Once a year I set aside the third weekend in July for a very special event. One a year, I reunite with folks I've both befriended or simply given a nickname too, since I was 11 years old. Every year I look a little older, get a little wiser, broaden my musical interest. But this weekend remains more or less the same. The California WorldFest at the Nevada City Fairgrounds is my home-away-from-home.
As a dependent child living in my mother's world, WorldFest was an escape, like Harry Potter or theater. It was a world that existed long enough for me to forget the troubles of paying bills, living without electricity and daily arguments with my mom. In the comfort of the fairgrounds, Chelsea and I found good music, world-inspired food and my aunt's fun and spirited company. No longer was I under my mother's harsh complaints and overbearing behavior. Chelsea and I were the independent, witty and intellectual festival twins, token favorites of the DJs at KVMR and the local festival goers.
Every year I left my worries and entered a world all of my own. Where band members knew us by name and no one in Folsom could ever imagine us there. And that's how this festival remained for many years. We never invited friends or boyfriends. It was our own special weekend to be completly independent of the social expectations of others. When we finally invited a friend of ours, it was indeed fun and exciting, but felt different than every other year. Chelsea eventually invited Mike, who lapped up the musical talent of the bands, but did not partake in our ritual dancing. We didn't mind. Dancing was something Chelsea and I loved to do together.
This year, however, I finally did it. I let someone experience the world I kept all to myself for so long. With previous boyfriends, I knew they wouldn't appreciate WorldFest for how it has shaped and molded me into the eclectic and mature girl I was today. No, they'd have been bored and selfish, unadventurous in the food and unwilling to experience something different. But that was until I met Damon.
I invited him almost a year ago, convinced that even if the hippies and strange music wasn't his thing, he'd still revel in the unique opportunity to listen to music and eat great food under the pine trees of a beautiful mountainous region. And I was right =) He arrived Saturday. The moment I saw him I felt the combination of two important worlds, intertwining together with absolutely no difficulty. He looked relaxed and natural in this environment, a camping water bottle slung over his shoulder. I no longer felt like I wanted to keep WorldFest a hidden secret from my significant other. Damon was instantly welcome in my childhood world of good music and good fun. And there he would remain.
The rest of the day we checked out the different music stages. We sat and relaxed to some Cajun music and stood and swayed to Handful of Luvin', a band who remembered us from two years ago and stole the show with their upbeat, folk music. Damon munched on a Greek salad that night and napped on my feet that evening. That night, I got to snuggle up with him in Jeanne's living room, satisfied by his easy immersion into my annual festival. Even on Sunday, he had taken off his shoes and shirt for the warm July day. Halfway through another dose of Luvin', Mike arrived. The four of us, along with Jeanne and Ron, enjoyed the rest the last day at the festival.
Damon learned a few new tricks of juggling. He actually came up to dance with me during a groovy song from Handful of Luvin'. We played on The Green, with a beach ball to entertain us. Damon suggested a great sneaking game, which provided us hours of entertainment and fun during an evening show. And we even got to play with a Frisbee. =) All in all, it turned out to be the same ol' great festival, but much different thanks to the positive addition of Damon.
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