Summerfest is OVER!

The international event, "Summerfest" that I was a part of is finally over. I loved most every minute of it, and so did Sophy! I am very grateful to have had my mom come up from Washington again to help watch Sophy the first part of the week, Troy watching her on Friday, and his mom on Saturday. Sophy loved the loud noises (until it was past her bedtime), friendly people, and beautifully bright and elegant costumes. She was known to many of the event staff and smiled and encouraged everyone just when we truly needed it. Troy not only helped to watch Sophy when he got home from work, but picked up 15-20 dozen doughnuts from Banbury Cross EVERY DAY. Of course, since he picked them up, I let him have first pick before we brought them to the park for the volunteers the next day. I don't think I've ever seen/eaten so many doughnuts in my life. Somehow I lost weight too! I highly recommend the Banbury Cross doughnut diet to anyone!

The first day, Monday, we served lunch to the 120-200ish performers who had just performed at year-round elementary schools throughout Davis and Salt Lake counties. Wednesday night was the Streetdance. Main street in Bountiful was literally shut down while the performers had 15-20mins per country to show the public a "sneak peek" of their dances as well as inviting the public to join in with them! It was so much fun! My relatives came up from Oak City, Provo, and Springville, UT and we had a great time. I took my suprised Aunt Lynnie by the hand and we joined in with the Costa Ricans for two dances. Friday and Saturday were pretty amazing. The performers danced and sang in full costume from 10am-10pm at the Bountiful City Park. On Saturday, however, while the Russian Cossaks were dancing a blustery windstorm came through and they kept dancing! It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Their dancing was beautiful and you could feel the point they were trying to make as the air swept their hair and costumes back and forth very dramatically while they moved synchronistically to the music. Another part of the Summerfest was the Loom from the Ming Dynasty. It was on display throughout the week in the Bountiful Rec Center. This loom took 7 people to operate at once and they would use it to make clothes for the Emperor.

The part I did for the event was to help organizing the volunteers. I did some organizational help before the event, and then througout the event, I'd help volunteers get checked in, T-shirt, and badge, and show them where to go and what to do. Additionally, I'd check with the different Event Managers to see what help they needed and we'd allocate un-busy volunteers to those tasks. I had so much fun and learned a great deal. I love Bountiful. There is such a great sense of community and people have fun at the city events that are organized. The weather was great. The crowd was wonderful. The Volunteers were EXCEPTIONAL!! Thank-you to all that can hear my voice and came to help and be a part of such an exciting event.

My favorite part was meeting the performers. They were very friendly. In talking to them, it wasn't difficult to tell that they were excited to be here and that they love performing. I couldn't help but be touched as I watched the performers dance and interact with other performers. I thought about the contrast between this world and the "real-world" we live in. It was amazing to me that while the world seems to be in great turmoil, these countries all came to America (Bountiful none-the-less) for the same purpose, to dance, sing, and be happy. During this week, it seemed there was peace on the earth, and possibilities for future happiness.