2012 Puyallup Fair Flash Mob Flash Back

          The last day of the 2012 Washington State Fair was Sunday, September 23. For me, this year the fair was all about music and dancing. It started with a fun band of crazy dancers for a flash mob on opening day (see previous 9/9/12 blog). That pretty much set the rhythm of the rest of the fair.

The following Sunday, John and I had barely put our suitcases down from a five-hour drive home across smoky from wildfires Washington when a friend offered us free tickets to the Enrique Iglesias concert at the fair. 

Enrique Iglesias

We giddy upped downtown for a concert full of surprises, and although the audience was definitely younger than us, I knew a lot of the songs from Zumba. The Spanish/Filipino heart throb, like his father before him, had the girls swooning. I had eaten breakfast with Sarah and John at WSU that morning, enjoyed a concert with John that night, and then blew out the candles on my birthday cake at home after the concert.

My third visit to the fair was for another concert, the Doobie Brothers. John's cancelled business trip meant we had to scramble for tickets at the last minute, but we got two in row two. Don Felder, a former Eagle, and his new band kicked off the concert. Hotel California, Already Gone, Life in the Fast Lane, Witchy Woman and other songs from our younger days spilled over the rockin’ audience in the Grand Stand.

Don Felder, from The Eagles.

The Doobie Brothers!

Then the Doobie Brothers took the stage. The audience was up on its feet again as we Listen(ed) to the Music. They played my favorite hits: Black Water, Long Train Running, China Grove, Takin’ It to the Streets, as we sang out loud and danced. The level of musicianship of Don Felder’s band and The Doobie Brothers was amazing. I saw the Doobies when I was in college. I feel so lucky that I got to see them again with John this time.

More music and dancing drew me through the turnstiles of the Gold Gate for the fourth time on Friday. My friend Vicki and I lucked out, finding a rare, free parking space on the street. As we walked toward the fairgrounds, she felt self-conscious wearing a hot pink jacket. I told her not to worry. People weren’t looking at her pink jacket. My crazy dancin’ pants were a much bigger distraction.

My crazy dancin' pants

In the VIP tent we met up with 170 other flash mobbing Pitbull fans dressed in pink and ready to dance! There were a few brave men sprinkled in with our amazing group of women who share an enthusiastic love of dancing. The “usual” characters: a duck, a couple of chickens, a small posse of cowboys, and a bevy of daffodil princesses joined us in the rehearsal. 

We laughed and clowned around in the bleachers while we waited for the signal for us to begin. Then we moved into our positions in the aisles facing the stage. When the guitar started the opening notes of “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,” we turned to face the audience with our thumbs hooked in our real or imaginary pockets. Click on link for video: Pitbull flash mob Puyallup fair

Rosie, Vicki and I ready to flash mob

As we danced, people beamed smiles at us and pulled their phones out to record us. A couple near me tried to ignore us and find their seats. I warned them they’d be better off just sitting anywhere right then. We’d be done in 30 seconds. They could find their real seats then. Just like that we were done!

The back of our flash mob t-shirts.

The 253 Crew (253 is Puyallup’s area code) headed back to the bleachers, but not for long. In a few minutes, the lights blazed, the music hit us, and Mr. 305 (Miami’s area code), Pitbull took the stage. He brought us all to our feet and we surged up front to dance for the rest of the concert. 

Pitbull, Mr. 305, Mr. Worldwide!

An overwhelmed security guard kept us from getting too close, but he couldn’t put a lid on our Pitbull-mania. At Zumba that morning, our teachers had warmed us up for the concert with a full hour of Pitbull songs: I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho), Give Me Everything, Back in Time. Now we were salsa-ing, samba-ing, shimmying and dancing in the moonlight to Pitbull, Mr. Worldwide, live! What an unforgettable, wild night shared with my sassy Zumba girlfriends.

My fifth, and last trip to the fair was to flash mob again on the closing day of the fair. Each time, the mob changed—different dancers, different schedules, different locations. This time I disguised myself as just another mild mannered fairgoer by standing in the scone line and fake texting on my phone. Fellow mobber, Linda, kept an eye out for where the mob leaders were so we’d be in the right place, at the right time. It was easy to spot the big characters, especially the duck.

It was really packed, so I was a little worried about how the crowd would get out of our way when we started dancing, but it worked. The sea of fairgoers parted and we did our dance. We “got our happy on” and the impromptu, smiling audience did too. Click on link for video: Closing day flash mob

It was the perfect finishing touch to wrap up the final flash mob with a rousing chorus of Do the Puyallup: 

All the people and the animals down at the fair,
They do the Puyallup like they didn’t have a care
And it looks like so much fun to do
I think I’m gonna learn how to do it too.

Oh you can do it at a trot,

You can do it at a gallop,
You can do it real slow so your heart won't palpitate.
Just don't be late.

Do the Puyallup!

Laura Keolanui Stark is finishing up the last of the baker’s dozen of fair scones and recovering. She can be reached at stark.laura.k@gmail.com.