-8 grade band, orchestra, and choir students for an adjudicated music festival. The Carousel One of the landmarks of the park is the Two level Carousel at the park entrance. While carousels are not the stock and trade of the competitive world of theme park money siphoning, this carousel is a charming and large feature...