Floyd Fandango is Here to Stay
At the first annual Floyd Fandango, an autumnal beer tasting carnivale hosted by the founders of Floyd Fest, my husband and I saw a clown balance a wheelbarrow on his head while juggling sticks. We got advice from a talking crystal ball, rode on a Ferris wheel, drank mead, and ate handmade potato chips. Unfortunately, we had a prior commitment in the evening and could only spend 4 hours at the event. According to the schedule printed in the Fandango pamphlet, we missed a snake charmer, a fire eater, a magic act, and even country rocker Junior Brown, one of the headlined musical performances.
Billed as a two day “Faire, Carnivale and Brewe” our Fandango experience began this past Sunday at 12:30 in the on-site festival parking lot with what in Grateful Dead concert-going circles would be called “a miracle” ticket. I knew I was about to enter a magical space when a woman approached me and said, “Do you need a ticket? We have an extra.” She handed me a ticket and then walked away without a word about re-imbursement. The sun was shining as the wind picked up and billowy clouds rolled by. I tightened the collar of my sage green wool sweater and began the adventure. 
I was there for an education in beer, and I got one. Although I love the taste of good wine, I don’t feel well when I drink it, and so I have turned to beer as my designated alcoholic beverage. While visiting friends in Belgium ten years ago, I discovered that I could actually love beer, but the difference between amber and ale was lost on me. In restaurants, I have been known to order “New Balance” (which are sneakers) when I meant to order “New Castle” (a dark but not Guinness dark beer).
With my pen and notepad in hand, and with the help of beer booth attendants, I wrote down the following informal list of beers in descending order from darkest to lightest types: stout, porter, bock, larger, amber, ale, pilsner. This list alone was worth the price of admission, of which I didn’t pay, but there was more adventures to be had at Floyd Fandango.
My husband made me nervous on the top of the Ferris wheel. I can handle heights, but only if everyone involved stays perfectly still. He was flaying his arms about as he talked and pointed out sights below. I managed to gesture to the sign in bold red letters on the back of the seat in front of ours, “Do Not Rock Seat,” as I shrunk down into mine.
Back on the ground, we socialized with old friends and met a few new ones, many of whom wore costumes, whimsical hats, and sported colorful face painting. We browsed the vending booths, which featured everything from pottery and flutes to real estate and tractors. At lunch time, a man sitting at the café table next to mine offered to share some of his salami. Two young girls approached us selling cut roses. Such things can happen at a Fandango, of which one dictionary definition defines as “tomfoolery.”
The band, American Dumpster, whose lead singer was described by the Charlottesville Daily this way: “young Bob Dylan’s charisma with Howlin’ Wolf’s voice,” was warming up when I looked at my watch and noticed how late it was getting. We pulled ourselves away.
While walking back to the parking lot, my husband stopped at the Strong Man carnival game. He lifted a giant mallet and let it go, ringing the bell on its top. Apparently he’s a he-man, but there was no time for him to receive his awarded prize. We held hands as we continued walking reluctantly back to our car. He looked slightly dejected at having to leave the fun behind.
“Cheer up,” I said to him. “We’ll come back again next year.”
Note: For more information about Floyd Fandango, Floyd Fest and other related festivals go to floydfest.com. Check out my Floyd Fest archives HERE.
October 24th, 2006 12:38 am
I would have taken my camera and would love to stop at the top of the ferris wheel. What a view, what pictures you could get…. make mental note to self….. go ride a ferris wheel.
October 24th, 2006 1:59 am
Great event! Like a country fair and more (I didn’t go to my first country fair until after we moved down here). I love stout beer, but Mary gave me an education in mead, which she proceeded to make using water, honey (or maple syrup), yeast, somplace warm (the top of our gas stove up north, a window sill here), and a very clean and burp-able former dishwashing liquid bottle.
October 24th, 2006 4:13 am
Joe IS a strong man….Ringing the bell is not an easy thing, is it? Oh I am sorry you all couldn’t wait to get his prize…poo!
This Fandango really sounds like fun and the Ferris Wheel sounds great, too! (Except for the rocking of that seat…lol…I would not like that at all…)
I cannot get over the numerous activities that are available in Floyd….so very many interesting and wonderful things that get people together for “fun”…!
Next year…no other committments on Fandango Day….I want to hear about the Snake Charmer!
October 24th, 2006 7:56 am
We’ll have to go there next year! Bobby loves beer also and knows the difference between them. I just know I tend to like the lighter colored ones!LOL We were at a pumpkin patch getting lost in a corn maze last weekend. If I’d known what this was all about, we’d have been there instead!
I’m the same way on a Ferris Wheel! I took the girls to one in Salem 2 Summers ago and kept yelling at them not to move..especially when we got stuck at the top! I’ll ride most rollercoasters though!:)
Sounds like a wonderful day in Floyd!!!
