Gifting sprouts has become popular with festival attendees recently. The little green shoots are exchanged as a token symbolizing hope for a new friendship. The sprout is a new beginning, but it needs good ground, sun, and water to flourish. Festivals too are like the sprout. They need the right balance of an excellent location and vendors providing the foundation, sunny, warm entertainers, and the flow of patrons. Jamboozled 2024 was a first-time festival held at the Country Ranch in Mendota, Illinois, this September.

Every Labor Day weekend since 2011, the beautiful grounds of Camp Shaw-waw-nas-see near Manteno, IL have played host to Shoe Fest. I find myself camped this year with two of my favorite fire spinners and band members from Broken Robots. Yes, everybody can get close at Shoe Fest and you never know whom you might meet. This is an eclectic music festival with something for everyone, and some things unexpected.