Husband and I have always enjoyed the Gauley Festival. It is held every year the third weekend of September. At this time of year the Corp of Engineers release the water from Summersville Lake for winter and flood the Gauley River. Rafters and kayakers travel from all over the world to this weeklong event which culminates on Saturday night with a huge festival. All of the sport related venders are there. There is food and beer and music and usually (I mean this with all sincerity) great company.
He goes for the great deals in sports equipment and I go for the window-shopping. (Imagine buff, muscular, very tan men all pumped up from a day of paddling on the river. I tell you it is rugged man heaven.) I especially enjoy listening to the Germans and the Italians telling tales of rivers they’ve run in their own countries. One year there was an Australian Olympian and we had the loveliest discussion.
This year was different.
First of all, there were no foreigners.
Secondly, the place of full of snide, duplicitous, self-centered, ungracious, spoiled to the hilt, loudmouthed kayaking wannabees.
These people did not care what they trashed or who. They treated the venders rudely. They were very disrespectful to the women from the local 4-H club who provided them with hearty, delicious home made food. They dumped trash. They spoke with disdain about their accommodations. I watched as one loudmouth dropped the “F” bomb as loudly as he could in a conversation with another loudmouth who evidently thinks that God has damned everything in sight. A five-year-old was hanging on every word.
I am very glad that the Germans and the Italians didn’t make it.
After being jostled and spoken too rudely for the last time, we left.
I have only one more comment about the whole miserable event.
Welcome to West Virginia. Spend your money and get the hell out.
10 comments:
Sorry to hear about what's happened to the Gauley Festival. It's symptomatic of the current social disease called the Jackassin' of America - that peculiar mix of college boys, beer and video cameras. Here's an example, appropriately titled Gauley Fest Mud Rasslin':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTPN2gm8nto
Unfortunately, I think that was a planned event. Besides, they were just havin' fun.
I'm talking about a kind of meaness that seemed to hover over the entire event.
A complete lack of respect.
So where did all these mean people come from? I'm sorry that your event was spoiled, even as you described it it sounded really good fun (especially the window shopping!)
I'll tell you V. They come from the upper East coast.
I can't stand people that think that God owes them a livin'.
Being gracious in another state is well breed in me.
Oh well, maybe next year.
Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy yourself. I too did a post on the Festival, but did not focus on what I too think is a sad disruption of what used to be a (more) wonderful event. www.taykuy.com or takuy.blogspot.com
Great article Taylor! Thank you for stopping by. Your blog is wonderful!
Oh that's awful, maybe a little sabotage next year?
I'll brew up something evil and make some fun of it.
oh dear, well...life is like that only rarely...we hope.
I want you to know here in Oregon we like our split peas, ham hocks, & cornbread fine.
How horrible. I agree with Minx... sabotage. Make them never want to come back.
I'd reference some National Lampoons movies.
Get the foreigners in league with you.
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
PS - finished my part of the story, it's posted and I've passed it along to Minx.
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