I know I'm going to sound like an old curmudgeon, and I guess I am, but I went to a few of these things back in the hippie days and quickly grew tired of them. I mean we had the civil rights movement, the rise of militant feminism, the Vietnam War, three enormous assassinations, the radicalization of the Republican Party, Watergate...and a bunch of people who thought weed was the answer. Weed wasn't the answer. Like the photos, though.
Fun festivals and social change movements aren't mutually exclusive. You can have both. But I think stuff like Eeyore's Birthday party, which is actually a fund raiser for about 30 local charities, is mostly a PG rated, family friendly Spring party that allows the community to come together peacefully and with a sense of fun. Most of the photos you see from the event are edited down for effect. Half naked girls dancing, costumed stoners and the like generate more interest than the petting zoo, the kid's costume contest, the maypole, and the kid's face painting. I believe that any time you can bring a community together in joy and with peace you are moving away from the rancor that's so prevalent in our society today. Add the tens of thousands of dollars raised for charities that goes right back into the community and you have a very righteous event. As to alcohol and weed this year? Much in decline since the earlier part of the century. Mostly just people enjoying the sunny, mid-70° weather and the people watching. Yeah, as we age I think we've "seen it all" and we're frustrated that change is hard to come by. But each generation gets their own shot. Thanks for the thumbs up on the photos.
6 comments:
I know I'm going to sound like an old curmudgeon, and I guess I am, but I went to a few of these things back in the hippie days and quickly grew tired of them. I mean we had the civil rights movement, the rise of militant feminism, the Vietnam War, three enormous assassinations, the radicalization of the Republican Party, Watergate...and a bunch of people who thought weed was the answer. Weed wasn't the answer. Like the photos, though.
If it wasn't for the dark sunglasses, the blue guy with the white hair would look like a color negative of himself.
Nice photos! If I ever visit Austin, I hope I'm there for Eeyore's.
Fun festivals and social change movements aren't mutually exclusive. You can have both. But I think stuff like Eeyore's Birthday party, which is actually a fund raiser for about 30 local charities, is mostly a PG rated, family friendly Spring party that allows the community to come together peacefully and with a sense of fun. Most of the photos you see from the event are edited down for effect. Half naked girls dancing, costumed stoners and the like generate more interest than the petting zoo, the kid's costume contest, the maypole, and the kid's face painting. I believe that any time you can bring a community together in joy and with peace you are moving away from the rancor that's so prevalent in our society today. Add the tens of thousands of dollars raised for charities that goes right back into the community and you have a very righteous event. As to alcohol and weed this year? Much in decline since the earlier part of the century. Mostly just people enjoying the sunny, mid-70° weather and the people watching. Yeah, as we age I think we've "seen it all" and we're frustrated that change is hard to come by. But each generation gets their own shot. Thanks for the thumbs up on the photos.
Who did you go to the festival as, Kirk? Weren't you talking about Viking garb?
If you like drum circles, you might enjoy this 2007 film "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visitor_(2007_feature_film)".
Thumbs up on the photos. Keep Austin Weird - seems to be true and working welllllllll
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