FREX

This was my second year playing at the FREX. Last year I received a call asking if I would accompany the Bonnie Kilburn Dancers during the stage shows. I had a lot of fun and was delighted to get the call again this year.

During the week we did 11 shows in 6 days. Last year I was asked several times whether I got bored of doing the same show. I don’t. I actually really enjoy doing the same show many times. Really, they are never the same. There are always things that go differently, some times well, some times poorly, but it makes it interesting. It is also interesting to see the show change as the week goes on.I enjoy being at the FREX and end up spending quite a bit of time in between the stage shows taking everything in.

One of my great delights was the day that the alpacas arrived. I love to knit and love alapaca yarn. It is very expensive, but very luxurious! I didn’t buy any this year, but certainly enjoyed looking around.

Last year I became fascinated with watching the aerial act outside. I had not really expected to like watching them, but became interested in watching their faces. I recognized the looks that sometimes come across the faces of performers. This year the outdoor show was put on by the Fearless Flores Family. Their acts included “The Wheel of Destiny”, “The Sway Pole” and “The Globe of Death”. The Wheelof Destiny was a pretty neat contraption where he could walk around on the inside or outside of the white cage and control the speed of the rotation of the whole thing.

Their sway pole had a unique feature which was that it was a break-away sway pole. She climbed up the top and then started swinging it “to the breaking point” at which point the top of the pole would swing down towards the ground.

Their final act was “The Globe of Death” in which they rode motor bikes inside a metal globe. At first there was just one person on a motor, then one person on a motor bike and one person standing in the middle, and then the grand finale was both of them riding motor bikes in this 14 foot globe. It was impressive to see.

The stage show, with which I became quite familiar, included 4 acts. It opened with a Romanian family who did a pole act. This was a very acrobatic act. We were the next ones up with fiddle music and step dancing.

After us was Claude and his trained horses and dogs. It was nice to watch the relationship he had with his animals. Finally, the Romanian family came back to do a quick change act. I had never seen one before and was really impressed with how interesting the act could be. I did not take any photos as really it would just look like people wearing different clothes. It is the kind of act that you would need to video.

I did not go on any of the rides or try any of the games, but I did enjoy my time watching the shows, visiting the alpacas and enjoying the food. Another good week!