Southern California Fair

Here we are in sunny, southern California! We left early Friday morning with the usual mound of suitcases it takes for 10 people to travel together.

Our flights went really well. The weather was great and everything was on time. Ed, Steve and I all got to sit together.

Upon arrival, we loaded the vans.  No, we couldn’t see out the back window.

The view along the way….

We arrived here late afternoon. We checked into the hotel and promptly found an In N Out burger to satisfy our appetites! Then we did some grocery shopping and got a good nights sleep.

Saturday was a long day. We arrived at the fair at 9:30 and settled into our break room. The bad news is, it’s a kitchen. The good news is, it’s a kitchen! We have a microwave, a coffee pot and a walk in refriderator. That’s pretty cool! (pun intended)

The guys played for the opening ceremonies then strolled the grounds a bit. They played four shows the first day but the times were spread out until 7:30 pm.  It makes for a long day.  The fair grounds aren’t very large, but everyone is very friendly and the grounds are kept very clean.  It seems like a nice family fair with lots of things for young ones to do.

Here they are playing after the opening ceremonies.

Strolling the grounds.

Entertaining some diners.

Hmmmm, staff cleaning??

This is the greatest thing!  Turkeys chasing a remote control truck full of turkey feed!

I think they need to get the band out there with those turkeys!

The Indiana State Fair

I can’t believe it’s August and the state fair has come, and is almost gone. Today is the last day the band will play there. Tomorrow they have a job at the Lucas Oil Stadium for the third time this week. They have been busy little players!

The band has been crazy busy since getting back from California. They have played at several county fairs and other various jobs around the city. On a personal note, we have been busy recovering our basement from the floods that happened in June. It was a huge job, but we have finished and things are as good as new. It is the reason why there has not been any posting since California.

For the band, the best thing at the Indiana State Fair, came in the package of an 81 year old lady name Liz. She is the first official band groupie! Liz came to the fair every single day and I think she made every performance the band played. On her 81st birthday, she danced the girl number with Adam and they sang “Happy Birthday” to her.

Liz is a very active lady and is still working! As you can see, she can still cut a rug.

We love you Liz, and can’t wait to see you next year!

Here are some photo’s I took from this years fair.

Edward

Daniel (Love that new hat!)

Singing?

High five

Somehow, there is always a news crew.

Last but not least, the nightly parade.

In the coming months, there will be lots of things going on. The Colts season is starting and they will be playing for most of those home games. Look for them not in their clown outfits, but in blue and white Colts attire.

They will also be playing at some of the home Pacer games as well. The Pacers are trying some new forms of entertainment during the game. The clown band will be acting as a pep band inside the area during the game. That should be fun! Again, no clown outfits, just Pacer attire. You will know them by Otis though!

Soon, (now that I am out of the basement!) I hope to post some videos we took in California at the San Diego County Fair. We had an interesting gal that danced with the guys there. So, stay tuned for that and keep your eyes open around the city. You never know where the clown band will show up!

San Diego July 3rd

Time is flying so quickly.  Soon, we will be going back home again. On Tuesday, everyone had a needed day off.  Everyone went various places and did various things.  Mostly, it was just nice to have some time to relax.

We have a new stomper, Alex!  The future of the band.  He is a natural when it comes to performing!  He even knew how to play the drum with both sticks.

Learning the sax from Brenda

Performing with the big players

Tony added to the trombones on Wednesday.

This is Brian’s first year with us in San Diego

Ole’

Hmmmm slackers!  (They’re getting a massage)

Fine Arts??????

We’ll, I guess this is an art.

Play it Slammer!

Adam, at it again!

Mike and Daniel, are you scaring the small children?

Bret and Johnny.  Play it guys!

Another report from the fair

Everything is going great here.  The crowds were pretty good all weekend.  We’ve met some really nice people and have had some great comments about the band.

Adam was at it again, scaring the women of the fair!  This gal was so funny because she was taking pictures with her camera when Adam came up behind her and kept tapping her on the back.  I think she thought it was her husband because she just kept taking pictures and not turning around to see who was tapping her.  Finally when she did and she saw it was Adam, she blurted out a little scream.  It was one of those moments I wished I had had my camera ready.  She danced really well with him after she got over her surprise!

