River City Blackhawk: Late Night Wednesday

I didn't get home until after midnight because of the Wednesday late-night party hour tonight, so I'll have to leave you with an abbreviated version because fatigue may play a big role tomorrow at work.

Highlights and observations for night 4:

Yuki Imagawa made his Folklorama debut with a modern Japanese pop song complete with accompanying dancer, Alex Allen. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, Yuki showcased an impressive powerful set of pipes that captivated the audience and the ballet-like dance visuals by Alex gave the piece a modern twist.
Shaw TV paid the Pavilion a visit and taped portions from the first show. When host Joanne Kelly was searching for an interview, the only clear choice was the "Face of Folklorama" herself, Sumi. Stay tuned to Shaw-TV (crap, I have MTS-TV) as every year they broadcast segments from Folklorama and their website (which has taken down last year's videos recently) will eventually post the videos. When it's available I'll post it here.
Connie Tamoto (from Global) hosted and as usual was an excellent emcee. We're lucky to have someone as skilled as her from within our community.
Late night party ran from about 10:30 until 11:35 and was a moderate success. The only advertising for this late night event was in the program book and since we haven't hosted a late night show in years, the fear was that we wouldn't have anyone there. We had a small number of left-overs from the 9:45 show, but it wasn't just the volunteers that participated in the karaoke. Spread the word for Friday night!
I've been hearing whispers and rumours that we will not be participating in Folklorama next year. I've been asked that by many people and a few have been very upset by what their hearing. I hear this negative talk every year during Folklorama week and I don't know if it's just one person that's spreading their displeasure or opinion or if there's any basis to these claims. I remember a couple of year's ago someone was saying we wouldn't have a Pavilion because taiko wasn't going to be in town. This in fact was false and no one from Hinode ever said they couldn't participate. I'm not saying we will or will not be in Folklorama next year (We could probably use a break), it's not for me to say right now, but I am saying the Pavilion is not the place to discuss the future. It's been a great week so far and let's enjoy it and keep it fun. If any volunteers, performers or coordinators are reading this and have any strong feelings about next year, please leave your comments and opinions here! We'll discuss this at greater length after Folklorama.