Pan of the Crowd
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This weekend was highlighted by my new most favortist perennial Austin event "Eeyore's Birthday"
Started in 1963 by Lloyd W. Birdwell, Jr. and some of his friends, the event started off as a celebration of all things "Bohemian." This year marked the 39th celebration, and it apparently has changed much over the years.
In previous decades the costumes were a lot more sexually outrageous and many had a "drug" theme. As the event has garnered more of a "family" feel, the naughty costumes have been seen less and less in attendance. Drugs, Tribal Dance, and just getting fucked-up in general used to be the Earthy type of theme.
This IS Austin of course, and the smell of certain herbs being smoked at every other picnic blanket is hard to miss. I'm not sure how the cops feel about this, (I'm all for legalizing pot), I suspect they just give up and turn the other cheek. I totally love it, and the whole herbal feeling really creates the lucid atmosphere that I think symbolizes Austin's laid back attitude.
Highlights of the event include: the all-day continuous drum circle, dancing, egg-spoon race, hoopers, jugglers, turkey legs, and of course-- BEER!
Check out the vids below for more highlights!
The infamous Drug..err..Drum Circle.
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The drum circle is amazing! Over a hundred men and women banging out a beat that will make your heart try to race with it.
Apparently there is a leader, who sets the tone and beat, so it's not total anarchy. The leaders change over the course of the day, as I imagine they get tired, dehydrated, or a little too blotto.
You can hear the drumb beats from virtually every corner of Pease Park, and although it's not nearly as overpowering as when you are right up on it, the effect gives the whole event a tribal feeling to it. Like you can hear the natives dancing over the on the other side of a tropical mountain.
Leslie shows some ass for the camera. The woman says "Oh..lovely."
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What event would be complete with out Leslie? Austin's own transvestite homeless person and sometimes Mayoral Candidate.
(oops..ya gotta tilt your head on this one! ~hehe~)
This year he had a big sign about how the Austin Police Department had falsely harassed and arrested him. He was looking a lot more ragged they days, and I fear the streets are really taking a toll on him.
Amazingly, he spent the whole day as the center of attention. You simply MUST go find Leslie and pay homage to him. He tirelessly posed thousands of photo-ops, and generally kept everyone entertained by being is nutty outrageous self.
Tribal Dance
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The Tribal Bathrooms. This area of the park is notorious for the batroom cruising. Since it is practically a natural stage, it is used by many of the music performers and you can swing on by and see a variety of acts.
The troupe of tribal dancers were particularly engaging. I know I didn't get close enough, but the music was awesome, and these women were shaking their heads so hard that I feared their brains were sloshing around in them.
Occasionally one of the girls would come forward and really get her groove on, and the audience cheered harder, egging her on to gyrate even more.
Hoola Hoopers
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Eeyore's feels like a tribute to the 1960's. Complete with tie-dye, pot, and all the fads of that era. Hoola Hoops abound, but I never did find a large group. I know, like the Jugglers, that there is a troupe that can be found performing in one part of the park.
This was the group that I found, but they were mostly young'uns learning the ropes.
"Yeah! Beat the Hell out of him!
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Not only is Pease park home of the gay boys, but those nutty Renaissance people practice all their jousting and battling techniques there. So they always have a showing at these events.
I was fascinated by the battles ensuing.
The three battles I witnessed were men against women, and the men got their asses kicked. It REALLY looked like they just couldn't bring themselves to beat up or hit a girl. Really, they would gently hit, then cower back.
The girls had no such qualms. One lesbian was standing right next to me and was yelling "Yeah! Beat the hell out of him!"
Ok, I kept telling myself, it's therapeutic, right?
Richard and Jim Jugglin'!
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The multi-talented and multi-faceted, Guerilla Queer Bar General, Richard McKinnon was also there, and it was great seeing him. I REALLY need to start going to GQB again! Such nice guys and a cool way to go to bars/restaurants that I wouldn't normally attend.
Jim (the juggler on the right) is a new friend, but you might have spotted him in a previous journal entry about Texas Swing. Jim is not only is an amazing juggler, but he can usually be found blading at the Rainbow Skate nights.
He must have performed for a couple hours, and I looked for his friend Heather (hi Heather!) but couldn't spot her in the crowd that had formed around the jugglers.
I was pleasantly surprised to Richard jump in there and juggle with Jim! This guys got brains and finely tuned motor skills!
Death by bubbles.
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NO! Don't do it! You're to young to die!
This little tyke had an amazing new toy that could really pump out the bubbles! The toy looked like a space-age ray gun, and would fire an alarming number of bubles when the trigger was pulled.
Unfortunately, the kid was far too interested in where the bubbles were coming from, and kept the gun aimed right at his face, whereby the bubbles would shoot out and hit him smack in the face. Not too bright, but he's young, and there was a cloud of smoke around this area.
Way too young to be trippin!
Hot, Hot, HOT Dancer boy!
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We walked over to the otherside of the hill that kinda splits Pease Park in half, and the younger Club Kid type crowd was hanging out and dancing to a lived DJ blasting trippy beats.
We seemed to be everywhere this guy was. He is of mixed heritage..Asian and..um..Hispanic? or Caucasion? I dunno, but he got all the best genes from both sides. Amazing body, amazing face, and an amazing dancer too.
He was real friendly with everyone, and I should have gone up and asked him to pose, but I dunno, didn't feel like werkin it.
Check out the way this guy moves! ~swoon~
Dog Tired.
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I stayed for almost four hours, and it was a great time. By the time I left at 6pm I, and many others, felt like this puppy. Not sure if the dog is looking for some darkness, covering his ears, or just looking for a cool spot to rest, but I could really relate!
Ok, that's it for this entry..and my Sunday..geez..this took a long time to put together!
See ya in seven.
