Hickory Riverfront Festival

Sixth annual gathering at the river by the citizens of Hickory. We humans were not alone either. There were owls and hawks and snakes and specialists who knew what was going on around the local area.

There were presentations on birding practices and hiking trails and greenways, although the mythical Hickory Greenway still has not been found. Even the people at this presentation weren't sure, although they informed me that it was nearby - in fact some 3/10 of a mile of the Greenway is right here at the park. Where the rest of it is - well, we still don't know. Nobody was sure although we saw three signs while driving home that read "Greenway" with an arrow pointing. But we've been there in the past and there is no greenway there.


Another bluegrass band was playing here too. "Bluegrass" is heard everywhere around here but they don't play "bluegrass" music for some reason - they play a form of calm, slightly upscale country music. Probably that's because they really only know Country Music, but that has degenerated so badly over the past 30 years that nobody really wants to hear it anymore. So they play something and call it "Bluegrass".


All in all, it was a nice day. Weather was warm but with a bright blue sky and a cooling breeze. Some canoeing and fishing brought us all back to the river, and made for a pleasant visit.

Hickory Community Theatre

The moon rises over Hickory as the community theatre prepares to present its rendition of "The Producers". The story is well known so the enjoyment of the presentation is the local flair, the local actors who play the part of great fictional beings.


It was very well done. Exciting, fast, always flowing just a step or two ahead of the audience, most of whom were busy savoring the part just finished - then suddenly aware that another great moment is already under way.


And the main thing we took home with us from the presentation was the sense of fun. It was fun to see and obviously it was fun for the actors to show it to us. And there is also the realization that this theatre is one of the four groups presenting plays in Hickory. In fact, tonight the Green Room Community Theatre is also presenting "Oklahoma" at the Civic and Performance Place.

Poetry Reading

Tonight at the Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory, NC. The main readers were Helen Losse, editor of The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, and John Amen.

There were about 30 people attending in a late arriving crowd. Losse was OK, good and enjoyable, but her presentation was quiet and it was hard to tell when she had finished reading a poem. In fact applause was sporadic and faltering because we wern't sure if we should applaud yet. After Losse read there was an intermission.

I almost left at that point because I felt like I had intruded into a closed group. No one had welcomed me or even talked with me except for one person whom I later found was not even a member himself. The regular attendees seemed to be ignoring me, or any newcomers including the guy running the meeting. No one even spoke to me or responded to my own comments. Talk about a closed clique! Very unimpressive and sub-marginal. Then the one person who did talk with me turned out to be the second reader of the evening, John Amen.



Amen was good - even spectacular. Talk about knowing how to present poetry - here was a master at work. He used body postures, facial expressions and accent changes. He also had a guitar and proved that he knows how to use it well. His presentation left me wondering what kind of a life he has lead and how he would learn so damn much about life. But then, that's where the good poets fly - way out yonder - not so much living, really as it is in sensing, feeling, using intuition, and just plain awareness. The art of poetry is the art of describing what eyes can't really see and hearing what ears always fail to notice - the art of feeling beyond what is presented to you. We all understand it when we encounter it from a master, and we always walk through a slightly different world for the next several days. That is why we need to encounter really good poets like John Amen on a constant basis.

Farmers' Market

Bustling, busy, bargains everywhere and all kinds of glorious goodies. One thing you can ALWAYS count on at the farmers' markets all over everywhere is to expect surprises. You are always surprised at what they don't have - just sold out of - and then there are the other surprises that you really weren't looking for. Some of which you will buy - if you are even a little bit like me. The markets are usually hot and sweaty and they bring together city slickers and country folks and they both put on a little show for each other as they buy and sell the glorious goodies.



The market in Hickory, NC, is right downtown, in the main city square, backed up by the Armory and the railroad tracks, and it opens to the heart of the city.