THE QUICK AND DIRTY DETAILS FOR THIS YEAR’S CENTRAL WASHINGTON STATE FAIR

GOING TO THE FAIR?

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW:

WHAT: Central Washington State Fair.

WHERE: State Fair Park, 1301 S. Fair Ave.

WHEN:
• Today: noon-11 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Sunday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Oct. 5: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Oct. 6: 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Oct. 7: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

HOW MUCH: Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (65 and older), $6 for ages 6-12, and free for ages 5 and younger. Parking is $5.

BUDWEISER STAGE ENTERTAINMENT
All entertainment on the Budweiser Stage is free with admission to the fair, although reserve seats can be purchased through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the State Fair ticket office, 248-7160. Here’s the lineup and the cost of the reserved seats:
• 7:30 tonight — Full Throttle. No reserved seats.
• 7:30 p.m. Saturday — John Michael Montgomery. $15.
• 6 p.m. Sunday — Tanya Tucker. $15.
• 3 p.m. Monday — Hip-Hop Dance Contest. No reserved seats.
• 6 p.m. Monday — Battle of the Bands. No reserved seats.
• 7 p.m. Tuesday — Mark Wills. $10.
• 7 p.m. Wednesday — Eddie Money. $10.
• 7 p.m. Thursday — Bowling for Soup. (Winner of Monday’s Battle of the Bands opens.) $10.
• 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5 — Kenny Loggins. $20.
• 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 — “Weird Al” Yankovic. $20.
• 5 p.m. Oct. 7 — Yolanda Del Rio with Hector Montemayor and El Mariachi Tapatio. $8-$10.

GRANDSTAND ENTERTAINMENT
All entertainment at the grandstand is free with admission to the fair, although reserve seats for select events can be purchased through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the State Fair ticket office, 248-7160. Here’s the lineup and the cost of the reserve seats:
• 6 p.m. tonight and Saturday — Northwest Sprint Car Challenge Championship. $10.
• 2 p.m. Sunday — Gran Jaripeo de Lujo with Montes de Durango, Noe y Sus Campeones, Aires de Michoacan and El Chichicuilote. No reserved seats.
• 7 p.m. Oct. 5 — P.R.C.A. Rodeo. $5.
• 2 p.m. Oct. 6 — P.R.C.A. Rodeo. $5. This is also “Tough Enough to Wear Pink?” day. Attendees are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness. Pink bandanas will be for sale with proceeds benefiting Yakima’s Wellness House.
• 2 p.m. Oct. 7 — Demolition Derby. No reserved seats.

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT
For a complete listing of what else you can see at the fair — Brad’s World of Reptiles, Tyzen the hypnotist, the Blaszak Tiger Show, Roberto the Magnificent, local acts and contests — check out the fair schedule inserted inside today’s On magazine.

PROMOTIONAL DAYS
• Today: KIMA TV Day. Parking and admission are $1 each until 3 p.m.
• Sunday: Heritage Day, sponsored by Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic with Community Health Plan. First 750 kids ages 6-12 receive free gate admission. (Ages 5 and under are free.)
• Monday: Snyder’s Bread Day. An empty Snyder’s sack with a green sticker and $25 gets you gate admission and unlimited carnival rides.
• Tuesday: Senior & Military Appreciation Day, sponsored by KIMA TV & Living Care Retirement Community. Half-price admission until 3 p.m. for seniors, active military and veterans.
• Wednesday: Pepsi Day. Half-price gate admission for ages 6-12 with an empty 12-ounce Pepsi product can. (Must be accompanied by an adult.)
• Oct. 5: Alex Deccio Day and Washington Lottery Day. First 1,000 adults receive a free coupon for a $1 scratch ticket at the Lottery booth.
• Oct. 1: Coca-Cola Family Day. Pay $25 and get admission for two adults and three kids. (Ages 5 and under are free. No coupon required.)

TAKE THE BUS: This year, Yakima Transit will offer free shuttle service every day of the fair. Beginning 30 minutes before the fair opens each day, buses will run continuously between the Gateway Center parking lot, 10 N. Fair Ave. (the Target location), and State Fair Park. Bus service ends 30 minutes after the fair closes.

