A Stolen Moment of Delight: Fan Dancer at the Fest

One of the cool things about July is that there are two arts festivals taking place right now in central Pennsylvania: the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts (CPFA), in State College; and the People's Choice Festival, in Boalsburg. I visited children's day at the CPFA on Wednesday, for the first time ever. And on Thursday morning, I marked two hours of vacation time from work and visited the Boalsburg fest.

The weather was deliriously gorgeous: sunny, with blue skies and comfortable temperatures for walking around. I borrowed a sun hat from my husband and wore my sneakers, for walking. As is my custom, I parked at a little church parking lot in Boalsburg and walked over to the fest. (Conveniently, there was a yard sale happening nearby, and I first stopped there and found a few bargains, which I scooped up and stashed in my car's trunk.)

I love to look at the artists' wares, but many years I buy little except for a pair of earrings or two. And I had plans to join friends for a lobster bisque date at the Nittany Lion Inn around noon, so I didn't need to get anything to eat - though the food booths all smelled so good!

I almost immediately found a little piece of art that I liked. It wasn't really a painting, but more of a drawing, of the Big Valley down around Lewistown. The scene was set in winter, with a farm property, and snow, and an Amish buggy in the foreground. Already matted, it was selling for a mere $25. I said yes!

As I chatted with the artist, who was very appreciative of my purchase, I told him why I had bought it: it reminded me of home! He explained to me that it was a real place, and then he told me how to get there. Maybe one day I'll get there, with camera. Wouldn't that be nice?

In the middle of the big, sunny, open field, there was a petting zoo, with farm animals and alpacas! I got a cool shot of four of the alpacas, and you may see that in the extras. Let's call it: the four horsemen of the alpacalypse! :-)

There is usually at least one landscaping display, with all kinds of flowers, and this year was no exception. I stopped to admire the red crocosmia blooms, when I heard the noise of tiny wings. For the first time ever, I saw a hummingbird at the Arts Fest! It visited every single red bloom, and the picture above was my best shot of it. So here is a photo of my stolen moment of delight, above: fan dancer at the fest!

There is a song that begins, "I met a fan dancer down in South Side Birmingham. . . . " It was written by Bruce Hornsby and the Range, and also recorded by Huey Lewis and the News, so I'm including both versions of Jacob's Ladder. Enjoy!