Three Rivers Festiblog: Monday Night at Three Rivers: "Bobby V." and lemon shake-ups

Today was my first day at the festival. Not too much has changed since last year, the same elements are still there (the Meijer Event tent, helicopter rides, Junk Food Alley and Midway).

I noticed as I entered Headwaters Park that there were giant ants drawn on sidewalks and walls. I was told later that the ants are symbolic of the new "Mad Ants" Fort Wayne basketball team. Knowing that, I thought it was a clever way to decorate downtown for the festival.

I met up with some friends and made a beeline for Junk Food Alley. As usual, it was crowded with hungry festival-goers willing to pack their arteries full of fat (myself included). We got lemon shake-ups at a stand to start out on. Walking through the crowd, I ran into a few old friends I haven't seen in a long time. I'd have to say that's one of my favorite things about the festival-seeing people you haven't seen in ages.

We wandered across the street and watched the rock-climbing wall and bungee-jumping. They were both not as intense as I expected, the rock-climbing wall looking easy and the bungee jumping low to the ground.

Later on in the night the festival became even more crowded and diverse. I began to see more men wearing chains and Air Force Ones and girls sporting metallic laced-up high heels and white shorts. It took me awhile to figure out that the ever-growing crowd was waiting on hip-hop singer Bobby Valentino's performance at 9 p.m.

I could hear the "Peace on the Street" and Bobby Valentino performances even outside the tent. Dozens of people crowded outside and peered through the slits in the gates, hoping to see a glimpse of the singer. I could tell from the cheers and the applause inside that concert-goers were satisfied.

The late-night crowd thinned out near 10 p.m. when I said adieu to the festival fun. And now I'm wondering what addictive substances are in Junk Food Alley Food because two hours later, I'm craving another lemon shakeup...