Farnsworth has an annual Harvest Party, and luckily for us, this particular weekend held it. The night was beautiful- unnaturally warm, the sky filled with stars, the moon was high. Christmas lights of all colors ran down in lines from trees; candles lined porch steps, and everywhere mini people (kids) ran. It was a ginormous potluck, a block party that reached past its neighborhood, and that night we all ate (and drank) well, seated around the various bonfires. The only thing to be cautious of was being run over by Paul's tractor-driven death wish hay ride, but the screams of twenty excited/terrified adults and children seated in the back wagon as they pulled out of ditches and hairpinned turns could be heard blocks away, so there was lots of time to move out the way.
By 10 pm, everyone that was getting drunk was, everyone that ate was satisfied, and the kids were ready for bed. The parents could go home. The night was winding down, and everyone was feeling good.
Ben, Jane, Krysta, KT sat on their porch steps, watching the people slowly walk to their cars. "Did you see the building burning over there?..." was heard among the noise... "No, where?" ... "Oh, just over there on Chene Street..." By now our ears had perked up and in unison the girls asked, "Where on Chene?!!!" When the response was "Palmer..." it was unusual to see the three of us move that fast. We quickly pulled ourselves into KT's truck and hurried away.
If you've never seen a building burn, I don't recommend it.
We parked two blocks away and for that first block the answer to the question, "which building was actually on fire?" was blinded by the amounts of smoke that poured out, and we walked on through.
From the corner of Chene Street and Palmer we watched three fire engines and many many fire fighters try to douse the flames that poured out from what once was Van Dayke Pastry Shop, the second of the installations. Questions filled our heads, emotions filled our bodies. Some of us cried. (For those worried about the cakes, don't; the cakes had been removed from the window fronts just two days earlier to prepare for the upcoming show. As a result, more questions quickly spawned...)
Then we spoke to the firemen. Apparently, they had been on their way to the Farnsworth festivities when they got the call for their fire, so they had to turn around. They consoled the girls, and agreed that they would see you us later at the YES farm whenever they could go. As we left, a line of fully equipped firemen was formed outside the smoldering building, and one by one they filed into the blackened storefront.
We went back to the other world on Farnsworth, confused, angry, sad.
The YES FARM held an album release party for Farnsworth resident Jenny (band poster above), and between her voice and the band behind her we were all presented with a mountain music jubilee- feet stomping knee slapping yee-hawing good time. The beer flowed, the dancing got rowdier, and before long the positive energy of earlier in the night filled the room. The firemen did show up, and even stayed for a little while before getting another call. It turned out that the firemen had been watching that storefront, and had even rescued and rearranged some of the cakes just a few weeks earlier.
It was a very confusing night.
Jane went back the next day. See the following post for pictures.
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