The Most Enjoyable Ever – Blue Ridge Nation

The story under is an excerpt from our March/April 2016 issue. For the remainder of this story and extra prefer it subscribe at this time, log in to learn our digital version or obtain our FREE iOS app. Thank you!

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Becky Caldwell is the manager director of the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, Virginia. Her profession has spanned 22 years and quite a few festivals all through the nation, together with the Chicago Humanities Festival, the Chicago Improv Festival, and Spontaneous Combustion Improv Festivals in Atlanta and Detroit.

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I’ve a confession to make—I’m a pageant junkie.

Keep your fancy plush seats and local weather management. I’ll take a sweaty stroll down a neighborhood road any day, so long as it’s lined with distributors and edged with leisure.

I could also be a foodie, however I nonetheless I desire to eat my meals off a stick and a paper plate than a elaborate restaurant.

Beer belongs in a plastic cup, and the very best dancing occurs on the grass. These are details which I’ve no real interest in arguing.

I first fell in love with festivals once I was an intern on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (Fancy, proper?) In my division was a lady whose job was to supply the various festivals that occurred there. This blew my younger thoughts. You imply to inform me somebody will get paid to create the most enjoyable instances ever? How is that this even actual?

I used to be hooked and vowed that sooner or later, the one that bought paid to create essentially the most enjoyable instances ever could be me.

Now, after a 15-year profession spent producing indoor occasions, I’m again exterior! Fire up that enormous copper kettle and pour within the corn, as a result of this woman loves road celebration!

My function as government director of the Virginia Highlands Festival has made me aware about a deep, darkish secret, although. I’m gonna want you to hold on for this one. Some individuals don’t know how one can have enjoyable at an out of doors pageant.

They’re too sizzling, their ft harm, the meals’s costly, the band is just too loud, and on and on…

With so many festivals round right here, it breaks my coronary heart that somebody on the market can’t entry the enjoyment and enjoyable of their native pageant. Thankfully, I’ve created this fast information to assist:

Five Tips for Enjoying your Local Festival

1. Dress for the climate and strolling. Don’t fear about wanting cute, as a result of everybody has the identical trickle of sweat operating down the small of their again. Just be snug!

2. Know that you’ll spend extra on meals and drinks at a pageant than you most likely did for per week’s value of groceries. Embrace this truth, and luxuriate in your $10 burger.

3. Leave your food plan at dwelling. You know who eats a salad at a pageant? No one! It’s time for funnel cake and BBQ—in that order. Besides, you’ll most likely stroll off all these energy anyway.

… The story above is an excerpt from our March/April 2016 issue. For the remainder of Becky’s pageant ideas and extra prefer it subscribe at this time, log in to learn our digital version or obtain our FREE iOS app. Thank you!