#6 Superman Festival - Metropolis, IL - June 14, 2009
A 3 story statue of Superman protects all those that reside in Metropolis. I think the kid gives a good frame of reference.
There were definitely some interesting people at this festival. On the left is Ironman. Apparently he spent almost a year fabricating his costume which consisted of riveted steel plates and aluminum foil. The suit weighed approximately 100 pounds, and I felt bad for him as we stood in 90 degree sunlight all day. On the right is Super Girl. I must have been bad luck, as neither one won any awards.
Now I have become somewhat of a funnel cake aficionado, but there really is no true way to distinguish between them. Yes there are assorted fruit toppings available these days, but I had never before seen this peanut butter glazed funnel cake. It was definitely satisfying but for some reason heavier; I think I'll stick to the powdered sugar. I love toasted peanut butter sandwiches and this funnel cake tasted a lot like them.
And then all of the characters assembled under the statue for a group photo that Clark Kent was supposedly going to use in the Daily Planet. Here's a fun game: click the photo and see if you can find Indiana Jones.
The winners of each category. From left to right(and category): Superman (Best Superman), Some Creature (Creature and the only entry), Dr. Doom (Best Villain), Red Tornado (Best Costume), Super Girl (Best Super Girl), the resident Superman, and the emcee Jar-El.
Video of the week. No music this time. At the costume competition each character gets to do a little improvisation (by which I mean a very rehearsed speech), in character of course, in order to impress the judges and audience. This is Mr. Freeze.
I know this wasn't a true food festival, but it was definitely something different and too funny to miss. The sad thing is I missed the character karaoke contest which I think had real potential for a video of the week. Apparently the schedule of events doesn't really mean a lot at these festivals.
I think I could have taken my entire data card worth of pictures at this festival, but don't worry someone else did. Click here and behold the true power of Superman Fest (page 11 of the 2009 Celebration - $1,000 Superhero Contest, yes page 11!, has good group shots).It was that strange and every character enjoyed having their picture taken. I mean there were Ghostbusters, Jokers, Wonder Women, characters out of people's imaginations, and even a Star Trek Engineer (who strangely enough was the outcast of this festival and got made fun of).
This festival was just plain silly, and thus right up my alley. It seemed like it was the one day a year the people that attend this event get to be "normal". Apparently, DC Comics declared Metropolis, IL as the "Hometown of Superman" in 1972 and the state legislature followed suit that same year. In other words, it's officially the real hometown of the fictional character.
I was definitely impressed to see the determination of Ironman. Obviously the man spent a lot of time on his costume riveting the steel together and the "boots" had to be street worthy, which he told me weighed about 20 pounds each. He had a hard time getting on stage for the judging, and needed the help of his assistant (yes Ironman had an assistant). I voted for him in the audience favorite category, but he lost to some local woman dressed as Super Girl who had the ballot box stuffed by friends. Ironman was set up from the get up.
It was a fun festival that capped off 11 hours of driving this weekend. Although it was not a food festival I even found a new variant on funnel cakes. The vendor was old school too, he actually ladled the batter into a funnel and drizzled the batter into the fryer. He used two funnels worth. It seems nowadays people are using new-fangled squirt bottles, pancake dispensers, and God help me if I see another vendor using a pastry bag. You just don't always get the slow old fashioned care and approach to funnel cakes as much as you would like these days. Well, I'm off to work on my costume for next year.
#5 Salisbury Steak Festival - Salisbury, MO - June 13th, 2009
Who doesn't like a good ole Tractor Pull? I'll be honest I didn't know much about a tractor pull until I spoke with a one-armed man who gave me the low down. If you click on the picture you might be able to see the "White Mule" on the sled, which is a weight that automatically rises along the sled as the pull moves on. Eventually the weight slides so far up that it pushes the sled into the ground, and beats even the best John Deere, Farmall, or Massey (yes they are all tractor brands). The winner dragged the sled clear on out of the pit.
