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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Since it is getting close to Independence Day in the United States, I thought I would show you a snap from a celebration we have every year here on the riverfront in St. Louis. We call it "Fair St. Louis", but it used to be called "The VP Fair". The Veiled Prophet Organization, a benevolent secret society in St. Louis, has a parade and Debutante Ball every year at this time, but years ago the city of St. Louis decided to separate the American Birthday Celebration from the Veiled Prophet, which, while shrouded in secrecy, also was involved in a certain amount of controversy, being elite-oriented and run by trade unions later on in it's history.
So, now we still have a Veiled Prophet Parade, which can be extremely uncomfortable due to the high heat and humidity in July in St. Louis, and Celebrate St. Louis (I suppose they have changed the name yet again), but they are now two separate events.
We used to have tremendous air shows during the VP Fair and then Fair St. Louis, especially back in the 1990's. They would happen three times a day for three days - there would be all sorts of military aircraft (we even had a stealth bomber a few times) and lots of vintage and competition aircraft, along with displays of water rescue from Coast Guard helicopters. My dad and I would go down early to watch the VP Parade and the first air show, then come home for some hours during the heat of the day and we would go back for the fireworks, which are always spectacular. This year I hope to get some shots from across the river, as a new observation deck has just been opened. I'm sure I will have to be there really early.
They have since canceled the air show. It's a shame, because that was one of the best parts. Now they have a barbecue cook-off and "Live on the Levee" with several bands. This year they will have Counting Crows (they're still around?), Little Feat (I think they might still have two remaining living members), Sonic Youth (they must be getting soft in their old age), Guster (saw them on Saturday Night Live, might be good), Train, Angie Stone, Gretchen Wilson (she's from around here) and Lupe Fiasco (might be hip-hop).
Of course, the weather is supposed to be 95 degrees with a "heat index" of like 110, as of today's weather report.
So, this was shot in 2004, off Ead's Bridge (they closed the bridge and put a bunch of food vendors on it and called it "Eat's Bridge" for this particular fair). This was a great place to watch the air show, but it was closed for the fireworks. While we were watching the air show, a real strong thunderstorm came in and soaked us to the bone and blew a bunch of the vendors stuff into the river. My good ol' Olympus 8080wz survived, though!
So, I'm done with Memphis for now - I thank you all who put up with it for so long. I'll still run the blues shots on Mondays, and maybe the occasional Memphis pic, but for now, done!
Have a great Tuesday! |
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