Wurstfest is a fall celebration in Boulder City, NV that is a mix of Octoberfest and a Harvest festival. Although, strangly enough, this is a desert so there is not much to harvest. Not unless you count the loads of brats and sausages drenched in natural juices, topped with sour kraut, onions, bell peppers, and of course Ketchup and mustard. No...this isn't a commercial...just an experience from a tastey delight. That's if your willing to pay $4 for one.
Early in the night they have an auction of various community donated items. These ranged from a crocheted basket, to bicycle from a local bike shop, to even a trip to Hawaii. They were presented by beautifully clad ladies dressed in home-made clothes meant to look like traditional German turn of the century, Recolla ad dames. Fortunately, with such beautiful faces they were the only once that could have pulled it off, and still looked good. Imagine women from a boxing match that normally walked around carrying round numbers, but here they were local ladies dressed in laderhossen. Part of the proceeds for the night goes to fund the local high school graduation party. What will stop rambunctious grads from getting in trouble? Supply them with as much pizza and prizes that they wouldn't want to do anything else. Since this program was implemented, there have been zero deaths during the night of graduation.
Unfortunately, due to the light by this time of day I couldn't capture the best shots as my flash would have just caused shadows. But, fortunately there was other forms of entertainment that kept my attention until the sun set. This included tormenting people I knew catching shots of them under the most candid of moments. Was quite entertaining.
As the sun crept beneath the western sky, a brilliant orange color illuminated horizon. It was stunning. Just as the callouge of color receded from the sky, the dark of night rose as Tommy Rocker climbed the stage steps. Were it not for R"V" sided background that they used, it may have left me in awe...alright not really but it seemed to have been the perfect moment for a dramatic entrance. Unfortunately, it wasn't. They climbed the rickety aluminum steps dressed in blue jeans, t-shirts, and a mix of Z-Z Top and Rollingstones hairstyles. While their first impression didn't strike a finely tuned cord, it wasn't until they started playing that their true skill emerged. With a sets of Pantera, Beach Boys, the Beatles, and a mix of other styles. It was apparent with the hordes of frantically dancing teenage girls and boys that they were popular.
Of course you had the park filled with families with their blankets and coolers enjoying their ground view of the concert. Although, the excitement came from the mob of dancers, gigglers, and drunken wobblers alike as they rocked through out the night. While they switched out from time to time with another two person group so they might rest their ears from the screaming girls, they kept a great crowd. From the congo lines, to a mass playing the Hokey Pokey, to teens jumping the stage to play the food song, Adults and kids alike had a great time.
So my journey for the night ended about 10pm as I faded back to my apartment to sift through the 600 photos I ended up with.
Check out the slideshow
