Music Festival!

The highlight of the July 4 weekend was the 80/35 music festival. Dan and Heather stayed there most of the day Saturday, while Vickie, Rob and I came and went. It was held downtown at the Gateway Park, and Downtown Des Moines was rocking.


The kids enjoyed it very much. So did Vickie and I. It was warm, but just cool enough for it to be tolerable to be shade-free for extended periods.



The acts I saw included Jakob Dylan...


...and the Yonder Mountain String Band. The banjo player's Mom lives in nearby Granger, and she got a shout-out from the band.


The people-watching was interesting too, including lots of hippies and the "rainbow girls," 20-somethings who wore nothing but bikini-bottoms and pasties, and body paint from head-to-toe. Some of them had the word "peace" on their backs, but I think the real statement was "look at me!" No pictures, though.

They'll try to have the festival again downtown, but the location is being pre-empted by a sculpture garden. I think that's a false move, as the music brings in 15,000 or more folks each on two weekend days, and the sculpture garden won't bring that in over two years, but there it is.