It was pouring down rain most of the night at the Bastille on Bishop festival in Oak Cliff. But the rain didn’t seem to bother the people or the food vendors — the street was packed from 7 p.m. on.
In fact, it was so crowded that I had a hard time finding a safe place to juggle. The event organizers made it clear that a juggler had to make sure that no one got hit, so the spot where I’ve been the last three years (a nice corner with lots of traffic) was totally out this year. For one thing, there was a small flood there from a waterspout on a building, and for another, there were so many more food vendors and people this year that there just wasn’t any space.
So I wound up around the corner, in an area with a lot less traffic. I still had fun, but I got soaking wet, and so did my props bag and all my props. Maybe next year it won’t rain!
For the last three years, I’ve set up at this corner. At 6:30, when the festival was supposed to start, the street was flooded and empty.
My props bag is supposed to be water proof. It isn’t. My props were so wet each one had to be dried off before it could be used.
By 7 p.m., the streets were crowded as the rain slowed down. The line for French Crepes was almost a block long all night.
As it started to get dark, I brought out my lighted props. The diabolo was nice and bright and easy to see.
The sky was dark an hoiur before the festival was supposed to start — and it was pouring rain by 6:30, the scheduled start time. But by 7 p.m. it was barely drizzling, and the crowds were out in force.
The Bastille on Bishop always has this huge water trough in the street — big dogs and police horses love it, and it has a fountain in it that cools off the crowds when it’s hot. But there’s no place for small dogs to get fresh water, so we brought the little water tub that grandpa’s dog Waco always used. This little guy was our first customer — he arrived during set-up, made friends, got a drink, and ran off with his family. There are always a lot of dogs and kids in the Bishop Arts District — people of all kinds seem to really love it there.
Kameron Rie Badgers 