HEY, RECYCLE THAT: Special recycling bins for aluminum cans and plastic bottles will be placed near all trash cans at the fair. Use them.

FAIR INFORMATION: For a complete schedule of events, general fair information and directions, click here.
The newly redesigned fair Web site also has a feature that lets you plan your day by the events you want to see and then print out a schedule. You can find it by clicking “Daily Schedule,” then select the day you’re going to the fair and click the “Plan Your Day at the Fair” button.

For the fair event line, call 248-7160.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS @ THE FAIR

On Monday, teens and twenty-somethings rule at the second annual BATTLE OF THE BANDS at the Central Washington State Fair. Last year the competition — purposefully held on Snyder’s Bread Day, popular with a younger crowd — drew four bands. Three of those bands, including the winner, Westra, return to duke it out rock ’n’ roll style — but so have 11 other bands stretching from Seattle to Pasco. (See the schedule below.)

It’s an impressive turn-out by aspiring rock bands caused largely by networking on MySpace. However, it’s also led to some tweaking of the Monday schedule.

“My only fear is the length of the show,” says State Fair Park ticket office manager Angela Larrabee, who organizes the battle. “It’s a long day of entertainment. Which is what we’re shooting for on Snyder’s Day.” (A hip-hop dance contest is at 3 p.m. on the same stage.)

Beginning at 6 p.m., each band will have 10 minutes to play. The bands will be judged on vocal and instrumental performance, originality, fan reaction and stage presence. Since this is a family event, the rules clearly state that “NO foul language or obscene gestures will be allowed.”

The winner takes home $500, will have eight hours of recording time at Cascade Productions in Cle Elum and will open for pop-punk band Bowling for Soup at the fair on Thursday.

“It’s a lot of work,” says Larrabee, who anticipates there may need to be a preliminary round next year. “But it’s great. I’m excited.”

Here’s the schedule:
• 6 p.m. — Adipose
• 6:15 p.m. — Chokeout
• 6:30 p.m. — Pity Dog
• 6:45 p.m. — 47th Parallel (formerly Stagnant)
• 7 p.m. — Impact Hazard
• 7:15 p.m. — Orchard
• 7:30 p.m. — Truth Be Told
• 7:45 p.m. — Tragedy Within
• 8 p.m. — Westra (last year’s winner)
• 8:15 p.m. — Fat City
• 8:30 p.m. — Day of Death
• 8:45 p.m. — From the Thief
• 9 p.m. — Rishloo
• 9:15 p.m. — Bright Lit City

(Sorry if there’s no link to the band, I couldn’t find its Web site.)

— Kim Nowacki

Pictured above: Westra’s Michael Scott performs during last year’s Battle of the Bands at the Central Washington State Fair. Photo by KRIS HOLLAND/Yakima Herald-Republic

WANT MORE INFO ON THE FAIR? CLICK HERE

EVEN GUILTY PLEASURES GETS THE BLUES: A PLAYLIST FOR BREAKING UP

While Guilty Pleasures is crazily excited to see pop-rock great Eddie Money next week at the fair — “Take Me Home Tonight” is a personal favorite — lately, songs on the sadder side have been in rotation on the new iPod. (Yes, Guilty Pleasures has finally joined the 21st century.)
EVEN GUILTY PLEASURES GETS THE BLUES. And although drinking tequila in bed is one of Guilty Pleasures’ preferred ways to drown the failed relationship sorrows, sometimes you just gotta get up, take a shower and blast the stereo.
So here it is, GUILTY PLEASURES’ BREAKUP PLAYLIST with songs that will help you have a good cry, satisfy that urge to get mad and scream, and, when the time is right, get over it.

• “GOOD WOMAN,” Cat Power. (The video is kind of cheesy, but you can hear the song.)
It’s all Guilty Pleasures can do from sobbing uncontrollably when Chan Marsha’s voice cracks as she sings “This is why I am leavin’/And this is why I can’t see ya no more/And this is why I am lying/When I say I don’t love ya no more.”

• “PICTURES OF YOU,” The Cure.
The outcast 9th-grade girl in all of us — or sensitive 9th-grade boy — has a soft-spot for The Cure, and this song has been playing on repeat for weeks.

