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  Various rides and thrills stretched out along N. Holmes this evening for the first night of GladFest 2024.  Below the ferris wheel, surrounding parking lots and a couple of side streets hosted tents full of a random assortment of trinkets, crafts, and of course, politicians.   One can never seem to get away from that latter crowd, though most regulated to a lot more removed from the usual bustle.  Also available for the listening pleasure of everyone, amateur talent played their hearts out on the main stage.   The event picks up again with a parade on Saturday morning and more carnival and crafts through the remainder of the day into the evening, and on into Sunday.  It did not appear much different than previous years, though with a few less folks, and a bit pricier. 

  A few friends protested over their not being included in the last outing to a demolition derby.  In reconciliation, we dragged them out to the nearest comparable activity at Lakeside Speedway . Bone Stock Compact, Bone Stock"80"s, and Limited Weld filled the Pay Up Sucker Promotions lineup on this particular evening.  The wrecking crew showed up too, slamming into one another with as much ferocity as they could muster, until the final round. That final round proved to be a test in endurance though. Twenty cars filled the small area, with not much room to get enough force up.  Noting the family car had entered the arena, we cheered her success.  She made a go show of it, lasting until only three remained, including herself.  Unfortunately, she got stuck on another dead beast and lost the opportunity to finish.

A chance meeting extended an opportunity for an evening littered with glowing puppetry and performances from the local troupe and volunteers of  StoneLion Puppet Theater . Friday evening kicked off with a display of larger-than-life puppets along with a few acrobatic performances, followed on Saturday by art festival, music from local performers, as well as a parade of the giant puppets.   The glowing menagerie returned Saturday evening, with dinosaurs, dragons, butterflies, hippopotamus, aliens, and other intrigues designed to amuse the young and young-at-heart. A hot air ballon and free riding tour around the mall courtesy of  EZ Pedicabs  topped a magnificent side trip to the day. Only lightly disappointed that we missed prior years' events, we definitely look forward to visiting this absolutely free event from  StoneLion Puppet Theatre  return next year.  

  We dropped by for a look at progress on various forms of art littering the sidewalks of the City Market this evening.  Chores and other obligations had made it impossible to make it down for the festivities during normal hours, and the same reasons made visiting the next day improbable. The early evening viewing proved perfect for unhindered access to the art in progress. Everyone had  mostly left for the day.  A few lingered, finishing up their goals.  Judging by the number in progress, there did not appear to be quite as many participants as in years before.  What was on display looked good, although not quite on par with some of the displays witnessed in the past.

On the borderlands of the city, the oddly comforting smell of freshly tilled dirt pushed the more acrid stench of the encroaching urban area into the distant recesses of short-term memory for the evening. Diesel and dust would eventually become the dominant fragrance in the vicinity, occasionally interrupted by distinct aroma of burning alcohol.  A spot midfield, behind the cattle fencing and in front of the announcer booth, offered good fortunate right next to an individual intimately familiar with most of the vehicles and their drivers.  The cheerful character filled us in on expectations and unique rules for the events of the evening, happily answering questions and offering unique insight, mixing it up with a good dose of amicable conversation. High performance internal combustion engines cycling to explosive levels soon relegated all attempts at conversation to the space between each run occurring over the next several hours.  The machinery in play co