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figarofigaro1Well, we had Gay Pride here in Burlington last weekend, July 11-13.
We did the Pride Cruise again this year. It was 33% longer and I was worried that an extra hour on the boat would make it more torturous. It's not like one is at a dance club having a bad time and can leave. I mean, we're trapped on a ferry out in Lake Champlain. Once it leaves the dock, you're committed to stay. But this year we know a lot more people and it went really fast. We danced a lot, too. There was a party after, but we opted out of that.
So a new yarn boy who has never made it to a meeting yet was supposed to be on the boat. I sent him a photo of me and B so that he could find us and say hi. So we're on the dance floor and this body-builder type was looking at us and I didn't put it together that "pecs of death" could be the knitter. He said hi to B and B told me that it was S, the yarn boy. Amusing. Then S and I were dancing and talking about knitting. I'd venture to say that kitchener stitch was not a topic on many a dance floor before or since.
Saturday was the Pride Parade and it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. We'd told D&A that we'd meet up with them. One of my online buddies, whom I'd never met, was also supposed to look us up if he drove over from New Hampshire. We ran into J (of J&M, who were on the boat the night before), and talked for a bit. Then I looked across the street and saw T & TT (TT is one of the yarn boys). I dashed across the street and said hi. They weren't meeting anybody so we stood with them for the parade. My buddy G from NH showed up.
The parade was short. Very short. G said they'd had to stop for traffic control and got all bunched up. He outwalked the parade and watched it with us. I took a few pictures. The balloons were from the cruise and those are VGSA guys carrying them. The drag queens on the truck are from the House of LeMay, of local renown (notable because these guys actually sing and entertain, not just lip syncing and strutting).
Too short a parade isn't so good. But then I think of the ones in Los Angeles that lasted for HOURS and short isn't so bad.
When does it become a procession rather than a parade, I wonder...
Anyway, D&A called just after the parade ended and we were describing where we were as they walked up. We all decided to try the new burrito place on Church Street for lunch since it was right beside us and we were becoming too large a group to descend on some other place. Turns out that the new place is pretty good. It's more like a Wrap Works sort of thing than a traditional burrito place. But I did have a traditional Mexican-style one and it might end up being the "best" Mexican option in Burlington.
This was a classic case of "when worlds collide" since I had yarn boys, a relative stranger, and D&A (who are pretty much "family" now) all together. But my worries and concerns were for naught. Everyone started talking and turns out that the non-knitting T wants to sing and D has several choral options for him. G knows a lot of people in the area and had done some singing. I just sat back and enjoyed the lunch.
Post-lunch, people went their separate ways. It was also Vermont's very first sales-tax-free weekend. T and T were off to buy appliances. The doods don't even have a dishwasher. It's time! D&A had other stuff to do. So we walked over to the Festival with G. He was looking for other friends and did find them at the Festival. We wanted to go do some shopping ourselves, so we walked back up to the car, stopping in to Deadalus, the newest local wine store. We like!
On to Kaleidoscope Yarns where I indulged myself with a wooden umbrella swift and a ball winder. I have had a lot of struggles with skeins recently and I had six new ones to ball up to start a sweater for B. Home from there for a nap for B while I played with my new toys. I was a wool winding wizard!
We got ready for the dance party at Higher Ground. It was called Cirque du So Gay. They did a nice job with it. They had the brand new local women's roller derby team there skating a demo when we arrived near 10 PM. Oddly enough, I know one of the skaters! I wrote with her last November during NaNoWriMo. They also had a really fun band, Mellow Yellow, who did all 60's tunes and I liked them a lot. There was some lip syncing strutting drag, but it was mercifully short, and one of the routines was even thoughtful and clever, with the guy dressed as the Statue of Liberty, going through a stack of make-love-not-war type cards. The rest of the evenign was dancing with DJ Precious and go-go dancers of both sexes (hot) and a woman doing hula hoops. It all lent a circus-like atmosphere. We saw lots of our friends and danced enough to be tired.
Sunday was the VGSA picnic, and we woke to clouds and lots of wind. Then the rain started, and with the wind it was raining horizontally, so we thought the picnic, even with a shelter, would be damp. Plus we were proud enough by this time.
