On July 4th I went with Terry down to Gaston Edwards Park on Lake Ivanhoe to see what 4th Fest was all about. For $5 you could hang out in the park and see about 20 bands as they performed all day long. I sat down and sketched Dirt McCoy & the Trailer Park Refugees. The harmonica player had on a tie died red white and blue shirt. The music had a hard hitting southern flair. The set lasted just 20 minutes and then Mumpsy took to the stage. I debated about starting a second sketch but something told me I shouldn’t. To the left of the stage a group of girls set up with Hulla Hoops. When the music started they danced to the music while Hulla Hooping the whole time. A definite future sketch opportunity. I noticed that the drummer from The trailer Park Refugees was the lead singer of Mumpsy.
The sky turned gray and then it opened up with a torrential downpour. To Mumpsy’s credit they kept right on playing. The audience ran right up to the stage to get under the edge of the tent structure. Everyone continued to dance and the crowd grew much more intimate. Amanda and Matt stood face to face their red and yellow umbrellas overlapping. I had a very torn and tattered umbrella that was a joke. Some spokes were broken and the fabric was torn away from the spoke tips. Terry and I decided to head back to her car. As it turns out my cell phone got soaked on the trip to the car and it no longer allowed me to enter numbers or look at texts. From here Terry and I drove down to Celebration where we planned to watch the free fireworks.