Riverfolk Festival in Manchester

“Did you hear that Mandy didn’t like the food at the Chicken Broil?” a friend announced loudly as Dan and Pepper settled to our table at the Riverfolk Festival in Manchester.

“I know she didn’t like the Chicken Broil! And CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT SHE LEFT ANN ARBOR AND IS ACTUALLY HERE IN MANCHESTER AGAIN?!” Pepper responded, equally loudly.

“Shut up you guys!” I rasped, leaning in low over the table, “you’re going to get me beat up!”

I’m not a big fan of the seemingly endless drive out to Manchester (I’ve been assured that it’s only 35 minutes, but it always seems longer – I keep watching for an “Ohio Welcomes You” road sign), but given that once again I cadged a ride from a friend we headed out for the Riverfolk Festival’s opening night.It was a Cajun theme - $12 got us admission tickets, and another $10 got us a Louisiana-styled meal. We could choose from pulled pork or jambalaya, cole slaw or corn on the cob, strawberry shortcake or brownie, and a slice of cornbread thrown in for good measure (awesome cornbread - so sweet and moist that it was just shy of yellow cake). Stockwell's Catering provided the food, and it was all perfectly fine, and a good value. Plus I was most impressed that they served the food on aluminum pie pans. No saggy plates, plus recyclable!

There were soft drinks, beer, and wine. The two men dispensing the beverages were jolly, age-appropriate, and wedding-ring-less, so my friend Beth and I brushed off our best flirting reparte:

“Look at those tubes for the keg,” Beth said, “they look like something from a science experiment. Or worse.”

“A hospital,” I mused.

“Like a catheter,” one of the guys chimed in.

“Or like the stomach tube my daughter had to have,” I bantered wittily.

“Oh, yeah, I had to have one of those tubes up my nose once,” Beth nodded.

Sexy. I can’t understand why they didn’t ask for our phone numbers.

Anyway, Cedric Watson and the Bijou Creole Band were the headliners, packing the dance floor. That's Cedric and his friend Jermaine taking a break in the photo at left. Woody Pines also played – they were charming, though their rootsy-bluegrass didn’t lend as well to dancing. Besides the music and the beautiful weather, the best aspect was the small crowd. It seems like lately, every activity in Ann Arbor involves me and about 1,000 of my best friends. It was refreshing to go to an event, to see some new faces, and for there to only be 150 or so people. Very pleasant.

Riverfolk continues all day today (Saturday) – thumbs up, and worth the drive.