riverviewlogs | monthly mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

monthly mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: the river festival
when: the month of august
where: anywhere around the city
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

river festival

In the days leading up to August 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The River Festival. This holiday is in celebration of the river and the life that it gives to the city, as well as the heat of summer and forming bonds with friends, family, and romantic partners. The celebrations are marked by a community-wide cleanup of the docks and beaches along the river - particularly important considering the recent flooding that's left the banks of the river littered with debris - as well as beachfront cookouts and parties (both private and city sponsored) and beach sports tournaments happening on either open stretches of beach or in special clothing-optional beaches, all capped off with fireworks displays each weekend in August.

a celebration of the river and togetherness

Following the hedonism of Carnivale, it's time for something a little more low-key and relaxing. The River Festival happens every year in August, and is geared toward community building through cleaning up the beaches and docks along the river and then using all that freshly cleaned beach to gather on. During the month of August, there are various lightly-themed government-sponsored beach cookouts and parties geared toward family, romantic dates, or casual all-ages get-togethers for meeting new friends; there are also a few more racy parties at clothing-optional beaches around the city. Many private residents also take this time to gather together friends and family, and have cookouts on the beach with all the typical trappings of the beach barbecue. There are also various casual sports tournaments sponsored by community centers, gyms, and sports teams in the city, featuring prizes ranging from notoriety to sports equipment to big bucks. Every weekend, there are beautiful fireworks displays and free concerts. This year, the River Festival has been chosen for the unveiling of a new water park in the City, with free or heavily discounted tickets during August!

i. cleaning up

The holiday starts off on a note that is just a bit more sombre than the rest of the season, with the cleanup efforts following the recent flooding blending into the usual tradition of cleaning up beaches and docks along the river. The cleanup is a group effort, with every citizen who is physically able pitching in to comb the beaches, where they pick up fallen tree limbs, garbage, and anything else that's accumulated during the winter and spring, and then raking the beaches to make them clean and ready to use. The cleanup of the docks is similar, with residents sweeping and hosing them down where necessary. This year, there are a lot of repairs to be made to beachfront structures that might've been damaged by flooding and the traffic along the riverbanks from the heroes that participated in the rescue of cult hostages, so if anyone has some carpentry or building skills, those would definitely come in handy.

This is meant to be a community building effort, so many businesses in the area, more well-to-do private citizens, and the government have pitched in funding to provide lunches, cold drinks, coffee or tea, and snacks to anyone who's helping out with the cleanup efforts. All in all, the cleanup has a very friendly, welcoming vibe.

ii. beach activities

The main traditions of the River Festival involve cookouts and beach parties. Each weekend in August, the government as well as various corporations and businesses in the city, will be providing funds for large beach gatherings. On these days, there will be booths set up offering wares and freebies from various businesses around the city that have helped fund the party, large swaths of cleared beach where residents can don a swimsuit and catch some rays or swim in the river, massive barbecue setups to provide partygoers with all the standard barbecue fare, beach sports tournaments, dancing and musical performances, and fireworks displays (see prompts below).

The holiday isn't just about these big parties, though - many residents arrange their own barbecues, cookouts, beach camping trips, beach bonfires, and other riverside gatherings and outings. Many riverfront businesses offer discounts on services such as canoe or kayak rentals to go out paddling on the river, jetski or motorboat rentals for tubing, wakeboarding, or waterskiing, or mounts to take romantic rides in the surf. Additionally, there is an adults-only section of the beach where any of these activities can be done in the nude in a clothing-optional setting, including the big city-sponsored parties.

If your character is good at playing a particular sport that could, conceivably, be played on a beach, chances are that during the month of August, a tournament will be set up for them to participate in. The tournaments are pretty standard, generally sponsored by community centers, sports clubs and teams, gyms, and other organizations and businesses in the city, with various levels of specialization, and levels of skill or competitiveness. The prizes also vary, with everything from plain old bragging rights to sports equipment or passes to gyms and community centers, to large lump sums of cash money. Definitely worth it, for characters with a love for sport. Oh, and a lot of these tournaments are happening on the adults-only clothing-optional beaches, for those grown-up sports fans who like a bit of an extra challenge.

iii. fireworks and music

Each weekend throughout the month of August, there will be evening performances all along the beach. Not as extensive as the musical performances during Carnivale, the performances are geared more toward dancing than true concerts, with areas roped off on both on the regular and adults-only clothing-optional beaches for dancing and mingling (acts will switch off between the two areas so both areas get both performances).

