¡El Grande Fiesta! Arrivals and lead-up / 18-21 Julio 2006

4 As I mentioned in previous posts, for the past few months Bud and Laurie have been planning a large Mexican-themed get-together at their place in Oxford Station.


A big party would be a great way to celebrate Bud's return from duty in Afghanistan, but mainly it would be an opportunity for lots of family and friends to re-unite and have some major fun. And it most definitely was! The entire week was filled with great food (the main course on fiesta-nite being a slow-roasted hog stuffed with prime rib), great music (both Spanish-themed and 'Canadian-acoustic,' courtesy of some of the attendees with guitars) and lots to drink (namely an ice-cold keg of Pabst and well...a wide assortment of everything else, considering the size of the crowd that turned out).

Y lejos vamos...

The crew from NB got things rolling! Bill, Barb, Julia, Pam and Jessie arrived mid-week; the Coopers, Jeff, Rick and Roxy the dog arrived on the 20th. Mom, Uncle Del and Del's girlfriend Margaret pulled in from Leominster MA the next day, followed by Brent, Nerissa & Sabrina from Kingston and then old pal Dan McCardle from Newcastle ON later that evening. (Gerry Cluett was in and out all week. :) Weekdays before the Fiesta were generally spent with visits to the Burritt's Rapids lock...

...with some additional relaxation & party prep (thanks to Dan for the big chili pepper)...

...and of course, a few drinks around the fire before the big bash.

[Bill on Bud's tractor. Dig that funky pipe.] 6

Bud scored the pig-roaster the night before the Fiesta. (Brent slept in it. You can tell the idea has just dawned on him below.)

[A few more July 21 "party-before-the-party" photos...olé! :]

It wasn't long before L'il Aggie (a ridiculous ventriloquist puppet Brent and I found on eBay) emerged and made the rounds. He takes a perfect photo every time, doesn't he? (The puppet, I mean. :) Thanks go out to Mom for the tiny tuxedo.

[ My camera's "night portrait" setting does weird things with light if there's movement when the picture is being taken (I need a tripod). Check out Aggie's evil twin's face 'reflected in the fire' below. Trippy, huh? ]

El mañana grande de partido!

,

-B.

¡El Grande Fiesta! 22 Julio 2006

* Note: Additional images provided by Tina & Bill in Sept. '06; added to blog Oct. 3 2006. Thanks, Coopers!

Everybody gradually emerged the next morning and began to gear up for the Fiesta. While Del and Gary were dressing up Mr. Hog in the garage...

...Brent was waking up in the cooker! Ahhh...refreshing. :)

Cut to later in the day -- Bud taps the keg! (The party officially got underway at 3pm.)

More random images of the festivities during the day...

Uncle Del (with Mom and Stacey) in his awesome Mexican get-up...

In my opinion, Del tied for best costume with Rick as "El Mariachi" (below, far right). Actually, Del's was a rental, so I guess Rick takes it. :) It was great when the guys came outside dressed in these outfits; they were greeted with cheers and rounds of applause from the crowd. Great stuff.

Bud's crazy "Run For The Border" contest, below.

It works like this: Three contestants begin at the starting line. An adequate level of dizziness is achieved by spinning around five times on a stick by the forehead. First you do the limbo under a bar, then continue to the next stage by throwing a coiled plastic snake onto an inflatable cactus. After successfully tossing the ring, you balance a ball on a spoon in your mouth while you run over to a sleeping bag on the ground. You then climb into the bag and hop to the finish line while being pelted with foam footballs by half the kids at the party. I'm not sure who won with the fastest time after all the craziness was over, Bud will have to fill me in...

Some further pig-preparation by Gary and Gary...

Dinner for approximately 120 guests was served at 7:30pm. As you can imagine, everything was awesome; everyone pitched in to lay out a hell of a spread. After everybody got a bite, the fiesta continued to get increasingly...loco...

Umm...can somebody tell me what's up with Danny? 6

Never mind!

Greg! Great to see the boys together again...

A few of Peter's buds dropped by with guitars and got the place singin.' Randy was the main dude; he could really play...

The party rolled on well into the wee hours; there were about 12 people still sitting around the fire-pit at sun-up! All I can tell ya is El Grande Fiesta '06 went off without a hitch. Inclimate weather had absolutely zero effect on the fun. I think I can speak for everyone who attended when I say thanks to Buddy & Laurie for hosting a truly great event. Muchos gracias, mi familia!

Hasta luego...

-B.