• “YOUR EYES HAVE CHANGED,” With a Bullet.
Gotta give a shout-out to local boys With a Bullet and this rockin’ tear-jerker.
Listen to it

• “UN-BREAK MY HEART,” Toni Braxton.
Just try and stop the flood gates when this one comes on.

• “JOLENE,” Dolly Parton.
In an earnest, desperate voice, Parton pleads to keep her man in this heart-wrenching song. (The White Stripes’ cover is equally haunting.)

• “DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT,” Bob Dylan.
This simply-strummed folk song has a serious bite, especially when Dylan sings, “I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind/You could have done better but I don’t mind/You just kinda wasted my precious time/But don’t think twice, it’s all right.” Ouch.

• “WHAT GOES AROUND … ,” Justin Timberlake.
It’s cathartic to watch JT as he bangs on the piano — which he does in every live version of this song. (Of course, it also just makes you feel good to look at Justin Timberlake.)

• “YOU’RE SO VAIN,” Carly Simon.
One of Guilty Pleasures’ all-time favorites. Just ask anyone who’s been in the car when this comes on the radio.

• “I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU,” Three Days Grace.
Go ahead and scream along to this one. The neighbors will understand.

• “BLACK BEATLES” (Beatles vs. Black-Eyed Peas vs. Ludacris vs. Kelis), Loo & Placido.
In the revenge/rock-out category comes this seamless mash-up from French remixers Loo & Placido, which heavily samples the Beatles’ lesser-known and creepy, yet poppy, song “Run For Your Life,” and Kelis’ angry scream of “I hate you so much right now,” from “Caught Out There.” It’s pure catharsis with a catchy beat.
Listen to it

• “SURVIVOR,” Destiny’s Child.
A great getting-over-it song, especially with these funny but sassy lyrics: “You know I’m not gonna diss you on the Internet/’Cause my momma taught me better than that.”

• “SINCE U BEEN GONE,” Kelly Clarkson.
Yep, you can’t wallow in sadness forever. And that’s why you gotta love Kelly Clarkson. From round-faced “American Idol” winner to svelte pop-rock star, Clarkson pulls no punches in this undeniably great breakup song. Four words Guilty Pleasures never thought would be uttered: “Crank up the Clarkson.”

• Guilty Pleasures is a weekly look at whatever Guilty Pleasures wants to look at.

• GOT MORE FAVORITE BREAKUP SONGS? Comment below.

ART YOU SHOULD SEE, ART YOU SHOULD BUY

My deepest apologies for the lack of postings lately; it’s crazy fair time, you know.

However, I did manage to get over to the ALLIED ARTSCENTER to see it’s new gallery show “HARVEST,” which features contemporary clay work from 19 members of the Washington Potters’ Association.
Let me just say, GO! Go to this show. It is incredible, especially Julie Lindell’s instillation piece. And there’s functional art there, too. (And affordable art.)

Another cool art thing that’s going on this Saturday is a BEADFORLIFE PARTY. Here, you’ll have a chance to look good by helping people half a world away.
From 3-7 p.m. on Saturday, Garden Dance (that cute flower and card store on Front Street) will host this shopping event which features hundreds of pieces of beaded jewelry (most $10 to $20) from Uganda. The colorful beaded jewelry is made out of recycled paper by Ugandan woman.
All profits from BeadforLife are invested in community development projects that generate income and help people escape extreme poverty.
Complete information about the program, including portraits of the beaders, pictures of the jewelry and a breakdown of where the money goes, is available here.
The Garden Dance shop is in the Opera House at 25 N. Front St. If you want more information on Saturday’s event, call Lucy Ann Valderhaug at 966-5245.

— Kim Nowacki

LOST REVIEW?

Oh where, oh where was our review of the Warehouse Theatre Company’s production of “THE SECRET GARDEN” that was supposed to run in Sunday’s paper?

• Goblins ate it.
• A rift in the space/time continuum.
• Something about “creative differences.”

Actually (shoulders shrugging), we’re still trying to figure out what happened. But don’t worry, the review will run in tomorrow’s newspaper.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS COMING TO YAKIMA

The basketball spinning, trampoline-assisted slam dunkers known as the HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS will be showing off their fancy floorwork Feb. 25, 2008, at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. Monday. Tickets cost $17-$57 through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, or the State Fair ticket office, 248-7160.

