Clogging Express performing at the Alameda County Fair
Yesterday the Diablo Mountain Cloggers, one of the groups I teach, danced at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton. Clogging Express (our perfomance team) also danced three routines. It was a very warm day but not as hot as I had expected. Of course, clogging anytime makes you hot. I did the announcing and cueing so only danced three routines but many of the dancers clogged through most of the hour we were on stage. Kudos to them! It was fun, as always and we even got a bit of interest in classes. These photos of the cloggers were taken by Bob Michaud, who always does a great job using my camera.
Diablo Mountain Cloggers at the Alameda County Fair
There’s always too much to see and do at the fair. It’s fun to explore and discover all sorts of odd-ball things. After the performance and a quick bite of food, I spent quite a bit of time looking at the photography and painting displays, one of my favorite parts of the fair. Maybe next year I’ll actually get a picture or two entered myself. I like to see the collections and gem and mineral building. The gem and mineral part of that was barely there, but the 1970’s collection case caught my eye. Oh yes! I remember ALL those things. There were also the usual commercial displays; some have been returning each year for a long, long time.
Lonestar playing at the Almeda County Fair
Then I met up with more of my dancers and we headed to the Lonestar concert. After sitting and waiting in the sun for about a half hour they came on stage. Live concerts are always fun and this was no exception. They did a great job keeping the energy level up in the heat. I admit that I didn’t know much about Lonestar but did recognize a few of their hits. I especially enjoyed their encore with a medley of classic rock songs. They’re one of those bands that play country “rock hard.”
Chocolate covered bacon - one of the many strange foods available at the fair
We followed up the concert with ice cream. There’s something funky about the foods you can get at the fair and nowhere else. This was the first time I’d heard of chocolate dipped bacon! We also caught a bit of Terry Hanck’s music in the wine & beer garden – just plain good music!
Carnival ride at the Alameda County Fair
After exploring some of the commercial booths with Donna and getting a piece of cake at the 4-H booth, the sun had set. We wandered through the carnival, marveling at the amount of money people spend there, discussing the rides (and which we would be willing to go on or not), the games that are tough to win, and the size of the prizes. Of course, I also snapped photos of the colorful carnival rides and lights. Thanks to IS (image stabilization) on my lens, I was able to take some pictures using a longer exposure to catch motion without a tripod. We finally decided to leave and then I discovered it was almost 10:00 pm! A long day… but fun.
Cat-A-Clog 