Peter Pan and Bakelite

This weekend was all about the midwestern entertainment. Saturday we went to a local free production of Peter Pan in the park. It was reasonably well acted, with home-made looking sets and costumes. Because it was in the park without a curtain or riggings, instead of flying, Peter Pan and the other characters kind of jerkily skated around the set in Heelys.

I had never seen either the animated Peter Pan or any stage production of it before. It is a deeply creepy story! The characters are bizarrely cheerful and not at all perturbed by their various psychoses. One minute Wendy is trying to get a kiss from Peter Pan, and the next, she is pretending to be his mother? Maybe a more talented set of actors could have made the whole mess make sense? Surprisingly, the kids loved it! They were excited to be out on a Saturday night and they were completely into the show. Joseph periodically loudly exclaimed questions and comments.

The citizens of Bloomington-Normal are a bizarre bunch, though. The fellow in front of us had a man-purse and a shirt celebrating a nudist resort. Also, a lot of people smoke around here. At any given time, there was someone sneaking a smoke somewhere within breathing range. I suppose they felt entitled to their smokes because they were outside, show or no show.

Sunday we went to the 3rd Sunday Market at the Interstate Center. I had no idea what to expect, but I was bored, so Danny, Joseph and I went. It was amazing--there were vendors selling every conceivable kind of vintage stuff!!! And it was actually vintage stuff, not just old random crap!! After living in CA, where there is just not so much history, my standards for vintage had been severely lowered. We saw loads of vintage housewares, including texasware, aluminum tableware, quality vintage costume jewelry, vintage postcards, housewares, furniture, and so much more. I am a Bakelite nut--I am especially addicted to Bakelite bracelets, and in the 8 years I spent in CA, I found not a single piece of quality Bakelite. At the 3rd Sunday Market, I found hundreds of Bakelite bracelets, in every conceivable color and shape. Most of the pieces I could not afford, but I bought a beautiful set of red and orange bracelets. They make that fantastic Bakelite clinking against each other, too. We also ran into friends from TaeKwonDo, and shared some delicious deep-fried snacks.