What a week it was. Combine Fire Jam 2009 with the county fair and you have more than you can possibly do in four days.
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The firefighters get a big compliment from me for what they were able to put together for the first time out. It was set up right, they were prepared for what might come their way and the weather cooperated beyond anyone?s wildest hopes.
One of the big sponsors, Jim Cloutier, announced on stage Friday night there would be a Fire Jam 2010. I?m sure ticket sales will grow substantially after the word gets out about Fire Jam 2009.
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The New Outlaws and Kebo Cyrus didn?t do it for me, but there were plenty who said they liked it a lot.
When the big fire engine drove up on Wednesday night with Kebo inside, the grandsons and I were at the concessions stand, so we ran to the stage area. Alex high-fived Kebo as he walked by.
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Friday night?s show with Bucky Covington made up for what Wednesday?s show lacked. I was impressed, as were a hoarde of screaming fans near the stage. (We missed Thurs?day?s show because the rodeo won out for that night?s entertainment.)
I have followed ?American Idol? since the beginning, so my interest in Bucky was already piqued. What completely sealed the deal was when he performed Pink Floyd?s ?Another Brick in the Wall? and, as Randy Jackson says, ?Made it his own.?
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When we drove to the concert and headed up the field along the hedge row, we passed through a few big dips. The boys said, ?Hey, we?re off-roading in a Chrysler.?
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We decided to video the fair parade and put it on our Web site. I?m sure many people from this area would like to check it out, as would some of the folks who were in the parade and couldn?t see it themselves.
Here is a link to the video if you are reading this on the Free Press Web site: hillsboro
freepress.com/content/view/
18090180/1/
Our new window in our apartment was the perfect spot to set up the camera.
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There are challenges with putting up a long video. YouTube only allows for a 10-minute video and the parade was about 25 minutes. Google has no time limit, but its video uploader system has been having problems for months now. So we found Vimeo, which has a 500-megabyte limit per week.
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We also have video of the rodeo and the demo derby, which we?ll try to get loaded in the near future. The calf scramble is fun to watch.
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The informal poll we took at our booth in the commercial building asked: ?We read that the current economy has affected the spending habits of many Americans. How would you describe your spending habits??
It was even between ?spending less? and ?about the same.? No one indicated they were spending more. We sure did during fair week.
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A few people suggested we need a carnival to draw more children and parents. I asked fair manager Stephanie Richmond about that. She said it would take a $20,000 guarantee to bring one. Would a thousand of you commit to buy $20 in ride tickets? If so, then here we come.
