Farmer's Days 2006

Well today, June 3 2006, Silent River Kung Fu participated yet again in the Farmer’s Days parade. Among the Lion Dance crew (in no particular order), was Master Brinker, Sifu Freitag, Sifu Dennis, Sifu Playter, Sifu Davies, Sifu Edge and Sifu Robertson; along with Sihing Davies, Ms. Wilson, Ms. Kosterman, and I. Others aided us in the parade, which was a huge help (especially for those in the tail of the Lion). This parade was unique from other parades, in which we enjoyed sunny weather, although it was windy (which I’m sure frustrated those in the Lion, as it obscured the tail’s vision and pushed the Lion head around quite a bit), and we weren’t bombarded by water gun fire. Oh yeah, did I mention that Silent River won 2nd place for clubs & organizations in the parade? Allow me to say…BOO-YAH!
I have to say that the crew did exceptionally well, from my view at least (which was limited due to being in the lion). The crowd seemed to be quite energetic and delighted by the lions, the weapons, the Kung Fu, and of course, the candy. Of course, there was the occasional spectator that did not enjoy our performance (small children and pets seem to be quite intimidated by the lion).
After the parade, we packed the Lions into Sifu Gilbert’s truck and waited several minutes for Mr. Lietz’s ride. Eventually, we headed back to the studio with 2 hours to kill; with Mr. Lietz in tow (did I mention how fun it is to ride in the back of a truck?). Still waiting for Mr. Lietz’s ride, we went to Spiros for lunch, courtesy of Master Brinker (thanks again for lunch). After razzing Mr. Lietz about his plight, and the eventual arrival of his ride, we departed for the performance at the Multi.
Unfortunately, the Lion Dance crew arrived just as the Farmer’s Day event at the Multi was winding down. Before our presentation, there was an exceptionally talented musician performing, as well as a performance by Parkland Dance. We closed the event with a Lion Dance. With Master Brinker on the drum, Sifu Freitag on the gong, and Sifu Dennis on the cymbals, Sifu Davies as the Buddha, and Sihing Davies and I in Fu Hsing, we pulled off a good performance. The wind died down considerably although it got quite hot underneath that lion. The crowd seemed to enjoy the performance, yet I have to admit, they were impolite with the other performers during their performances.
It was during this performance that I discovered some of the perks of performing…free food. We were given a voucher for a free hotdog and pop. Also, the performers in the lion are obscured underneath the lion, and get to wear snazzy pants (although it causes us to be the brunt of several Liberace jokes).
All in all, we delivered several performances which entertained the audiences.

Joe Harrigan