Festival Entertainment

This past weekend I was performing at the Endless Mountain Maple Festival in Troy, PA. It was a blast. Saturday was a beautiful day and I had fun crowds. The audiences were very hip. My favorite quote came after a show when someone approached and said "I thought this was going to be a kiddie show - but you were hilarious!"

Even though Jeff Dunham is selling out arenas, Terry Fator is the biggest draw in Vegas and Jay Johnson won a Tony award and tours with The Two And Only, some people still associate ventriloquism with birthday party entertainment. It felt good to dispel that myth for at least one person.

Every year I enjoy entertaining at fairs and festivals. With all my years of experience, you'd think I'd remember a few things...but I seem to always forget. So on a sunny Saturday, I forgot to use sun block and ended up with a red burn. I miss my hair - a scalp burn is no fun.

On Sunday, it rained, was windy and cold. The crowds were smaller, but the second and third shows had very enthusiastic audiences. Vendors had started breaking down before my third show even started. My fear was I'd be talking to myself, by myself. So when the show started, I was pleasantly surprised to find a good sized audience of repeats. And the crowd grew throughout.

So what did I forget Sunday? A jacket for the show. Instead I froze for 30+ minutes at each performance. You never know what you are going to need, so it makes sense to pack more than you expect to need - and know where a Wal-Mart is so you can buy what you still forgot.