Mayor Gierlach photo-bombed by the Orphan Circus |
It might seem obvious, but in Nederland, we've had an ongoing debate regarding events. Some of our residents would prefer a quiet bedroom community, and they were able to restrict our largest event (NedFest) so much that it was pushed to the end of town by the reservoir, fenced off, and the original organizer (Michigan Mike) was held responsible for all the security, parking, vending, beer sales, sound levels, etc. The end result was that the impact to residents was reduced, but the local restaurants and businesses suffered.
Making it look easy during the performance |
The Louisville Street Faire model seems to solve both issues, the event is easily managed and contained by the train tracks, and all the restaurants and businesses benefit by participating.
The Nederland Board of Trustees will have a work session on September 24 regarding events and noise, and I wonder if Nederland businesses can agree to adopt a similar model which solves both issues.
Orphan Circus:
On my VIP tour in Louisville, a pleasant surprise for me was the Orphan Circus. They are a Cirque Du Soleil style aerial performance troupe comprised of young teenage students. I joined the crowd in amazement as these kids spun around and caught themselves at the last moment after sliding down the fabric 20 feet. The aerial hula hoop performances are unreal.
I got the 'behind the scenes' tour of the troupe, and one of the performers showed me the burn marks on her arms from sliding on the fabric. She wore them like a badge of honor. During performance, they make it look easy, but these young women practice their craft for many hours a week, on a disciplined regiment.
The parents are a great support group, engineering the structure that holds them up, and assembling a fairly elaborate sound system with the speed and precision of professional roadies. I was so impressed that I asked the Town to hire them to perform for Nederland's Fourth of July celebration down by the Ned teen center.
The Orphan Circus exceeded our expectations for the Fourth of July, and you can still catch them at the Louisville Street Faire on Friday evening.
The Orphan Circus |
Orphan Circus performer shows her burn marks |
The parents are a great support group, engineering the structure that holds them up, and assembling a fairly elaborate sound system with the speed and precision of professional roadies. I was so impressed that I asked the Town to hire them to perform for Nederland's Fourth of July celebration down by the Ned teen center.
The Orphan Circus exceeded our expectations for the Fourth of July, and you can still catch them at the Louisville Street Faire on Friday evening.
[Here is a Video Valediction] The 15th Annual NedFest Music and Arts Festival is next week, (August 23-25) and they'll host great bands all weekend. Check out the excellent lineup here. But along another NedFest tradition, I have hula hoops on my mind, so this is street performer, Lisa Lottie from London, hooping to the Parisian trio, Gotan Project's tango, Diferente
BONUS: [Here is a Video Valediction] ... and this is the Gotan Project performing Diferente in Nederland (Holland) [What is a Video Valediction?]