We made a trip to Costco and bought a new vacuum cleaner tax-free. How is it? It sucks. (heh)
We did the Pride Cruise again this year. It was 33% longer and I was worried that an extra hour on the boat would make it more torturous. It's not like one is at a dance club having a bad time and can leave. I mean, we're trapped on a ferry out in Lake Champlain. Once it leaves the dock, you're committed to stay. But this year we know a lot more people and it went really fast. We danced a lot, too. There was a party after, but we opted out of that.
So a new yarn boy who has never made it to a meeting yet was supposed to be on the boat. I sent him a photo of me and B so that he could find us and say hi. So we're on the dance floor and this body-builder type was looking at us and I didn't put it together that "pecs of death" could be the knitter. He said hi to B and B told me that it was S, the yarn boy. Amusing. Then S and I were dancing and talking about knitting. I'd venture to say that kitchener stitch was not a topic on many a dance floor before or since.
Saturday was the Pride Parade and it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. We'd told D&A that we'd meet up with them. One of my online buddies, whom I'd never met, was also supposed to look us up if he drove over from New Hampshire. We ran into J (of J&M, who were on the boat the night before), and talked for a bit. Then I looked across the street and saw T & TT (TT is one of the yarn boys). I dashed across the street and said hi. They weren't meeting anybody so we stood with them for the parade. My buddy G from NH showed up.
The parade was short. Very short. G said they'd had to stop for traffic control and got all bunched up. He outwalked the parade and watched it with us. I took a few pictures. The balloons were from the cruise and those are VGSA guys carrying them. The drag queens on the truck are from the House of LeMay, of local renown (notable because these guys actually sing and entertain, not just lip syncing and strutting).
Too short a parade isn't so good. But then I think of the ones in Los Angeles that lasted for HOURS and short isn't so bad.
When does it become a procession rather than a parade, I wonder...
Anyway, D&A called just after the parade ended and we were describing where we were as they walked up. We all decided to try the new burrito place on Church Street for lunch since it was right beside us and we were becoming too large a group to descend on some other place. Turns out that the new place is pretty good. It's more like a Wrap Works sort of thing than a traditional burrito place. But I did have a traditional Mexican-style one and it might end up being the "best" Mexican option in Burlington.
This was a classic case of "when worlds collide" since I had yarn boys, a relative stranger, and D&A (who are pretty much "family" now) all together. But my worries and concerns were for naught. Everyone started talking and turns out that the non-knitting T wants to sing and D has several choral options for him. G knows a lot of people in the area and had done some singing. I just sat back and enjoyed the lunch.
Post-lunch, people went their separate ways. It was also Vermont's very first sales-tax-free weekend. T and T were off to buy appliances. The doods don't even have a dishwasher. It's time! D&A had other stuff to do. So we walked over to the Festival with G. He was looking for other friends and did find them at the Festival. We wanted to go do some shopping ourselves, so we walked back up to the car, stopping in to Deadalus, the newest local wine store. We like!
On to Kaleidoscope Yarns where I indulged myself with a wooden umbrella swift and a ball winder. I have had a lot of struggles with skeins recently and I had six new ones to ball up to start a sweater for B. Home from there for a nap for B while I played with my new toys. I was a wool winding wizard!
We got ready for the dance party at Higher Ground. It was called Cirque du So Gay. They did a nice job with it. They had the brand new local women's roller derby team there skating a demo when we arrived near 10 PM. Oddly enough, I know one of the skaters! I wrote with her last November during NaNoWriMo. They also had a really fun band, Mellow Yellow, who did all 60's tunes and I liked them a lot. There was some lip syncing strutting drag, but it was mercifully short, and one of the routines was even thoughtful and clever, with the guy dressed as the Statue of Liberty, going through a stack of make-love-not-war type cards. The rest of the evenign was dancing with DJ Precious and go-go dancers of both sexes (hot) and a woman doing hula hoops. It all lent a circus-like atmosphere. We saw lots of our friends and danced enough to be tired.
Sunday was the VGSA picnic, and we woke to clouds and lots of wind. Then the rain started, and with the wind it was raining horizontally, so we thought the picnic, even with a shelter, would be damp. Plus we were proud enough by this time.
We made a trip to Costco and bought a new vacuum cleaner tax-free. How is it? It sucks. (heh)