BURNING MAN: ART WINS

(Sorry, I guess some of the videos weren’t working. There are links now to those videos. Enjoy.)

Workers assess the damage of Burning Man’s namesake wooden effigy after a man allegedly set fire to the structure. “The Man,” as the structure is simply referred to, was removed and replaced with a smaller Man later in the week. An arson investigation is underway. The “Bone Tree” by Dana Albany, sits in the foreground. Photo by Kim Nowacki / Yakima Herald-Republic

As promised, here are some videos of my favorite art installations from this year’s BURNING MAN:

“BIG RIG JIG” (if the video won’t play, click here)
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dm3k5b_t5w8" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
“HOMO OUROBOROS”

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/xbtSWJCwx5Q" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
“CRUDE AWAKENING” (if the video won’t play, click here)

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nj3mWMdv978" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

p.s. this person read my mind when it comes to music on the playa.

AVAST MATEY, IT’S TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

Arrrr ye scurvy scallyblog readers, today is TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY.

Here is the legendary tale of how this made-up holiday came to be:

By KIM NOWACKI
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
(Originally published on Sept. 18, 2004)

Arrr, if ye be a proud pirate, then pour a round for your Brethren of the Coast and prepare to splice the mainbrace, because Sunday is your day, matey.

That’s right, scurvy scallywags of the sea are finally getting the respect they deserve — and thanks be to a couple of Oregon blokes for turning us landlubbers on to how much fun it is to talk like a pirate.

“The thing has just taken off, it’s taken a life of its own,” says 49-year-old John “Ol’ Chumbucket” Baur, one of the co-creators of Talk Like A Pirate Day, a made-up holiday that’s receiving international observance.

“I think it’s because people want to have fun,” adds his shipmate, Mark “Cap’n Slappy” Summers, 41. “It’s almost like there’s these great masses of people waiting for permission to do it. Having a Talk Like A Pirate Day gives them that permission.”

From the glint in Errol Flynn’s eye to Capt. Hook’s devilishly playful demeanor to a Disney amusement park ride turned silver screen gem, folks love a good pirate.

“When people come in, I ask if they want to be pirates or ninjas,” says Debi Potter. “And most say pirates.”

Potter is the manager of the Valley Mall’s Hot Topic store, a retail chain that sells edgy clothing and jewelry. She’s seen a recent rise in people plunking down their hard-earned doubloons for pirate pizzazz such as skull-and-crossbones T-shirts, wrist cuffs and shoelaces.

“It’s kind of a rebel-type thing,” she explains. “People want something with a little fight in ‘em. You don’t mess with pirates.”

Yes, even in Yakima’s desert air, the Jolly Roger flies high, confirms Jules Nielsen, manager of Party Connection Costume & Balloonery.

Her store has doubled its pirate merchandise — eye patches, bandanas, feathered hats and plastic hooks — in preparation for Halloween.

“Pirates are really big with little kids,” says Nielsen, who pauses before adding, “and I’d have to add adults, too.”

And teenagers.

Jessica McPherson, a junior at Yakima’s Davis High School — home of the Pirates, of course — figures two things make pirates popular.

“Pirates are rebellious and a lot of teens are trying to be rebellious,” she says. “And Johnny Depp.”

Pirates got a definite boost from Depp’s Oscar-nominated performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.”

That swashbuckling, grog-swilling, sea-faring brio is what Summers and Baur call “piratitude,” a topic covered in their recently self-published book, “Well Blow Me Down! The Guys Guide to Talking Like a Pirate,” available on their Web site www.talklikeapirate.com.

“I think the reason pirates are fun is because of that swagger,” says Baur. “You don’t get to swagger much in your everyday life. But when you’re being a pirate, it’s like you have permission to be — in a good-spirited way — to just be outrageous. People not only don’t condemn you for it, they play along.”

As the story goes, the idea for Talk Like A Pirate Day came to these two average Joes living in Albany, Ore., during a heated game of racquetball in the summer of 1995.

After one uttered a painful “Arrrr” during the game, they proceeded to complete the match talking only in pirate jargon. It was so much fun that they designated a whole day to the ship speak — the Sept. 19 date is Summers’ ex-wife’s birthday. (They say she doesn’t mind.)

