There were flying trapeze acts, a petting zoo, local musicians playing all day, a Noyo Food Forest feast, and it was all capped off by rides in a hot air balloon.
The first Caspar Fest was enough to make many locals forget the big names of past Caspar World Folk Festivals, which this event replaces.
“Caspar World Folk Festival is a thing of the past,” said Jima Abbott. “Caspar Fest, in a gradually evolving form, is the future. It”s looking so far as if this event will turn out to be the best single fund-raiser for the Caspar Community Center so far.”
Caspar Community Center Manager Dalen Anderson said there were 680 paid admissions on Saturday, Sept 29 and 480 on Sunday, Sept 30.
“It was a very sweet event and feels very satisfying to the organizers because it was an incredible amount of work,” Abbott said. “We are already getting great after-event strokes from people who attended in the form of musical phone messages, emails and people stopping us on the street and in local businesses.”
The weather was splendidly sunny on Saturday, falling between rain on Friday and on Sunday night. The festival had a sustainability theme, provided mostly by Coast Economic Localization Link (CELL). But, like most coast events, the fun was much more eclectic than structured.
Steve Heckeroth displayed two solar-charged electric tractors at the event, with mobs of children clamoring for a ride.
Sue Coop from the city of Willits” Home Energy Link Program was giving away curly 75-watt compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), one for those who would sign their names on a list.
“People don”t like their name going on a list,” said Coop. “We don”t use the list, we just need to turn in a card for each packet we give out.”
While locals might dislike being listed, they relished the idea of saving 75 percent on energy over regular bulbs.
However, the bulbs also came with a warning that they are hazardous waste when they burn out because they include mercury. Regular bulbs are not. CFLs must be disposed of in the same way as paint or used motor oil.
Ralph Sowers was showing off his miniature cattle, another kid favorite.
“I like these community get togethers. They are great fun, and I enjoy bringing my pets. I don”t charge them for it,” he said. He thought for a minute when asked if miniature cattle had much to do with sustainability, then shook his head. “Not really, but who cares?”
The fact that everybody was doing their own thing pleased the younger crowd.
Abbott said, “The highlights for me were seeing lots of families and an incredible number of children running to and fro throughout the festival all weekend. Also a number of beautiful pregnant women, more than I have seen at one time in one place in a long time.”
“I”m really impressed with the number of kids here today,” said attendee Cindy Arch.
Although dressed in the bright and funky outfits of circus performers, Jeremy Zebulon and his friend David Brown fit right in among the tie-dyes and traditional 1960s garb often seen at Caspar events.
The two young travelers came to town from the Bay Area looking to join the Flynn Creek Circus, who performed a flying trapeze show on Saturday.
“We”re just two young performers looking to find a performance company,” said Zebulon.
“This town is so beautiful, and this is a great event,” said Brown. “This is my first time in Caspar.”
The event most talked about was hot air balloon rides provided by Kevin Herschman from Baton Rouge, which came at the very end, as Kevin and the Coconuts were doing the final set of the festival. He took riders up two and three at a time.
“The balloon was almost surrealistically big to be so close,” said Abbott, “bigger than the stage and accompanied by the roar and the flash of the burning gas being used to make it warmer and lighter than the surrounding air.”
“Most of the organizers of the fair along with the last of the visitors were dancing to the rhythms of Kevin and group at the same time,” Abbott said. “After the balloon came down and the marketplace closed and all the vendors had left and the center was finally locked up there still remained a group of people around the downed balloon, in the dark, playing soft music, talking and holding on to the special feeling that the festival had created in the meadow behind the center.”
