i woke up at 7:30 that morning totally well rested and excited about the day. there was a lot to get ready since we were both vendors and festival goers. we arrived at the ferry just before 11 which allowed us plenty of time to be in a safe position for boarding. shanno, b and i set to work setting up our dinning tent to house the la tienda merch, and very soon had the best looking booth there :)
being vendors allowed for many opportunities to get to know other festival goers. at least two separate people came up to us and asked if it was the same la tienda from dominican republic because they'd spent some time volunteering their themselves. it was great having b and taylor there since they'd both spent time in D.R. themselves. i hadn't really expected brendan to help out at our booth but he did and seemed to really enjoy himself. meanwhile shanno and i sidewalk chalked the road encouraging people to come check out our booth and support the women's art coop.
business was steady, but not nearly as busy as i'd expected. i thought we'd easily sell out, but people were less interested in the booths than i thought. i suppose it stands to reason that they were there for the music, but for me the vendors at part of the festival. i was also surprised that the fact that the merch was made by women escaping poverty didn't seem to interest people. sometimes i forget that being informed and being concerned about poverty isn't a natural part of everyone's day to day thoughts. in a way it made me sad to realize that many folks are in their north american bubble and care little about the hard lives of others.
speaking of people who care about those who are poor... brendan randomly bumped into a franciscan monk. before b met him, i saw a man in gray robes but didn't clue into why he was dressed that way. i honestly didn't think twice about it. brendan is a HUGE admirer of st francis of assisi, and has been wanting to meet an franciscan monk for a long time. this is again something i forget is not considered normal behaviour. most folks don't look-up to dead saints who took vows of poverty. but i love that brendan does and fully support him. because of him i also have a soft spot for francis and think he was on to something worthwhile. anyways, the monk's name is gabriel. he had a super long beard and looked as though he was in his mid to late 30s. he wore a plain gray robe with a thick rope to keep it together. he was in the area visiting his brother and sister-in-law, and was very kind to talk with brendan about his life as a monk. it was very cool and it made us all giggle with delight seeing b with his completely counter-cultural man.
we packed up our booth around 7 and enjoyed the rest of the bands from a blanket on the grass, and also while standing up close to the stage. it was a great night and the air smelled sweet.
there is more to tell but i'll save that til tomorrow :)
when we go down, your loss of courage,
when we go down, you're so ferocious.
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