Entirely due to a lack of trying, for seven years the holiday failed to catch on outside their group of friends. Then in early 2002, Summers and Baur contacted humor columnist Dave Barry and convinced him to endorse the holiday.

A Sept. 8, 2002, syndicated column by Barry first introduced the nation to Talk Like A Pirate Day and launched a sea dog revolution.

Now in its third year of international observance, TLAP — that’s the short version — is becoming an honored date of celebration.

According to e-mails sent to Summers’ and Baur’s Web site, the Quambone School in the middle of the Australian Outback, a military base in Baghdad and Club 90, a bar at the South Pole, all have TLAP parties in the works.

Closer to home, celebrations criss-cross the country.

The Flying Pie Pizzaria in Boise, Idaho, will host its second annual TLAP party Sunday, complete with a pirate-themed potty.

The men’s restroom is decorated with island murals and a skull-and-crossbones toilet bowl brush. The women’s bathroom is decked out with mermaids.

“Our crew has already started to print out their vocabulary lists,” says owner Howard Olivier. “We just want to have as much fun as those guys (Summers and Baur). It’s just a beautiful, perfect little thing.”

And tonight, three time zones over, the Delaware Art Museum — which houses the foremost collection of Howard Pyle pirate paintings — is hosting an extravagant TLAP party featuring Johnny Depp’s double from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” a Jimmy Buffett tribute band and live “mermaids.”

“This is such a great match for us. We love to walk like pirates, we love to talk like pirates,” says Janet Davis, assistant director of the museum. “It’s amazing how many closet pirates there are. And it’s a great release from all the stress and seriousness of our lives.

“You can’t be too serious when you’re drinking grog and walking the plank.”

TALKING PIRATE:
You gotta talk the talk if you want to make the switch from a lilly-livered landlubber to a swashbuckling buccaneer. Here are a few basic terms to get you started:
* Ahoy — Hello.
* Avast — Stop and give attention or exclamation of surprise.
* Aye — Yes.
* Bilge rat — An insult referring to the rats that infested the ship’s lowest level.
* Buccaneer — A general term for the Caribbean pirates.
* Grog — An alcoholic drink.
* Matey — A cheerful, but not necessarily friendly, greeting.
* Splice the mainbrace — To have a drink … or a couple.
* Yo-ho-ho — Just something pirates say.

TIME FOR YOUR TUESDAY UPDATE

• Tonight, the BEER SHOPPE is hosting a beer tasting featuring the brews of Iron Horse Brewery out of Ellensburg. Greg, the head brewer of Iron Horse, will be there from 5-7 p.m., and the cost is $2.

• Also tonight, THE OVERTONES play the Yakima Sports Center at 7:30 p.m. No cover.

• And organizers of the Central Washington State Fair’s BATTLE OF THE BANDS contest have announced the bands that will compete this year:
- Bright Lit City
- Rishloo
- Orchard
- Chokeout
- From the Thief
- Fat City
- Tragedy Within
- Impact Hazard
- Pity Dog
- Truth Be Told
- Day of Death
- Adipose
- 47th Parallel (formerly Stagnant)
and
- Westra, back to defend it’s title.

The Battle of the Bands begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 on the Budweiser Stage. The concert is free with paid fair admission. (Oct. 1 is Snyder’s Bread Day.)
The winner will open for pop-punk band Bowling for Soup on Oct. 4, and receive $500 and eight hours of recording time at Cascade Productions in Cle Elum.

DRINK UP / GET FREE STUFF (HOPEFULLY)

In honor of reps from the LAGUNITAS BREWING COMPANY — makers of the tasty Lagunitas IPA —making a stop at the Yakima Sports Center tonight, here’s a reposting of Guilty Pleasures’ column about free beer swag. (Not that I know for sure there’ll be free stuff tonight, but I’m sure hoping.)

For Guilty Pleasures, there’s no cheaper thrill than getting high on life — and by high, Guilty Pleasures means 5,700 feet up.

Last weekend, Guilty Pleasures swallowed a deep, deep-seated fear of heights and rode the Silver Mountain Resort gondola — at 3.1 miles, it’s the world’s longest single stage gondola that carries people — up to the Dave Smith Motors Amphitheater atop Kellogg Peak in Idaho.

