SURVIVED!

October 10th was Just Fabulous' 2nd performance at the State Fair of Texas. Overall I think it was a pretty successful day.

I got up almost on time (snoozed once) and got myself ready to go. Matt didn't have to wear fake eyelashes so he got to sleep much later than I. We got out of the house at 8:22, which I felt was pretty late since we had to get gas, get cash, and pick up Melodi before heading to Fair Park. The goal was to get Mel by 9 and be at the fair by 9:45. An optimistic plan.

Traffic wasn't bad until we got to the exit for the fairgrounds and then I sent us to the wrong gate, Matt very thoughtfully dropped Mel and I off at the gate so we could rush in to get checked in for the first performance while he parked the car and did the mile+ trek back to the gate. Luckily Michelle had already checked in with our music and had plenty of time to panic about doing the whole show herself. The rest of us raced in about 15 minutes before the first showtime.

The first show went swimmingly and we actually had some crowd stop to watch. The music was perfect and no one lost a costume or bled so, Success!! We hung out and watched the other performances between our first and second set at the Hall of State stage. There are some truly amazing folkloric troupes in Texas. I realized I had forgotten my sunscreen so I ran back to the dressing trailers to check my makeup and apply a solid coat of SPF 75.

For the 2nd show, the samba performers set up their drum kits while we set our props, which was a little weird but we are pros so we took it in stride. Then the main speaker started to crackle and lose volume during the first half of our show but we are pros so we kept dancing. The stage, which is about 12' X 12', level with the ground, and smooth linoleum, got a little warm after a morning in the sun, but we had foot protection so we were okay. We had an even bigger crowd and again, no one lost a costume or bled, Success!

Matt wanted to watch the Samba troupe do their thing and the costumes are amazing but for me the drummers were the star of the show. And it is dumb but I love the whistle in Samba/Brazilian music. The band leader had a coach's whistle and was blowing it for all he was worth with the rest of the music and for some reason I just dig it.

We finally started to make our way to the Heritage Festival stage, having already decided that there was no way we would be able to get a Fletcher's Corndog before the last show; that line was insane!

We stood around in the shade watching the Italian folk dancers and then Ballet Folklorico from San Antonio, which is not a ballet troupe but a Mexican folk dance troupe. We ran into one of our favorite belly dance celebrities, Rivkah, who had come to see our show! Then we got to go on a half hour early because another troupe didn't show up. We were happy to go early because by then we had been in the sun for over 4 hours. The weather was beautiful and mild but 4+ hours in the sun when you aren't used to it will take the wind out of anyone's sails. I gave our music to the DJ, a nice older gentleman who was frazzled because he kept having to stop and start the music for the troupes. He was visibly relieved when I told him to hit play and let it run.

The stage that was set up for the Heritage Festival was raised about 3" off the ground and 32' X 32'. Since it was not covered, we were worried about the temperature of the surface but once we got close we could see that it was painted gray, rather than black, so I touched it. It was certainly warm but not so hot that I had to take my hand away so I thought, no problem. Wrong. Once we got up there, I could feel the metal connectors, which were MUCH hotter than the main wooden panels of the stage.

After a very nice introduction by the MC, we got going. I don't know about the rest but I did my level best to stay off those damn connectors since I was, essentially, in bare feet. And moving around on the stage, my feet didn't get a chance to cool off so by the end, they were very tender. To use the jogger parlance, I hit a wall about 2 minutes before the end of the show. I nearly forgot to do the last 3 8-counts of Harem. But the audience was nice and then we were done! We put on street clothes and staggered away.

Michelle and Ginger left and Matt, Mel, and I meandered our way to a corndog booth on our way out of the fair. When the tram showed up to take us to the car, sitting down had never felt so good in my entire life! The tram let us off within 2 rows of the car and we headed home.

After dropping Mel off, Matt and I decided we wanted burgers for dinner so I called ahead to Fuddruckers and we took dinner home. I felt so gross: sweaty, sun screen-y, and exhausted. I had to wash my hands and face to get all the makeup off before I would even consider eating. After dinner I took a long, lukewarm bath and then went grocery shopping.

Yes, grocery shopping.

All we needed was milk, some produce, and Matt wanted ice cream. So I hauled my debilitated ass to Kroger on University and got one of their bitty shopping carts. The place was filled with college students but I got in and out pretty quickly. I made Matt help unload and put away the groceries and then I Crashed.

It was a pretty good day but Matt and I are going to go back to the fair next weekend to see the fair. Three shows in a day was an achievement but I would rather do one or two shows and then see the Craft Barn, farm animals, and ride the Valkerie. I also managed to avoid sunburn on everything but my scalp, which, with this new, short hair, is BURNT. ow.