Sunday, September 30, 2007

Flecktoberfest!!!

Good things are happening all around me... so much so that I'm having trouble finding the time to document them... thus, I must start somewhere, and what better place to start than Flecktoberfest in Bellingham with one of my favorite families in the world... Jon, Lisa, Audrey, and Emma Fleck.

Jon and I met at Western Washington University, as teammates on the Men's Varsity Soccer Team. We roomed together and shared many wonderful memories. Since that time, we have kept in touch and our families have tried to hookup when possible. There are lots of good things happening in Bellingham, and if life in West Seattle wasn't so satisfying, I would probably contemplate a move to join my Bellinghamster friends up north.

Anyway, every year Jon and Lisa open up their warm and welcoming home and put together a memorable Octoberfest celebration...



A great smorgasbord of potluck foods... yummy salads, delicious desserts, barbecue grub,etc.,



... and of course nice cold home-brew from various brewers around the neighborhood.



It's a great family event, with parents socializing and warming by the fire,



kids running around, twirling on the swings, jumping on the pogo sticks,



hula hooping...



and getting the elders to join in.



I've been fortunate enough to attend the last five years, reveling in the celebration and increasing the number of wonderful people I call friends... I'm not sure how many years Flecktoberfest has been taking place, but it's a great tradition, celebrating community, people, and good things.

This year we were treated to some fun entertainment... an excellent trio of musicians came together to play an uplifting set of tunes for the evening. Despite the rain, they rocked the house (with a much fuller sound that the tinny video below) and brightened our spirits!



In the middle of the show, we were graced with a re-incarnation of Ethel Murman, as Lisa Fleck impersonated her, while belting out the Violent Femmes "Blister in the Sun". It was awesome!



What fun! Making good things happens is what this blog is all about... and the Fleck Family excels in this category. Long live Flecktoberfest... see you next year!