Vulture Fest!

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Vulture Fest!

 What an interesting little place Makanda is! Population, 450.

And probably at least that many dogs...

We didn't see one single kitty, but maybe (hopefully) they were all indoors...

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That's our little pop-up gazebo on the left...

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Here's the "Boardwalk"...

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I love willow furniture, but I've never seen anything like this...

it looked like a little throne!

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This is my face-painting sign!

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And here are my little okra-pod vultures...

I sold out!

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Check out the license plate...
I couldn't resist taking a picture!

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Great-niece Jaylen having her hair braided by my sister-in-law, her "Grandma Berby"...

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This man's studio was the cornerstone of the boardwalk shops...

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A sign from the first festival, years ago...

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Inside Dave's studio...he works in glass and metal...

I could see me painting in here, though!

Photos don't do it justice...

There was art, and stuff, and more stuff....everywhere!

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This was way overhead...I don't even know what to call it ~

It looked like part of a stage coach...or a pirate ship...

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In a glass case...I think this arrangement has been there since the 70s...;^)

And oh, my...look at the okra-pod hair!

(The wheels are turning!)

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Dave did lots and lots and LOTS of these little brass figures... (Love the two carrying the leaf!)  ~ They are about an inch tall...another large floor piece (that I didn't get a photo of, unfortunately ~ too crowded in his studio to get a shot) had literally hundreds of figures climbing a big piece of driftwood...

(Isn't the face carved in this piece wonderful?...)

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What is really interesting though, is the "garden" out back...

There is a stage for performers...

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And art...like this pottery vulture...

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And this HUGE brass insect (about 4 feet long)...

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...and mazes, mazes, everywhere, through the ivy...

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Little bridges and boardwalks...

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At the very top of this photo, you can see the stage...

there was a magician performing for a handful of people
while I was taking pictures...

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I could have spent the afternoon here with a book...;^) ~ ♥

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Little twisty paths everywhere....

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...And everything is covered in English ivy...goodness, if we had had something like this when I was little, I would have never come indoors... never!...:^)

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Along about dusk, a few vultures started coming closer...

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A few minutes later, there were dozens...

Then they dwindled down to just a few in the air, then none.

They had settled down to roost for the night.

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And that is Vulture Fest! We didn't really know what to expect, but we definitely want to go back...

They have another festival in May, and we hope to attend!

♥