So Columbus Day (or better fitting Indigenous Day) was this past weekend. Which means that I decided to indulge in some quintessential fall activities. Such as my first trip to Autumn Fest. For those of you that may not know about Autumn Fest it is an annual festival held in Woonsocket, RI. Now while Woonsocket is the neighboring town to Cumberland (where I currently live) I try to avoid it like the plague. Aside from the best coffee milkshake I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking there really isn’t a whole lot going for this town. Although, Woonsocket briefly had its 15 minutes of viral fame when a video surfaced of two crackheads having sex next to a main road. I wish I could say I was joking people, but this is real life.
I put my ill feelings aside and decided to meet my friends at Autumn Fest. Now this is where I have to confess something. I really only went to Autumn Fest for one reason….
That reason being that the Baha Men were performing. That’s right WHO LET THE DOGS OUT BAHA MEN. This 90’s baby is going to throw on my flannel and finish my episode of Hey Arnold and pretend that I’m not totally freaking out.
That’s right, somehow someway, little old Woonsocket managed to get this ridiculous one hit wonder to perform a full blown hour long concert. But you know what, it was DAMN good. I swear that Baha Men are making a comeback and you can mark my words on that. Not to mention there was a portion of the show where one of the members of the group eagerly played a round of limbo with a stick that was on fire. I’m all for a performance that involves pyrotechnics and party games.
All and all Autumn Fest was a pleasant surprise. I managed to dance way harder than I probably should have to some Baha Men and then stuffed my face over some delicious pierogis and shepard’s pie. It really doesn’t take much else to win me over.
As if seeing the Baha Men perform in real life wasn’t the perfect throwback I decided to one up it. The next day I wrangled in some of my lady friends and we made the trek up to Salem, MA. That’s right people, my Sunday was filled with witches, goblins, and ghouls. NOW HERE COMES THE REAL ZINGER. It has recently come to my attention that certain parts of Hocus Pocus were filmed in Salem.
Let me throw some embarrassing information in right here. I LOVE HOCUS POCUS. I MEAN I LOVEEEEE THAT MOVIE. I’m talking to the extent that the movie could be on and I could recite every word…with my back turned. So to say that I was filled with excitement would CERTAINLY be an understatement.
Well to make a long story short, my girlfriends and I went hunting to see some of the locations where the movie was filmed. Such as the town hall where the famous “I put a spell on you” scene took place. Not to mention we found Max & Dani’s house. Yeah, remember that sweet tower at the top of the house that as a kid you wished was part of your room? SAW IT! In real life.
Please excuse me while I give the biggest high 5 to my six year old self.
Voyaging Vagabond 