 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Fairs & Festivals
|
|||||
October 14 - 15, 2006 - Miramar Air Show (Miramar, California) It has been a great year on the got milk? Gravity Tour, and our last special event for 2006 was a big one, the Miramar Air Show. If you don’t know what that is, it’s one of the biggest air shows in the United States. Its held at Miramar MCAS, which stands for ‘Marine Corp Air Station”. This used to be a Naval air base for a long time; as a matter of fact it was the training facility for some of the best fighter pilots in the world. Does the movie “Top Gun” ring any bells? If it does, then you’ve seen this base. It was converted to a Marine base in 1998, and it was home this past weekend to the got milk? Gravity Tour.
The ramp was set up just off the main runway. We did three shows a day and the athletes were Mike Crum (skateboard), Danny Mayer (skateboard), Alex Perelson (skateboard), Jason Davies (BMX), Jim Burgess (BMX), and Marc Englehart (inline). Our shows were scheduled in between show times for the Blue Angels. They are a group of Navy pilots that do amazing aerial tricks at high speed, in fighter jets. If you’ve never seen a Blue Angels show, I highly recommend you do. Just remember to bring earplugs.
As jets and biplanes whizzed over our heads, the riders did some of their own aerial maneuvers on the ramp. They weren’t pulling any G-forces, but the crowds were into each and every show. We had a lot of Marines who were skaters or riders come up throughout the weekend and thank us for coming out. Some of the planes would fly by so low, that it would shake the ramp. I lost my voice on Sunday, trying to announce a show, over the background noise of a Harrier jet hovering in front of the grandstands.
It was a great weekend, and in between shows, we entertained ourselves by having a got milk? Gravity Tour wiffle ball game. It was me, Danny, and Alex, against Mike, Jim, and Marc. We all still had our jerseys on because it was in between shows. We drew quite a crowd for our little game. In case you were wondering, Mike, Jim and Marc beat us 10 – 3.
As I wrap this up, I would like to thank the California Milk Advisory Board for putting on the tour again this year. I would also like to thank all of the Marines and staff at the Miramar base. Thank you for letting us onto your facility and educating us about your aircraft, and most of all, thank you for protecting our freedom, day in and day out.
-- Jimmy C
Check out photos from this show
April 21 - 23, 2006 - Stockton Asparagus Festival (Stockton, California) I just got back on the got milk? Gravity Tour for this weekend shows in Stockton. The event we were scheduled to attend was the Stockton Asparagus Festival and of course I was super excited! First off because the Asparagus Festival features some of the rowdiest got milk? Gravity Tour fans anywhere and secondly I would be seeing my good friend Luis Bonilla. Anytime we see Luis on the tour it means that the big ramp is in town and we are guaranteed to see one amazing show!!!
On Friday we finished up the show at Stagg High School in Stockton and headed straight for downtown to the festival. Even for a Friday the festival was packed! I guess the fans have been anticipating our arrival because when we got there people were already seeking autographs and wanting to take pictures. A lot of people said they also showed up early to get their fair share of free chocolate milk, courtesy of Crystal Cream and Butter. The folks from Crystal even made up their own version of got milk? t-shirts just to fit in with the crew. In our minds, they are 100% a part of the Stockton experience.
Our good friend Daveee Blair came in town to announce the shows since Jimmy was attending a wedding this weekend. Daveee's enthusiasm immediately won the crowd over as he worked them into a frenzy even before the show started! It's hard to believe it but we have a legitimate fan base in Stockton. Once the show started, the fellas did not disappoint! Our BMX riders, Jim Burgess and Jimmy Walker, were seemingly in the clouds they were airing so high. Marc Englehart, our inliner, kept pace by landing a 900 and 1080 in the first show. However, the skateboarders owned the ramp the first day. Danny Mayer and Tas Pappas showed some amazing board control and seemed to battle each other for bragging rights in the first show. When it was all said and done, Friday was the best opening day we had in Stockton ever! It also got even better when Gabe Weed's wife Erin dropped in to surprise him for his birthday.
Friday night would have been uneventful except for the fact that the hotel we were staying at decided to have a karaoke night. This was all that was needed for Tas as he made his way onstage and proceeded to belt out his own rendition of Cher's "do you believe in love?". Needless to say, the crowd was not as excited so we decided to turn in early and save the showmanship for the got milk? shows the next day.
Although the forecast was for rain on Saturday, we awoke to partly sunny skies and 70 degree temperatures. We headed to the fair and could not believe the number of people who were out. Typical of the previous day there were about 100 people waiting at the ramp to greet us. As soon as the guys showed up they were surrounded by excited fans seeking autographs. However, once it was show time the guys got geared up and let loose on the ramp. Jimmy Walker was the star of Saturday by going huge all day long and landing a flair to 540 to turn down flair. Marc Englehart definitely had the best attempt as he tried to end the last show with a double flat spin. However, not wanting to push it to far he did not attempt it more than twice.
Probably the coolest thing about Saturday was the number of students who showed up from Stagg High School. Many of them brought their parents out to see the show they could not stop talking about. Daveee even tested them by asking them individual questions from the show at their school. Surprisingly, all the students got them right! Their parents thanked us for visiting the school with such a positive message and for giving them such an exciting show! Saturday night Gabe's wife bought a birthday cake so we all indulged in double chocolate chip cake and of course washed it down with some ice cold milk!
Today was the last day of the fair and unfortunately some of us have been feeling a bit under the weather. I had been sick for a couple of days but this morning Daveee and Tas woke up sick as well. Tas got it really bad and had a fever for the first couple of hours today. The other guys were all willing to support their friend and put on a dynamite first show with 5 riders. After the autographs were done, the guys from Crystal gave Tas a couple of chocolate milks to lift his spirits and he was able to ride the last two shows. The star of the day was Danny Mayer and he stomped nearly every run he took on the ramp and event came close to landing a kickflip mctwist! Marc attempted another double flat spin to end the weekend and came super close to landing it. After the show was over we still had a couple of giveaway items so Daveee had the crowd competing to see who was the loudest! It was tough as the entire crowd supported us all weekend.
After the show we all said our goodbye's and half of the crew headed back on the road for the last week of the got milk Gravity Tour. The other half of us headed to the airport to catch their flights. No matter which way we go we are sure to have memories of this weekend for a long time!
Thank a lot to our friends at Crystal Cream and Butter. They kept us going all weekend with their double chocolate non fat milk! Also a huge thanks to Kate Lewis and all the great people at the Stockton Asparagus Festival! Every year it's a huge pleasure to roll into your city and your hospitality is impeccable!
We'll catch you tomorrow for the beginning of the final week of the tour - back out at high schools.
-- Jason
Check out photos from this show
gotmilk.com |
|
