STIR Illinois River Fest

Saturday October 16, 2010, from 12 noon to 6 p.m., don't miss the Illinois River Fest taking place at War Eagle Camp off of SH10 on the Illinois River near Tahlequah Oklahoma.  Our band, usually Tibbits & McCracken, will be there playing at 3... minus the McCracken I do believe.  However, we'll make up for it by possibly inviting along Dan Garber and Wes Combs to fill in, for some rollicking Bluegrass tunes as well as our usual more diverse reportoire.

Two songs we're sure to do are Chicken Poop and Tale of the Big Chicken.  The former is a well-known and beloved local sing-along which we've performed at least a hundred times live, and which is memorialized on a single song CD and an album called Songs For The Illinois River.

Tale of the Big Chicken is a newer one, performed at the STIR 2010 Annual Membership Meeting in June before the song's subject and hero, Marshall Drew Edmondson.  The ballad takes a Marty Robbins flair as it describes a cute little farm creature that grew bigger than a man, with a beak of gold and a smug attitude-- and if you tried to cross him, he'd crush you like a bug.  The ballad tells how the local townspeople to the west called on Drew to help save them from a smelly mess, thence a showdown takes place on the streets of Tulsa with the lawman and Big Chicken both trying to outdraw the other.  It is a song with a moral, and a punchline. 

NSU and STIR sponsors the Illinois River Fest-- an event which is great for children because it will feature just a boucoups of kid-friendly interesting activities.  20 booths will be packed with fun acitivities, educational stuff, and yummy food.  There will be field trips, and live animals from Sequoyah State Park and Wildlife Sanctuary.   And there is more--- Rock climbing and river walks, Blue Thumb programs and free tee shirts to the first 200 children attending.

For the parents, there will be live music all day so bring lawn chairs or a blanket to stretch out on the ground.   Visit http://www.oklahomascenicrivers.net/