What do you associate Tilda with: Gala parties? Equestrian events? West Marlborough issues?
All true, certainly, but wait til you hear this: I went to the Brandywine Valley Association's Third Annual Dead Fest on Thursday evening. "Dead" as in, the local musicians played Grateful Dead songs and drew a gigantic crowd of 21st-century flower children.
The weather was gorgeous, the music sounded great -- when was the last time you heard "Mexicali Blues"? -- and the acoustics at the BVA's amphitheater are terrific.
But the real fun was the people-watching. Put simply, it was NOT the Unionville steeplechase crowd. Tie-dyed shirts were everywhere. A lot of the women wore flowing skirts and bare feet, the better to dance in front of the stage. I spotted one woman in white bell-bottoms with a Pucci-like paisley print; does she get them out of her closet just for the Dead Fest? A couple of sinuous women were performing some really quite remarkable feats with hula hoops.
A young friend of mine who came to the Fest from Oxford -- it's a highlight of her summer -- said she deliberately dressed down rather than in her hippie finery because "it seems like some people just want to stand out," she explained apologetically.
But for the most part it was just a big family picnic. Kids were running all over the place, not deterred by the steep slope of the hillside, and they were very well-behaved and polite. I enjoyed the sight of a tiny infant being carried by his big, burly, bearded, long-haired Dad.
Bob Struble was there with his BVA display, greeting people and encouraging them to join the environmental organization. And at the gate volunteers were passing out green tote bags emblazoned with ads for a mortgage broker and an attorney.
One unfortunate note: I saw, and smelled, a lot of people smoking (cigarettes). How can you be "green" and concerned about the environment while polluting everyone's air and poisoning your body?
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