Sue's Blog - Some assembly required.

A bit of a posh do.........

I had a wonderful invitation on Tuesday.
A couple of friends have generously donated their skills and time to the above event.
They are an interior designer and a floral artist. They are creating beautiful floral displays to the Paws & Claws Gala Dinner.
This is in aid of the Wisconsin Humane Society......not the place I volunteer at now but somewhere I volunteered when we first arrived 14 years ago (yes really it is that long!).

Anyway, I hadn't been invited to the 'do'......at $250 a head that is just a little beyond me....but my friends had been invited to a 'thank you reception' for all the people who had donated in one way or another but one of my friends couldn't make it.
So the other one took ME !!!
It was fab.
I got a chance to wear my posh frock & high heels.
It was in a very tra la posh lakefront restaurant. We had wine and appetizers (silly name for nibbles on plates brought round by waiters).
We were treated like royalty (bout time too) and I got to talk to some very nice people. I even spoke to the executive director of the humane society.......and she was very pleasant.
My friend said we made some good contacts, hopefully for his business and who knows, maybe even for me.
It was brill to go out unexpectedly in the middle of the week.
So kind of him to ask me. I secretly think it was because he knows I will talk to anybody and he is a bit shy.

The International Kite Festival is on at the lakefront this weekend.
It made me a little sad.
I would usually be heading over the pond around this time of year but this year money has been a bit tight with unexpected bills etc, so for the first time since we have been here it looks like I won't be going.
I have been fortunate that Donna and Lauren have visited 3 times this year but I won't get to see Glenn or any of my old mates.
And I miss them.
When I heard about the kite festival it made me think of some of my friends as they often get together for kite flying weekends.
The kite festival here is a huge event and I have to admit, I wonder if it would be as good as the events they attend.
When we first came over here we were thrilled that Milwaukee hosted GenCon.......a huge gaming & scifi convention. We could walk there from where we lived at the time....downtown...and we did.
We had been to a few European GenCons. They had been held in Camber Sands and the last one we went to was in a university in Leicester I think.
They were a lot of fun. People were very friendly and everything was laid back and easy going.
People could set their own games up in the bars etc.
But, the ones in Milwaukee were nothing like that. They were so totally organised. You had to book up to play games laid on only by the organisers or makers of the games.
There was nowhere you could just set something up yourself. The food was outrageously expensive and there no bars.
Beer or any alcohol.......forget that.
Sure they had some big names who came in to sign autographs or to speak to the masses, but the whole feel of the event was different. It was sort of indifferent.
I happened to fall in with a bunch of live action role players who were a lot of fun and I made some friends I still have contact with all these years later.
But we much preferred the Euro GenCon which done on a much smaller scale, with far less outlay and far more improvisation.
I just wonder if the kite festival would be a similare experience. It is probably wonderfully organised but it could suffer from this and be over organised.
Anyway, it has made me miss my mates. I shall just have to hope to be able to see them next year.
Facebook is a wonderful tool. It enables me to keep up with all their "goings on"....outings, weekends away etc. Plus I get to see all the photos too. Really helps me to still feel part of it all even though I am not there.

Frank Mots International Kite Festival at Veteran's Park

30 Great Years! The World will be Watching Us Fly! The 30th Annual Frank Mots International Kite Festival will be held on Saturday, September 13th,& Sunday September 14th, 2008, in Veterans Park on Milwaukee's Lakefront from 10a.m. -5p.m. Sat. and 10a.m.-5p.m. Sun. County Executive Scott Walker will kick off the festival at Non with a grand launch of hopefully 500 kites. That's right...two great days of flying. The event is sponsored by the Kite Society of Wisconsin and Illinois, and Gift of Wings, and our newest sponsors, Milwaukee County Parks, 102.1 WLUM, B93, and 1290am WMCS. Featured performers include Chicago Fire, feraturing Eric Wolfe, the new Revolution Kite Flying Team...IQUAD, featuring John Barresi. Mots also will feature Josh and Zack Gordon, Charlie Sotich, Team Pegasus, Dan Newman, Paul Koepke, Paula Schenk, Mike Delfar, Ann Brinnehl, & Donna Schenk as Mrs Kite Lady, and the kites of Yves LaForest. Yves Laforest will feature 2 GIANT Octopi kites flying high over Milwaukee. The Grand Launch of around 500 kites will take place directly at noon. The professional kite teams will start performing at 12:30 pm followed by the Kids Mad Dash at around 2:00. See Roscoe from the Milwaukee Admirals, and Bango from the Bucks. This festival is FREE with plenty of FREE parking. This kite festival is one of the largest in the country and will draw nearly 25,000 folks during the two days of kite flying. Veterans Park in one of the top ten best kite flying park in the United States.

I suppose it is free which can't be bad.

posted by Sue Banks @ 1:28 PM