Return To The River - As Good as It Gets
Julie and I had some great food, interacted with some great people, heard some great music from Patty Pershayla and just had an all around good time this past Sunday at the 4th annual Return To The River festival in downtown Grand Rapids.
Before I go any further, as a Five Year fan of Patty P I was tres bummed that I was not able to catch her performance at Meijer Gardens with The Accidentals. Return to The River to the Rescue.
We went downtown Grand Rapids on Sunday afternoon. (One of the downsides of retail is not going to cool places like this on Saturday because our store is open.) We knew it was a hopping event just by the fact that we had to cruise around a while before we found a place to park. We had a bit of a schlep to get there, but no matter - we like walking around that area and seeing all the new things happening there.
When you factor in all the great things GR has to offer, no wonder it is one of the hot places on the planet for people to live in.
Anyway, there was plenty of eye candy at the Festival - Julie got a kick out of two "Groot People" who were walking around in costume on stilts.
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| Tree people taking a stroll. It was a friend of ours who had the cool idea to call them Groot People. |
We both watched bug eyed as people had their arms "marbelized" for free. (the line for that never got smaller during the time we were down there.)
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| I cannot wait for someone to explain to me how this works. Watched half a dozen people get the treatment - WOW. |
I liked the snarky remarks the Goat Man was tossing out to passersby on the Blue Bridge that was river side to river side with vendors selling mostly hand crafter items of every description and category: clothing, scents, plants, food things, paintings, etc. etc. etc. There was SO many things for kids to get involved in - they could make crowns, tape art, swinging swings with lights on them, nerf swordfights with forest folks - if you didn't take the time to take your kids, I am guessing from the crowds that this event will happen again next year.
One big selling point for the event was how happy everyone was when we visited. Even the GR Ambassadors were emptying the trash cans and providing water for people with a great attitude. I dealt with two different guys in the food truck we had dinner from and they were two happy dudes. Speaking of food trucks, we had a hard time settling on which one to choose. Once we narrowed down, then we had to deal with a menu consisting of over a dozen items that all sounded fantastic. Loads of vegetarian options and so many options - one of the contenders took itself when they put up a SOLD OUT sign in their window. Foodies will not be disappointed.
Gotta say, my MAIN motivator for being there was to see/hear Patty and her latest set of bandmates; Cam on guitar and Dave on the drums. They did not disappoint. Well done all. They had a nice sounding, tight show with plenty of evidence that this was not the first time they played together. Patty is a true pro - she sings from her toes and gives her all. First heard her sing at a Lowell Arts gallery show. It was the last show we had before COVID broke loose. Patty sang and played solo that night on a big white electric hollow body and killed me with a Rush cover on a uke. She played in Lowell once while battling COVID and had she not announced it, one would have never guessed. Any way, they had about an hour long set on the Blue Bridge stage and it was a treat.
Speaking of the Blue Bridge stage - kudos to the sound crew there. They had the volume and power up so that it was easy to hear and appreciate the music and vocals all around the stage. When Julie and I scarfed dinner on some cushions scattered under a tree - we could hear the vocals and all the instruments. When I got up close to the stage for some pictures, I could feel the bottom end of the base, the thump of the drums came across and Cam's cool guitar styling was there - but you could still talk to one another reasonable. Any way - great job on the sound ladies and gentlemen.
Can't say enough about the Return to the River Festival. Thanks very much for making our day and I really appreciate the fact that you let me see and hear Patty before she, Cam and Dave take off for the Wild West of the country.
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