Glen Ellen’s street fair is out of this world

Tin foil hats & cosmic couture

I hope that just about everybody in the Valley knows that something unique, wonderful and awesome is coming to Glen Ellen this weekend. It’s been 25 years in the making and is (in the mind of this simple columnist anyway), even bigger than last weekend’s extravaganza with the charming Mr. R. Starr. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of hyperbole (for which this column has always been known), but it’s as good as it gets in our home town. Fair enthusiast Shannon Lee suggests, “Get out your tin foil hats and cosmic couture.” And, I insist, get ready to rock and rocket. 

10/11/15 ~  GE aliens arrive

Yep, good folks, it’s the 25th annual Glen Ellen Village Fair this coming Sunday, Oct. 11. The fun begins at noon with a parade that may be among the shortest in this universe, but clearly among the best. Local scouts usually lead, flying the snappy, happy colors of the U.S. flag. I’ll be there. Will you?  

Clomping Clydesdales

Following close behind the flag bearers will be sweet Neil Shepard and his clomping Clydesdales, feathers flying. Neil’s wagon will be filled with happy passengers, all former Grand Marshals and Village Fair Committee members. 

Margie Everidge, whom we (unofficially) crown Queen Mother of Glen Ellen, will be riding high, right next to Neil. We expect that she’ll be waving to her many great-grandchildren and generations of her former day care “kids” lining the streets. 

We hope that Margie dons the special tricked-out Glen Ellen frock that is featured above. The Glen Ellen images that grace her dress were all created by Margie’s sweetie, Archie Horton, our town’s historic painter. 

Direct from Roswell

As for Archie, he will parade around wearing the official village fair staff shirt sporting an alien. Archie has special credentials for wearing that shirt. While in the U.S. Air Force in ’57, Archie was stationed at Walker Air Force Base. Yep, in that era, the base was located in Roswell, New Mexico. While it’s unlikely that Archie will give away any U.S. Government secrets, we do know that he was later assigned to a top secret “weather” position in Illinois. When Air Force folks talk about weather, we picture weather balloons, or maybe little discs, with little folk, such as first appeared, or didn’t, the same year that I, your little Glen Ellen columnist, was born … or was brought here by aliens, or whatever… 

Alien tales

As for aliens, and those who study them, we hope that local writer Rhys Wade and his Sweetie, puppeteer Lee Armstrong, will parade. Rhys is writing the definitive series on Roswell and its unusual visitors. Maybe he’ll bring books to hawk. 

Even my own Sweetie has a few alien tales to tell. He spent a few years in Exeter, New Hampshire. That’s where the “Incident at Exeter” occurred. That tiny town is also the home of galactic hitch-hikers Betty and Barney. Google away. 

Weather or no

While Archie’s shirt, with that familiar alien image, is reserved for staff only, the rest of us will be able to purchase an alien shirt from Leslie and Kevin Vaughn. They’ll be at the official T-shirt booth whipping these out on their handy, dandy portable T-shirt printing machine. 

Unfortunately, last year, both Leslie and the aforesaid machine overheated (given a blazing sun and the machine’s own red hot elements). Both machine and Leslie had to retire to a cooler spot. 

We can’t predict this year’s weather, weather balloons notwithstanding. Nor will we jinx our fair by claiming here in this column what the weather we don’t want to see that day, won’t happen. That four-letter weather phenomenon has not happened in all the 25 years of folks parading around Glen Ellen. 

On the other paw (and just how many paws does any alien sport?), if it does rain on our fair Fair day, I think we’d all be dancing a happy dance.

The parade continues with scores of school kids, animals, cars, trucks, fire engines, local folks, and, more. This year, we expect a goodly share of aliens, real and pretend, since that is the theme of this year’s parade and fair day. 

Dawn Kemp keeps all the paraders in line, more or less. The folks on the sidelines have to take care of that themselves. I warn you now, don’t be late for this parade. That caution applies especially to brand new Glen Ellen residents, folks like Dan Sullivan and his two cute kids and one beautiful wife. (I invite you four to your first hometown parade. Wave to me). 

Our parade may start rolling slowly, but it’s over before you know it. At two blocks long, it’s doesn’t take anyone much time to get from Carquinez to London Ranch Road, even less if you take the wormhole (to avoid the bridge trolls). 

Wild Rumpus Starts

Once the parade ends, the wild rumpus starts, with craft and food booths, information from local nonprofits and more, including lots of good tunes at the stage near the GE post office. Among those local performers at this year’s fair, we welcome The Solcats, Dan Martin, Nomarocksteady, and T-Luke & the Tight Suits.

I’m eager to hear T-Luke. His dear Papa, Richie Domingue and Gator Beat played at my 50th birthday. I well remember the yard full of Gumbo heads dancing into the dawn. T-Luke’s Sweetie, Ellen Toscano, is recently retired from a top spot at S.F.’s long-running Beach Blanket Babylon. However, my best memory is of Ellen in her schoolgirl uniform, prancing around Disneyland. She was on the St. Francis Academic Decathalon team that won the state prize, including a trip to that fantasy land. The band also includes Beau Bradbury, a hometown bro from Sonoma Mountain, and Alex Garcia, another St. Francis alum. We welcome these talented young folks to Glen Ellen.  

Street Eatin’

As for the food and craft booths, I tend to eat my way from Warm Springs Road down to London Ranch Road and then waddle back, buying interesting gifts to bless all my family at Christmas. 

By the time I get around to dancing off those treats, the hay bales surrounding the stage by the post office are full. Sometimes Sweetie brings me a chair.

It takes a solar system

This year’s beautiful outer space quilts, featuring solar systems and aliens, were created by the Glen Ellen Quilters and the kids of Dunbar School. Each is unique and will make some lucky raffle winner happy. That highly-anticipated event, the raffle, occurs near the end of the day. Usually some cute kid is chosen from the audience, invited to take the stage and draw out the winning ticket. We all want to be winners, so buy your raffle tickets often and repeatedly during the fair, to supplement all those you bought in the weeks before. 

We especially want to thank the fine folks who created this year’s amazing “It Takes a Solar System” quilt. Those creative stitchers include Margie Foster, Deb Pool, Pamela Wiley, Marsha Moran, Susan Reber, Nancy Murray, Cathy Leonard, Leslie Smith, and especially Mary Ann Carr, who designed the central medallion. These quilters have all shown years of dedication to the fund-raising quilt.

Cleanup time

Finally, while our Glen Ellen Village Fair closes at 5 p.m., everyone is invited to help clean up. You know the routine: many hands make light work. Please plan to make a quick clean-up a part of your fair day.

Questions about the fair? Email the fair committee at glenellenfair@att.net and follow along with all the village fun on Facebook at Glen Ellen Village Fair. 

I’ll have follow up news in my next I-T column. That column runs on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Many of you have called me, asking when my column appears. It’s been reduced, since January, to only two columns a month. If you’d like to see that changed, write the I-T editor. For now, I’ll see you Sunday, noon ’til 5; introduce yourself, if we haven’t met.  

The Folks in Glen Ellen column also appears online. Look for my column on the Index-Tribune website sonomanews.com under the category Lifestyle. Click on my name for current columns. Old columns can be found by entering “Sylvia Crawford” into the paper’s search box. Want to see your own name in the news? Call or write me at 996-5995 or P.O. Box 518, GE 95442. Or email me at Creekbottom@earthlink.net. Glen Ellen chatter rarely requires timeliness; however, if your news does, please be sure to contact me at least three weeks before your desired publication date.