Sonshine ’08

I’m sitting in a motor home backstage at Sonshine Music Festival. I am dog tired. I made more turkey and vegetable wraps for the artists today than I could count. Yesterday I cut up about a zillion apples. For the artists. For a fruit salad. Then I was a part of a human assembly line, passing boxes from one refrigerator truck to another because the first truck broke down and quit it’s tiring, “keep the food cool” job. It was a random and beautiful moment, as simple as it was. All of the team working together, laughing and talking while hoisting boxes of food in our attempt to save the day.

All the while there’s the thump thump thump of the bass coming from main stage, and the roaring of the crowd, anxiously shouting for their favorite band to come on and rock the party.

(If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, this is the 27th year of Sonshine. It started when I was six . I have been here every year since then, except last year when I had Asher at the same time. My mom is one of the founders/directors of Sonshine and her favorite part is hospitality.)

Speaking of my mom. She’s insane. In a good way. She hardly sleeps, refuses to use a biffy, and is running around making sure all the artists are happy. I will brag about her now and say that Sonshine has the reputation it does largely because of my mom. She really likes to make people happy and has a servant’s heart. She’s the bomb diggity of festival food. My sister does a lot of the over-seeing and planning and all that jazz too, so it’s a family affair. My dad and I? We do as we’re told.

So many people volunteer their time year after year, the same friendly faces, working tirelessly to make an event hosting 20,000 fans and over a hundred bands and four stages work.

It’s pretty amazing that we feed all of these people. Not the fans, that’s just plain silly. But the artists. Think of it. Over a hundred bands, many with five plus members, their road crew, management, etc. All fed under a big tent backstage, volunteers running around crazily re-filling the salad bar, the beverages, and all kinds of foods. People wiping down tables as soon as someone stands up. Others loading up to-go containers for artists that are literally “on the go.” And many more in the background, in another tent, preparing more food and doing dishes like mad. It’s quite a scene.

I have my camera today, so I’ll try to get some photos to share.

My boys are enjoying what Miles calls “Nanny’s party.” How sweet is that. In many ways, it’s still Nanny’s party. It’s grown from the little concert on a hill it once was….to this well-known event. But one thing never changed. People still work their tails off in that hospitality tent. Other festivals may send the artists off with money to buy their own food from a vendor somewhere. Nope, not Sonshine. We’ll be rolling those wraps, cutting that fruit, flipping made-to-order omelets and grillin‘ up chicken until the day this thing ends.

And when it comes to my mom, I’ll happily say I’m proud she’s mine.