It seems like there is always a camera on them sometime throughout the day.

Getting their kicks

The reading room.

Another card game.  I think Brenda was getting beat!

And, more posing for another picture!

San Diego County Fair

We’ve arrived at the San Diego County Fair in the beautiful city of Del Mar, California.  I’ve been trying to post since yesterday, but there was a problem with the internet here.  Hopefully I won’t have any more problems with that!

Our flights were all on time and it went really well.  We are so glad to be here.  The people are so warm and friendly and of course the weather is fabulous!

So here are some traveling photos….

I swear they could make a card table out of anything.

Some more band members waiting for the next flight.

Grace is hanging out with Johnny.

The Rocky Mountains.

The Grand Canyon.

Yesterday, I was stuck in the break room most of the day with Grace.  Her crate had not been shipped to the hotel yet, so she had to come with us to the fair.  Dogs really aren’t supposed to be out running around on the grounds of the fair, so we hung out together.  I did catch one of the shows that I could see from our break room.  You can see Adam just climbing out of the fountain after playing underwater in it.

The television in our break room was on a very loud station which started to get a little bit much to listen too.  They had to come up with a creative way to get up that high to turn it off.

This morning we started out the day with the local news station filming the band live.  Steve is here talking with the new news anchor.

At our 1:00 show we had some great dancers!

Of course Adam is going to get in that fountain!  He’s got his shoes off.

Brenda coming out of the fountain…

Adam is in……he’s going under….

Here’s the whole group.

And playing with the Dixie Hasslers….

It’s been two great days so far!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers blog site! My name is Melanie. I am the wife of Mr. Stomper himself, Steve Sutherlin. I hope to keep you updated with the goings on of the clown band. For those of you not familiar with the band, you can find more information here. For those of you who are, I hope you enjoy being able to see where we are playing and learning a little more about what goes on when a bunch of clowns travel and work together.

Last weekend, we attended the Great American Brass Band Festival in the beautiful Danville, Kentucky. If you are a lover of brass band music, this is a must on your list of things to do! Fully funded by donations and a voluteer staff, this quaint town manages to put this festival on every year. It is totally free to the public. Watching this festival is like looking at a Normal Rockwell painting. A true slice of Americana. It’s one of our favorite jobs each year. There is nothing like southern hospitality.

This year, it was bittersweet as our drummer of 20 plus years, Judy, is leaving our group. She is moving to Florida and we will miss her dearly.

Yes, that is a gnome she is wearing. Don’t ask.

It was a wonderful weekend. Friday night, the band was supposed to give a mini concert outside of the O’Charlie’s restaurant. The rain however, had different plans and took center stage. But the band prevailed and ended up giving an up close and personal concert inside.

Saturday morning, we hung out together before the parade in the break room. There is always something funny going on.

We headed out for a great parade. The crowds at Danville are so welcoming. It’s a joy for the players to perform there. At 12:30 the band played at the Gazebo. It was Judy’s last time playing with the band.

Afterwards, our band buddies, Jane Boyd and Deedra Benthall (and friends) served us lunch. We really appreciate all the time and effort they put into taking care of us. I personally think one of the nicest things you can do for someone is to feed them. It’s such a wonderful act of kindness.

Here is Jane last year with Mr. Stomper himself…

And here is Deedra (in the ball cap) sitting with Dan.

Then came time for the afternoon show. The crowd was great and the band hammed it up as usual.

Here’s Dan giving Brenda a good kick!

She’s not happy! But Dan had a pretty good time.

Now he has coaxed Judy into dancing. See what happens when you become part of the crowd?

I don’t know if she knows what to think about this!

Finally, it’s time to relax!

We owe a big thank you to our band buddies, Jane Boyd, Deedra Benthall and Elaine Harris. You all do so much to make our stay more comfortable. And to the town of Danville, Kentucky, we love you ! Thank you!