October 24th, 2006 8:02 am
Colleen, with every post about Floyd, you make me want to visit there, and this one is no exception. I love beer, but it’s pilsner for me, everytime!
October 24th, 2006 9:15 am
I tend to go for the stouts and porters–especially in winter.
Now to see a clown juggle and balance a wheelbarrow after having down a few beers…
October 24th, 2006 9:37 am
I agree with you about Belgium beers. I never cared for beer before I lived in Vienna where my tastes went to dark beers. That fandango celebration sounds like it was a beautiful and fun day. The music soundtrack on my video is from B-Tribe’s “Suave, Suave” I have a link in that post to more about this great group.
October 24th, 2006 9:38 am
fun!!!! when i first read about that, i briefly considered making the trip down, but we already had commitments over the weekend. maybe next year- i’ll have to decide between floydfest or the fandago!
October 24th, 2006 9:43 am
I like beer up on the darker range too…porter is good but stout is sometimes too dark for me. After all that sampling and those homemade chips, we didn’t eat any real food all day.
Joe did take photos from up on the Ferris Wheel, but I complained about him moving the whole time and I was SURE he was going to drop the camera. By the time I sized them down for the blog, they weren’t some of the better ones.
I actually enjoyed Fandango more than Floyd Fest because it was sweet and mellow. So much is going on at once during Floyd Fest…so many bands and events to choose from that I can get overwhelmed.
October 24th, 2006 10:20 am
Did you happen to see my husband at the Junior Brown show that evening drinking the “dog leg humping beer”, having a ball with his adult buddy while I was entertaining children in the mountains?
He loved it. I wish I could’ve gone. He said it was something I would enjoy. I too like the way beer makes me feel way more than wine. I like wine but can get very sleepy on it. I just don’t like the dark beers. I have found that I love Stella Artois, it may be Belgium, I can’t remember.
The pictures are great and I am so tickled to get to see what the Fandango looked like! It looks like quite a happy celebration!
October 24th, 2006 10:51 am
Ah! That was my favorite beer of the festival! I have the coaster with me now and so I know that the official real name is “Old Leghumper.” You should have heard some of the alternative names I kept coming up with trying to say it. On the bottom of the coaster it says “So many legs…So little time!”
October 24th, 2006 11:19 am
The Floyd Fandango sounds like a fine festivus, indeed. I go through stages where I really enjoy beer drinking. My husband, a bourbon and scotch drinker, does enjoy a really dark beer. I prefer lighter, as I’m a lightweight in alcohol consumption these days. I like amber a lot. We purchase St. Arnold here to support the local microbrewery. We toured their brewery and enjoyed learning about their operation. And they make a really fine root beer, too.
October 24th, 2006 1:07 pm
Yes… but did you have an Elephant Ear or a corn dog? 🙂
Important festival fuel for tomfoolery.
~S 🙂
October 24th, 2006 1:56 pm
SO, how many times have you seen the Grateful Dead??
Sounds like a blast.
October 24th, 2006 3:20 pm
I’ve been in to see the G.Dead about a dozen times, but as far as time spent in the parking lot vending during concerts, much more than that. I liked the Dead enough in the 60s but didn’t get into them for real until I met Joe in 1986. I stopped going when Jerry died. The down payment on our house, which I bought in 1991 came largely from selling jewerly at Grateful Dead concerts.
Only got a Grateful Dead miracle ticket once.
October 24th, 2006 11:39 pm
Nothing like a good old fashioned fall fair!! I loved the ferris wheel! I always wanted my dad, or some boy to win me a panda bear at a game! I was a pushover for pink candy floss and taffy apples!
October 25th, 2006 7:51 am
Martin brought a glass home as a souvenir that had the so many legs line…very cute.
I showed him your post with the pictures last night…he said “I looked around and wondered if Colleen was there but never saw her.”
October 25th, 2006 10:42 am
Would he have won a stuffed bunny?
Next fall I’ll have to get myself out to a fair.
October 25th, 2006 11:22 am
Made me think of Paragon; except the beer part.
Speaking of which…
I’ve grown to like beer to. Killians, a full bodied reddish beer, is my favorite. Do they have it down your way?
October 25th, 2006 6:14 pm
Yes, I like Killians. It’s in the mid range of my list. But there are other beers I like better. Try New Castle.
October 25th, 2006 9:48 pm
Newcastle and Anchor Steam are two of my favorites, right there with a bunch of different India Pale Ales and Extra Special Bitters. I am such a beer guy, through and through. A really good beer during the evening can completely change my mood. But since I never drink more than one, it must just be psychological. I’ll definitely have to make it to next year’s Fandango.
October 29th, 2006 7:24 pm
This looked like a lot of fun and held during the weekend us islanders were enjoying the Seafood Festival. I’m not a beer drinker at all…pass the French wine, please. But I have to say…tried beer in Dusseldorf and I was hooked! European beer surpasses the American stuff!