Fed Up with "Festivals"
It's that time of year again when festivals seem to be happening every other weekend. And up here in the Blue Mountains, there is one you could attend every day of every weekend.
Now, I hope I don't offend too many people here, but I am sick to death of "festivals" and I'll tell you why.
Festivals are usually promoted as community and family events but let me tell you about the last few festivals I have attended.
Firstly, they are full of stalls, the exact same stalls you see at every craft market held in the mountains. They either have handmade items or cheap, mass produced crap from China. Either way, I don't consider it entertainment and I know my family don't enjoy being dragged past 101 of these stalls as a form of weekend entertainment.
After the stalls come the rides. I have to admit that the smaller members of the family do enjoy this part of any festival and after I take out a second mortgage I am happy to let them have their 30 seconds of fun for around $5 a pop. But again, not family friendly and not particularly culturally enriching.
Of course there is some free entertainment, usually in the form of dance troupes and singers sourced from the local talent pool.
And I don't mean to be rude but unless you are these childrens' mothers there is nothing entertaining about watching a group of amateur dancers perform on a stage about as big as my dining room table.
And that's about it. Of course there is the unhealthy food, a few stilt walkers and a fire engine or two but unless you're a fan of dagwood dogs or under the age of 2, the entertainment value of these offerings is limited.
Nope, I'm giving the community festivals a miss this year and hopefully I'll have a lot more money in my pocket as a result. More money to spend on craft supplies, healthy food to cook up on the weekend and more money for books to read. The sorts of things that really do enrich my family.