The Salisbury Steak Supper. As you can see, the line was around the block. The plus: You get a salisbury steak, baked potato, cole slaw, iced tea, and even a roll served by the mayor himself all for just $5. The minus: It was a little better than the TV dinners I've had, but was tasty for essentially being a slice of meatloaf with mushroom gravy.
The town of Salisbury is a progressive city, as evidenced by them presenting a Little Mr. Salisbury as well. Now I've noticed that being 6-2 and brown brings a lot of looks, and people know I'm from out of town. I just don't think that Nate joining me on this festival in a matching powder blue shirt really decreased the points and stares.
Video of the Week. This is awesome. Welcome everyone to the Matt Barber Experience. I don't know why he was hired for a festival, but I would like to shake the person's hand who did. I don't know if you can make out the little light show projector he has on stage since there was nothing to project on and it was sunny. Apparently he is on an "international" tour so we were lucky to have caught him. Do yourself a favor and check out the Matt Barber Experience online.
This ended up being an extremely solid festival, and a special thanks to Joyce for suggesting it. I wasn't sure salisbury (pronounced Sauls-bury) steak would be worth a 3 hour drive, but I made a commitment and I stood by it. It was even better having some company for this festival, as Nate ventured out to this festival (although he had the KC Strip instead of the Salisbury Steak). I'm not sure what's wrong with that kid. We arrived into Salisbury just as the local members of the chamber were giving speeches. The mayor introduced his predecessor, an 81 one year old firecracker, who proceeded to delay the parade in order to sing a very emotional version of "God Bless America". I have video but thought it was inappropriate for this forum, maybe I'll post it in an outtakes post on an off week. The parade was extremely organized, no long gaps, and was completely assembled and ready to go the second the Mayor cut the ribbon. This, by the way, is quite rare when it comes to parades. The parade included a Little Mr. for the first time that I've seen, antique cars, and a very long line of antique tractors.
We quickly made our way to the fair where there were 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, horseshoe contests, and even people selling locally raised beef. We decided the tractor pull was the best bet. I learned that acceleration control is pivotal to a good pull, and apparently you can't go too fast or you will be disqualified. The better pullers also utilized some body control and adjusted their weight in order to add more torque to the rear tires for traction. All these years, and I didn't even know how hard it was to pull weight with a tractor.
Ahh the Steak. As I mentioned the steak wasn't a life changing experience, but as I'm learning the food is mostly second fiddle to the people you meet at these festivals. We talked to an older couple during supper where she explained some Salisbury history. She told us a man named Lucius Salisbury had founded the city in 1867. I asked whether the steak was named after the person because he created it, or the town because that is where it was first-made. I don't think she understood the question because she responded. "My kids asked me why they called the 5k run in the morning the stampede". She laughed and said, "Cattle, cows, stampede!". I still don't get it. According to the in-ter-net Dr. James Salisbury studied diet and nutrition and advised people to eat beef chased by cups of hot water. He came up with the original chopped beef version in the late 19th century. It became popular when US soldiers in WWI didn't want to use the Germanic rooted "hamburger" (salisbury steak is a glorified burger). So this one's up in the air. http://dictionary1.classic.reference.com/help/faq/language/e28.html The Matt Barber experience was something else. We saw a keyboard being set up, we saw the light being set up, and we were still unprepared for the dreamy whirlwind of Matt Barber. I was expecting your standard cover band, maybe even some Southern Rock. What I was not expecting was a version of the Wedding Singer Dan Band at the Salisbury Steak Festival.
It was a great trip, and even better having some company. I also wanted to make mention that the Semco plant laid off 25 people on Friday (a significant amount in a town of 1,700), but the city of Salisbury still put on one great festival. Salisbury Steak Festival was a great time, even though I didn't get to ride a tractor. These festivals remind me of simpler times in my life, and as the ex-mayor says, "Don't forget to look up every now and then at Ol' Glory".
(EDIT: This may be the most appropriate place to showcase a crochet sad salisbury steak, it is funny and beautiful).
The winners of each category. From left to right(and category): 
