INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 36)

Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

The Biggies and More...

Judi and I have attended and volunteered at a number of fundraising auction dinners. These are a lot of fun and, of course, raise money for worthwhile causes. In the next few articles, I am going to tell you about two of the larger and more interesting fundraising dinners we have visited and about some of the funny things that we have seen at other fundraising auctions we have attended!

National Rifle Association Annual Meeting (Pittsburgh - Continued)

The Vice President of the United States of America

The guest speaker for the event’s evening Gala was the then 46^th Vice-President under President George W. Bush, Dick Cheney. I’ve been to a number of high-profile events, but nothing, in my experience, compared to this! There were police, secret service and police dogs everywhere! Even though Vice President Cheney wasn’t due to speak until later that evening, the banquet room was constantly being “swept” when the room was being set-up for the lunch banquet. As a matter of fact, Judi spoke during the morning set-up with a Pittsburgh police officer who told her some of what was happening. Once the luncheon was over, everyone was ordered out of the hall and then a thorough inspection was performed. No one was allowed back into the hall until the doors were opened for the evening event. Judi and I did not have tickets to the evening event, but Sam and his wife, Sandy, did. Sam later told us what happened at the event. When they arrived, all the guests had to stay outside the hall in a reception area. They stayed there for quite some time but eventually were allowed in. Cheney was scheduled to speak in person to the group. A large screen had been set up ready for Cheney’s speech so that everyone could see the Vice President. The crowd waited patiently for the Vice President to appear! Nothing!! Finally, there was an announcement that the Vice President would not appear in person, but would give his speech from a different room (undisclosed location). The speech would be broadcast over the large screen. I am sure most of those in attendance must have been very disappointed, after all, Cheney was the main draw to the event!  I am sure that there must have been a good reason for this drastic change, after all, the safety of the Vice President came first! I would not want to have been him!