Most of the ride was spent gazing out at the view, then hyperventilating, then scouring the “Gondola Gazette” for random gondola facts to assure Guilty Pleasures that it was, in fact, safe. (The whole thing was made by a Swiss company, and if the Swiss can’t make a safe gondola, then no one can.)

The high-altitude adventure was for the annual Silver Mountain Brewfest, which this year featured bluesman Curtis Salgado, the man credited with inspiring John Belushi’s interest in the blues and being the genesis for the Blues Brothers.

Yes, beautiful scenery, a smokin’ blues legend and beer. Guilty Pleasures’ head nearly exploded from the fun of it all — and the altitude, of course.

But what really had Guilty Pleasures all giddy and lightheaded was all the free swag. When it comes to free stuff, Guilty Pleasures can spot it a mile away. It doesn’t matter if its a cheesy Frisbee, tote bag, ball point pen or sticky pad with some lame company logo on it, Guilty Pleasures will take it home (and then four months later put it in the pile of stuff to go to Goodwill).

But free stuff at beer festivals — keychain bottle openers, golf tees, bumper stickers, temporary tattoos and more cardboard coasters than you’ll ever need — now those are keepers.

It’s fun stuff. It’s stuff you’ll actually use and put on your car and proudly display for all the world to know that you too enjoy a frosty microbrew …

And most of all, it’s what makes dealing with all that annoying scrip worthwhile.

* Guilty Pleasures is a weekly (most weeks anyway) look at whatever Guilty Pleasures wants to look at.

MY NEW FAVORITE SONG

“We Used to Vacation” by the Cold War Kids

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/8rfDvpfC2bw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

The Cold War Kids open for The White Stripes on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.

— Kim Nowacki

ATTN: LOCAL BANDS

This is your last chance to get your application in for this year’s BATTLE OF THE BANDS at the Central Washington State Fair.

This contest is open to bands of three or more people, all of whom must be 30 or younger. A maximum of 12 bands will compete beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 on the Budweiser Stage. Each band will be allowed 15 minutes to perform either cover songs or its own compositions.

However, since this is a family event, “NO foul language or obscene gestures will be allowed,” the rules and regulations form states.

Contestants will be judged on vocal and instrumental performance, originality, stage presence and fan reaction.

The winner will open for pop-punk band Bowling for Soup on Oct. 4, and receive $500 and eight hours of recording time at Cascade Productions in Cle Elum.

The application, an example of your performance on CD, DVD or video, and a photo of your band must be mailed to or dropped off at State Fair Park, 1301 S. Fair Ave., by TOMORROW. There is a $20 entry fee.

Applications are available here and at State Fair Park. For more information, call Angie Larrabee at 248-7160, ext. 111.

* Above: Westra’s lead vocalist Michael Scott performs during the 2006 Battle of the Bands at the Central Washington State Fair. Westra won the contest and the opportunity to open for Loverboy.

Photo by KRIS HOLLAND/Yakima Herald-Republic

MONKEY BUSINESS AT BURNING MAN

I’M BACK.
The playa dust is still (literally) settling from my most recent trip to BURNING MAN, so forgive the lack of posts. I’ll get up to speed soon.

I’ll also get to all of this year’s playa chatter in an upcoming column — Yes, the man did burn twice. Yes, there was a swarm of newbies and jaded veterans jockeying for space close enough but not too close to the port-a-potties. Yes, the Green Man theme was inspirational until you looked around at all the plastic Vitamin Water bottles blowing in the wind. Oh, and yes, there were some nasty dust storms.

But there was also something else at Burning Man that had folks all wide-eyed and gasping in disbelief — in a good way.
Every year there’s an art installation that is the talk of the town. Last year it was the engineering marvel “Uchronia,” lovingly nicknamed the Belgian Waffle.
This year it was “HOMO OUROBOROS.” (I had no idea until just now that was the name. Most people just asked, “Have you seen the monkeys?”)

It’s hard to get the full concept from these videos but the thing was TERRIFYINGLY COOL. It busted the charts on the awwwe-factor and was great because it included audience participation.
Sure, “Crude Awakening” was dramatic in its fireball exit, but “the monkeys,” still win this year’s art excellence award.

More to come, stay tuned …

— Kim Nowacki