Ya'll Come Now

Blue Grass
Originally uploaded by darenpackham.

Deep South. Y’all come now… For me this stuff is from the movies. This place has its charms for sure and recently I have been on a small mission to discover the essence of what Georgia and the South is all about.

It was Rusty, a dude at the boat yard who suggested that I might try going to a Blue Grass festival. He then later in the week, gave me directions to a festival that he knew of .. Sounded like fun to me, so I persuaded some folks to join me and off we went, deep into the heart of the Georgia county side.

The guy on the gate liberated my 2 friends and I of $20 each! We walked excitedly through the field realising that we were part of a select FEW, who had turned up to watch a few other folks play banjos and guitars on a small stage. The stage was at the end of an open sided barn in the middle of a field. Across the top of the stage, it proudly pronounced its self to be, ‘Home of the Lone Whistle Band’ and there were a few adoring fans (probably family members of the band) who were clapping in the right places. There was a cardboard cut out of a steam locomotive at the side of the stage and with it a 'rail road crossing' sign all painted black in a type of silhouette. Cool!

The Christian T- shirt stand had my attention too, declaring that Jesus Loves! across the front. (It’s my Brothers birthday coming up, so I’m always on the look out for a unique gift.) There were a couple of rows of RV’s (motor homes) with their owners being from an older generation, where walking was clearly out of fashion. They were riding around in their matching golf carts.

Granted, the music was catchy and the day was beautiful and sunny, the company was good fun too but the Blue Grass festival purely interesting on a, good god! Is this really happening in real life sort of way.

Welcome to the South!