The Energy Fair 2016

Sunset at the Back 40. That's my tent in the foreground.

This weekend was an annual tradition for my dad and me. We went to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association's (MREA) Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair. That's the full title. It is quite a mouthful so whenever we talk about it at home it is either the Energy Fair or just the Fair if we have already been in conversation about it and don't need to clarify which fair we mean.

A hayfield Friday morning of the way to the Fair.

The Fair is a great place to meet people who want to learn about how to be more sustainable in their lives and take the workshops that will help you get started. This year's fair is of course finished now, but if you want to attend next year, the Fair is always held the third weekend of June, the weekend closest to the summer solstice and Father's Day weekend.

We fill this whole field, a small field just over the hill in the
background and a second larger field which is behind me in this picture.

Every year my dad and I volunteer at the Fair in the parking lot. Each morning we get up around 4:45 or so, so that we can have breakfast and get ready and get to the fair grounds. We sleep at the Back 40 Campground, a parcel of about 35 acres that the MREA uses as a campground for people attending the Fair each year, it is about 2 miles from the fair grounds and this year we decided to walk over each morning instead of taking our bikes. Halfway there on Friday and Saturday we hitched a ride with a couple of the other long-time parking lot volunteers.Our shift starts at 6:00 and I usually work until 10:00 so I can attend workshops. Dad goes until 10:00 if he has a workshop or longer if not and if they still need the experienced help. One year he stayed out there from 6:00-12:00 and that was a crazy hot year. Luckily they have someone come around every 30-45 minutes with a water cooler and cups to replenish us.

Dad is the tiny person in the center of this picture.

The weather is always what Mother Nature decides to give us each year. This year was an excellent solar energy spill, AKA a nice day. (This is a t-shirt I saw at one of the vendors' booths and almost bought: Whenever there is a huge spill of solar energy, it's just called a nice day.) Some years though we've had cold, wind, rain, thunder and lightening. The fair got struck by lightening one year too, that was exciting. But whatever it is, we deal with it, even if it was torrential rains and the parking lot turns into a muddy swamp and cars need to be pushed out. That was an interesting year. There was mud halfway up the hubcaps in some spots.

Sunset over the fair after dinner Friday night.

This isn't the same as one of my solo adventures, (read about those here 1, here 2A, here 2B, here 2C) but it is still an adventure and a chance for me to step out of my comfort zone. For the most part the people at the Fair have quite a bit in common and there is always something to talk about. For me though, the problem is always coming up with a question at the time when questions are being asked and then voice that question. I did end up having a conversation with one presenter at the end of the Fair, the last workshop of the weekend, which meant there were a grand total of 5 people in this audience. So it was more like a one-on-one conversation, which I can totally handle, instead of being singled out in a crowd of 20 or more often twice that. He was presenting on "How to Grow Your Own Broom," which has been an interest of mine and I took a step toward adding to my creative repertoire earlier this year.

The fairgrounds before the people arrive.

I did continue my sketches of my adventures on this trip, however I had to go a little smaller and only take my pocket sized sketchbook and my technical pen, which I almost had to throw out because I lost the cap for a while in the parking lot. The pen is dead grass colored and I was standing in a field covered in dead mown grass. Go figure. I did one sketch each morning before the people really started filing in.

The parking field, the little figure is my dad, his job is near the beginning,
making sure people keep moving, mine is making sure they park in straight lines.

I love going to the Fair, there is usually something new to see or learn each year. And I get to see the people I usually only see at the fair or by chance at other times of the year. I may have even gotten an offer for a place to stay when I am hiking the southern part of the Ice Age Trail next spring.

The exhibitors tents from my hill top view.

I always come home with new ideas and plans for things I want to try. But the problem is always that I don't know how to implement the new ideas in my current situation and with my current funds. There are so many other things I am already trying to keep going with, to keep up with and many of the ideas don't fit with where I am right now. I almost bought a currant bush to plant at home, had they still had some when I went by on Sunday, I would have.

The wind turbine, really flying on Sunday as the wind had picked up.

I'll have to see where I am next year. I hope I will have finished my Ice Age Trail hike by the time the Energy Fair comes around again, but if not there is always the year after that!