Dartmouth’s HopFest, July 20, 2012: Was A Blast! It Really Rocked. Darmouth As Ever Delivered, As Promised.

Click for the official Web site.

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…by Anura Guruge

Prior posts on HopFest:
1/ June 7, 2012.
2/ July 18, 2012.

The flyer we got in the mail in June looked promising. I have always had great luck with events at Dartmouth (or locale, with Teischan having been born at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical) and I have, over the years, going back to 1998, seen some great shows at the Hopkins Center – a ‘Gypsy Caravan’ show, for ever, altering my tastes in music. Given that we planned to be there on Friday, for the opening ceremony (WITH CAKE), we decided to volunteer as well. That worked out great. David D. Lloyd, of the Hopkins Center, who coordinated the volunteers was outstanding. When he learned that I was a Granite State Ambassador he assigned Deanna and I to the Information Booth, Deanna from 3 to 6pm, and I from 6 to 9pm. That worked out great. It was next to the stage so in addition to getting to interact with some wonderful folks, including some of the members of Filligar, the first band on the stage, and we didn’t miss out on any of the amazing music. [More on Filligar in a minute.]

We saw and heard: the Asphalt Orchestra, Filligar, Matuto and Pine Leaf Boys. They were all extremely good. The Asphalt Orchestra was good, uplifting music, performed with great vitality. They were a great way to get things moving. Filligar was refreshingly contemporary and the kids thought they were the cat’s whiskers. Nicest bunch of guys I have met in a long time, especially Johnny, the youngest of the three brothers (the other two twins), all graduates of Dartmouth, with whom I got to have a long and relaxed chat while we were both ‘working’ the info book; he promoting the band merchandize. Matuto was a hit. Very compelling, visceral music. They had the crowd on their feet. Deanna was up there dancing. I like Cajun music, so enjoyed the Pine Leaf Boys and we all enjoyed playing with their puppy.

There was a lot of crafts for the kids. They enjoyed it. We got to meet our ‘friends’ from Revels North. I even put on their jester costume. Lots of free stuff.

The food was good. Samosaman was late arriving due to car trouble. But, I still managed to get one before we left. It was good; chicken and cheese. So a good time was had by all.

This is supposed to be a one-off, to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Hopkins Center. I was urging them that this should be an annual event. It should pay for itself. Thank YOU, Dartmouth. Thank you, David. Thank you Johnny of Filligar.