If you let the clouds and early showers keep you away from Buckroe Beach last weekend, you missed out on the 2nd Annual Buckroe Beach Blast sponsored by LINK of Hampton Roads. The event was an invitation to enjoy some family fun and to promote community awareness. LINK The good and the bad. Blast did a great job of showcasing some local entrepreneurs with good ideas and decent products. Get behind them. A little support can really go a long way for these people. Catch them on the way up. If you like what you see, just make a point to mention it somewhere. If you’re in the market, seek out your neighbors first.
I was impressed with the production more than I was with the content. I was expecting something a little more….flea market-y. Keeping in mind that this is not a Disney show or an Off-Broadway endeavor, and considering the format, budget and resources, I can appreciate the effort of those involved and skill of the leadership.
It was very well laid out, pleasing to the eye and functional. Horseshoed out from the park entrance with the stage at the center and the beer garden slightly left. Clean, precise and more professional than you would expect. I’ve been to more than a few events at this venue, and inexperience shows itself immediately. LINK has obviously headhunted some decent talent. The booths at Blast were as cohesive and relative to topic as the subject allows. Top tier vendors don’t exactly beat the doors down for tent space in a production like this and the temptation to allow snake handlers and sales of cheap knock-offs is often hard to resist. The field must be populated to expect attendance and attendance is paramount to awareness. Without awareness, no one would know where to volunteer or send a check. LINK obviously took the high road, the $10 cheesesteak truck was not invited, beer was only $5(!) and I wasn't inundated with stories of one-kidneyed homeless guys rocking 2nd hand canes while suffering from PTSD, and how they lost their jobs to Al Qaida because they were too busy saving little old ladies from being dateraped by Amway while building wheelchair ramps as they limped through 4 foot of snow. Uphill. Both ways. Vetting when choices are already so limited, takes guts. In a profit driven world, the only way to prove to me that you’re not a wolf in charity clothing, is to lose money and the 2014 Buckroe Beach Blast definitely accomplished that.
