Sorry for the delay on getting my VIVA posts up, work has hit me with so many project since coming back from Viva that I have not really wanted to touch a computer by the time I get home. Now I’m blogging AND watching Mad Men at the same time so that I can catch up on all the fun things in my life while I have a little break from work.

Thursday-VIVA officially starts

Since we already checked in the night before, all we had to do was zip down in the am and get our bracelets for the weekend, and start all the fun.

Pictures are courtesy of Dean Villafuerte and myself

Checked in, now what’s next? Ahh yes “Sweet Pea’s Hooch and Smooch”. This was an afternoon of awesome bands, dancing and the totally adorable hostess “Sweet Pea” keeping the party hopping from band to band.

It was here that I was introduced to the awesome band “The 44s“. Their sound was Blues with a Rockabilly twist and boy were they good, no sorry..amazing (fyi this word will be used a lot)! My husband and I are huge blues fans and when we saw the one band member break out the harmonica we knew we were in for a wild ride. If you ever get a chance to see these guys live..do it! Here are a couple of pictures of the band.

Up next was a band from Brazil that mixed Brazilian music with Rockabilly called “Annie and the Malagueta Boys” and man oh man they were amazing also! The lead singer Annie was not only really talented but also super gorgeous.

Now while the bands were playing the dance floor was busy with dancers but nothing matched the couple pictured below. They danced all weekend long and I swear to almost every song played AND they were really really good. I was in awe of their talent and even though they were a teensy tiny bit older than me lol they could dance circles around me. Mental note, must work on endurance for next year 🙂

But then, just as my friends and I were about to turn our attention back to the band, the gentlemen dropped to the floor in the splits and then came right back up…THE SPLITS! WHAT???!!! Amazing! Luckily my friend Dean was ready with his camera and managed to score the picture of the weekend, as seen below.

After seeing the splits and amazing bands my brain was about to explode from how awesome my afternoon was going and I have not even mentioned that there was a Whirling Turban get-together with Lisa Freemont and the Creator of Whirling Turban herself “Katherine Robinson” at the same time. So there were lots of amazing dresses at the event and lots of staring from Liz at each dress as well.

My drooling made me parched (lol) and so I went and got the famous VIVA drinking glass for this year filled with Tiki Rum punch..yummy! This plastic boot (not glass) is a great souvenir from the weekend and sure does come in handy for transporting drinks from your room to the Casino 🙂

Here is my friends enjoying a funny moment during the Hooch and Smooch with our drinks. I think the Sailor Jerry rum went straight to our heads…already 🙂

After we finished catching the fun at the H&S we headed for a bite to eat next door at the Irish Pub and then by the time we were done, the Vendors were open! OMG complete insanity was the word I would use, another blogger attributed it to “The running of the bulls” and boy was she right. People were grabbing 10 clothes at time, trying things on in the aisles, reaching over you to grab something you had not seen yet etc etc. I was exhausted after about 10 minutes in the mess and so I decided to call it quits. If I did not see the vintage dress, then I can’t miss it when it’s gone right?

Here are some pictures from the vendors, selling everything from Vintage to reproduction and lots of other goodies.

The Evening

Sadly I have no real good pictures from the evening but to show you that I was there, here is a blurry dancing photo of me getting my dance on and a really funny photo bomb with my friends Dean and Charlie. Oh and this fun pic of my husband with this beautiful girl and the fascinator she made herself.

Saturday nights music

The musical highlights for me, I will say were two acts in particular.

1. The Janis Martin Tribute with Marti Brom and Rosie Flores. I love Janis Martin and her songs like “My Boy Elvis” and hearing these two very talented ladies bring her music alive on the stage was a real treat.

2. Ruby Ann…amazing!!! She is another awesome talent and she puts on a really good show. I could see her again and again for sure.

Hope you enjoyed my Thursday overview of Viva, stay tuned (hopefully sooner then later) for my Friday fun.