Live: From RanchoFest—It's Saturday Night

1:10 a.m., Sunday: Shhh, don't tell anyone that I was the Folding-Chair Fairy. After the RanchoFest ended on a high note with the Tijuana Dogs bringing the large audience to its feet to dance, I folded all the chairs in the courtyard and over on the two food court aisles, and all along the edge of the community center building. That's my volunteerism for the cause. It looked like everyone in attendance had a good time, and Suzanne Singh is to be commended in the highest terms for the job she did. Not only did she and her team of volunteers put on a fantastic event, she's already being hit up to spearhead an Oktoberfest event. Although the numbers probably won't be known for several days, Singh was pretty certain that the event had wiped out the remaining (approximate) $30,000 debt that she inherited as Chamber president 18 months ago. Could she be the frontrunner for person of the year, especially if Oktoberfest comes to fruition and in an election year? Many thanks to Patti Larson and Brady McGirr, who looked after my stuff at the Patch booth allowing me to circulate and take 256 photos (and some videos) since my 5:24 post.  There will be a lot of RanchoFest elements that will appear on the RSM Patch site, but not much more tonight. Like the volunteers who helped put on such a good show, my bed is calling. (There will be a few new photos, though). 

5:24 p.m. I've only got 22 minutes of battery life left, so the RanchoFest Live experiment isn't quite what I had hoped. Next year I'll have to bring a 100-foot extension cord! But I just uploaded a number of pictures -- but by no means all the photos. We'll upload more later, probably put them to music and make some pretty cool art elements. The crowd has picked up and it's nice. Several people have stopped by and signed up for the daily newsletter, including one woman who met me on that blistering cold New Year's Eve at the park. The bands have been really good! There was a flash mob as well (we have video) that included a lot of happy faces—literally!!! Probably won't be able to post again until the event is over, but it's a lot of fun, there's a great vibe, food is, like, $3, and more terrific bands (Flock of 80s, Tijuana Dogs) are scheduled for tonight. A great family atmosphere, lots of bounce houses. The event lasts until 9 p.m., so there's plenty of time to still come out and take part in the fun. And drop by and say hi to RSM Patch.

1:19 p.m. The internet connection here is dreadfully slow, so I just uploaded the movie and photos (22!!!). I have 1 hour 39 minutes of battery life remaining. I'm really hoping there's an extension cord someplace.

12:30 p.m. It's Saturday, and we've had opening ceremonies at Central Park. The day opened  with a rousing national anthem by the sound guy. The crowd is light right now, but there are about a hundred vendors present today, and the city couldn't have asked for better weather—unlike Friday night. The crowds that stayed away missed some terrific music, by Side Project and Britain's Finest. We'll update as best we can—I'm by myself, trying to introduce myself to the community and cover the event as well. But by the end of the weekend, there should be a lot of elements updated into RSM Patch. Right now, the police horses are next to the Patch booth -- the horses are kid magnets. By the way, Patch has magnets. Come by and pick one up while they last. I also have candy. Last night, I asked a mom if her daughter can have candy. "No," she said. "She's not supposed to take candy from strangers.' That's me, all right.