Tango on the Square

Okay. I'll be honest. I expected small town life to be . . . well, a little boring. My African bush experiences included a cobra in the kitchen, regular dramas in the chicken coop, gigantic potholes on the road, interesting guests from America, and a constant stream of people at my door with stories to tell and problems to solve. I couldn't imagine that there would be many surprising adventures in a small Ozark town.

I was wrong. Saturday was full of surprises and anything but boring!

Mt. Vernon hosted the Not So Square Arts Festival downtown on the courthouse square.

I attended a writer's workshop taught by three local women who just published a vampire book--standing room only in the meeting room, and an excellent presentation.

Then David and I perused the booths and displays by local artists that featured paintings, photography, weaving, pottery, and jewelry. One man takes coins from around the world and uses a jewelry saw to cut out intricate designs to create earrings and pendants. Another guy makes huge mushroom stools from wooden trunks. The high school art class had a working kiln going and featured raiku pottery.

A Native American flute player was one of several entertainers to perform. Others included a comedy Shakespeare troupe, the local high school choir, classical guitarists, and country western singers.

And there was Vincent Van Goat--the papier mache sculpture designed to get kids interested in art. Kids could climb up and sit on Vincent's back to view a computer screen and listen to a presentation about art and artists. (I am not making this up!)

But the biggest surprise was TANGO DANCING! Mt. Vernon hosted the Meet in the Middle INTERNATIONAL Tango Festival right on the courthouse square. There were tango dancers all the way from Buenos Aires and New York City as well as several other states. So on the dance floor set up on the street in front of the courthouse, we got to watch some incredible tango dancing.

A tango couple from New York showed some fancy steps. The courthouse is in the background.

Tango shoes like these can be purchased at Mt. Vernon's corner stained glass/tango dancing studio. Who knew?

Boring small town life? I think not! This town is full of surprises.

The Stotts City Tractor Pull is coming up soon!