Cancellations
With the pandemic came the cancellation of so many events. Our son, Joe, had tickets to a Pigeons Playing Ping Pong concert in April. He was excited that his brother also had tickets to the event and wanted nothing more than for us to join them. We bought the tickets, intending to surprise them when we showed up. Concert canceled.
My best friend, Jenn, moved to Florida, so we don’t have many opportunities to see each other. She invited me for a girl’s weekend to celebrate her birthday. The plan was to go to a Nickelback concert one night, and then Guns ‘n Roses the next. Chris told me to go and have a great time. We got the concert tickets, and I was able to find a good deal on the flight. It wouldn’t be until August, so surely things would get back to normal by then. No, first one, and then the other concert canceled.
The last hold out was our annual trip to the Imagine Festival in September. This event is great because our son and his friends come with us. We all have the chance just to let loose and enjoy ourselves for a few days. We usually buy our tickets a year in advance. They planned to go through with the festival, but then the Covid numbers started going up again. In the interest of safety, they finally canceled in July.
Taking Things Into Our Own Hands
Enough was enough. I got in touch with our festival crew to see if anyone would be interested in getting together for a beach party with music and our flow toys (objects used while dancing, usually with led lights or fire). They loved the idea. We planned to camp in Virginia Beach for two nights and then hit the beach to dance the night away. We picked the weekend that the festival would have happened. And, of course, we would have our traditional grilled pimento cheese sandwiches.
I made camping arrangements, picking a site we’ve stayed in before and the one next to it, giving us plenty of room with minimal chance of disturbing other campers. Chris and I spent the week preparing the food, and we all chipped in, making the cost minimal. We tasked Joe with music. We wanted about eight hours of music for each night, house music on Friday, and the funkier music on Saturday.
Our Festival
We arrived on Friday afternoon, set up camp, and went to the beach to figure out the best spot. Our original plan was to hit the beach around six, but most of our group of ten were coming after work. Chris had sous vide a prime ribeye loin ahead of time. While everyone was setting up their tents, he seared the steak. We had a delicious dinner served with an amazing homemade horseradish sauce. At ten, we headed to the beach. We had the beach to ourselves, so it was easy to pick a spot where we could dance without disturbing any campers.
It was windy. We didn’t mind. We started the playlist with “I Love My Friends,” followed by “Rave.” Joe did an excellent job on the music. The transitions between songs were smooth. He even considered the energy of the night as it progressed, starting with the lighter dance music and moving into more obscure songs later in the night.
Our friend, Chewie, was unable to make the party but was kind enough to let us use an incredible speaker, so the bass was booming. Bridget, in her Snorlax onesie, had her poi balls, Joe brought his firestick and Chewie’s fire poi balls, and of course, there were glow sticks. The guys played with the glow sticks, creating a frisbee type of toy to throw. The wind made for some exciting landings.
Here Comes Trouble
As the night progressed, the wind got fiercer. We decided to move to a spot between the boardwalk to the campground and a dune. It was still windy, but at least we weren’t getting sandblasted anymore. Chris and Joe made a trip back to the campsite around four a.m. We saw a very bright light coming down the boardwalk. At first, we thought it was Chris pointing his Pelican cop light at us, but as the light grew closer, we realized that it was only one person. The shadow’s shape looked like Bridget in the Snorlax outfit. She was sitting right next to us, but at first, our brains could not comprehend that there would be anyone else out at that time of the night.
The body turned out to be the park ranger, who was not happy that we were there. When we moved, instead of the wind carrying the music down the beach, it blew up the alley, shooting the music straight to the guard shack. We were going to move back out to the beach, but the wind was just too much, so we packed up and moved back to camp.
We turned the music down, walked to the edges of our site to ensure that the sound did not carry to anyone else, and finished out the playlist around six before heading to bed.
Day Two
Saturday was a casual, relaxed day. We hung out, ate grilled pimento cheese sandwiches, and enjoyed the company. Adam had gone to his hammock at the back of our site for a nap. I glanced in that direction and saw what looked like a giant bird walking behind his tent. We walked down to see what it was and were surprised to see a turkey walk right next to where Adam was sleeping. As we looked, we realized there were two of them.
Some of the guys had gone out to the beach, reporting back that it was still pretty windy, so we decided to light a campfire and listen to music there until quiet hours started at ten. I enjoyed dancing with my pixel whip, which I had not been able to use on the windy beach. When the guys had gone to the beach earlier, they found a path leading from our campsite to the beach. We followed that path and ended up in a beautiful spot. We sat on the trail, allowing the dunes to block some of the wind. It was a beautiful night with a great view of Mars. An offshore hurricane caused the large waves to crash violently onto the beach. It was a sight to behold.
Again, the wind grew in intensity, so we moved the party back to camp. As we packed up, we came across a sizeable crab in the grass. Back at camp, we relit our campfire and enjoyed the rest of the music, ending the night with John Lennon’s “Imagine,” the same way the festival ends every year.
The weekend was a blast. It was nice to be able to relax and spend time with friends. It wasn’t the same as going to the festival, but in the absence of Imagine, it was a great substitute.
It sounds like you had a wonderful time despite the wind!
I’m glad you were able to create an event out of your cancellations. It’s sad how many things didn’t get to happen this year.
Looks like a lot of fun.
What fun! Even with all the craziness of 2020 it’s great to get ideas for how to make the most of it. Thanks for sharing!
What an amazing day! The videos of the.light dancing are amazing! Looks like you had a great time!
I love that you guys threw your own festival, super creative and fun!
How fun for sure. Love the light dancing and just the whole camping time. I bet it was beautiful – looks like the weather was great. Fun.
Looks like you had a fun time!
What a great time. Good for you for moving ahead and making your own fun.
How fun! This year sure has taught us how to adapt and be creative with our fun and activities!
What a great way to show that nothing can keep us from making memories. No matter what 2020 throws we can adapt.
All the cancellations are very disheartening! I feel your pain!
Good to see you adjusted and had fun in the best way you can in 2020