Player-characters who are musical artists, DJs, or otherwise perform are free to set up shop around this party and panhandle or put on free performances for publicity.

After the sun goes down, boats will head out into the water carrying a variety of fireworks, and there will be a beautiful display of exploding color in the sky for residents to watch and enjoy. The fireworks are highly advanced, incorporating old-fashioned gunpowder as well as modern technology that result in really beautiful displays that can take the breath away!

iv. waterpark

This year, there's an extra little bit of fun being thrown into the River Festival - the grand opening of a new waterpark! It's quite the park, set near the river with a scenic view, and featuring all sorts of amazing rides, from waterslides that are catered to all ages and levels of thrill seeking, tube rides that are almost like a rollercoaster on water, a pool where customers can faux-surf, funnel rides, side-by-side racing slides, a lazy river, and almost anything else you can imagine. Besides the rides, there are also a wide variety of swimming pools for kids and adults - wave pools, lap pools, splash pools - and an equally wide variety of hot tubs featuring various minerals (and some aromatherapy) for relaxing, invigoration, and other effects.

Some of the hot tubs are in a clothing-optional adult area, where there are some normal pools and some clearly-labelled pools contain elements that increase arousal or desire, or simply affection to encourage some closer bonding!

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to meet new roommates, for the purpose of getting to know each other, or hit up one of the mod-posted prompts for each Communal Floor. Or if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during the River Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: credit unknown; image ii: Albert Ramon Puig; image iii: Claudio Pilia; image iv: Alan Philips

navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[There is a certain part of Padmé that is quite thrilled at the whole water aspect of the festival this month. Water is something that she has grown up around, swimming in the pleasant lakes of Naboo since she was a young girl at their villa. In a way, it is a bit of a treat, and there is still a part of Padmé that feels a little selfish at finding ways to relax. A part of her still longs for home, for what she knows and for what will be transpiring there, but the reasonable part of her understands that for now, it seems that she is to remain here.

She has been helping with clean up, but also enjoying the water as well. Her own attire is a blue two piece with a sheer white cover over-top. Her hair is unruly, which is no surprise, and she has managed to half tame it away from her face. She does look at peace though, content even, as she walks along the beach. The face when she does spot it is familiar to Padmé, so she gives a wave as she comes over.]

Enjoying the festivities as well, I see.

[Honestly, it's good to see Padme looking so relaxed after so many people have been working themselves to the bone as of late, especially here. The things that the flooding had done hadn't seemed so bad at the time, but now it was definitely something that was far worse than it had seemed with just the sheer amount of carnage around them. But now the beach was feeling like a beach again, and Alex definitely was relaxing into the idea of it. Giving the other woman an enthusiastic wave as she comes over, Alex just nodded quickly, because she was.]

Back home, I live some place where it doesn't really get a lot of sunlight so I definitely am going to enjoy it while I've got the chance you know? If I went to the beach back home I'd probably be wearing something like a parka.

[That's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one. After all, the Pacific Northwest beaches tend to be cold as hell.]

[She won't belittle what has happened here, but at the same time, it is small compared to some of the events that she has witnessed. It makes it no less important though, and it is why she has split her time between work, the clean up, and having a little bit of time to herself. It does still feel strange, having the opportunity. She does tend to help pick up and clean for the better part of her days, but she doesn't fall asleep on the beach like she would have on her desk.]

A parka on a beach... That does seem a little contrasting.

[Although Padmé is well aware of planets with different climates to them. Not all waters are something that she would go swimming in, and not all planets with 'beaches' even have water.]

Unless you enjoy cold water... I personally prefer it a bit warmer...

Yeah, I definitely would rather it being warmer than colder. I mean Seattle has a lot of good things in it, definitely, but sometimes the trade off is a pain in the ass. [Alex just laughed for a moment, before she stretched out her legs before her, clearly savoring the warmth of the sun and the warmth of the sand above her. Of course, even with all of that, there's no way that Alex can ever see herself permanently leaving the Pacific Northwest, even if she did end up purchasing plane tickets to one of the sunniest and warmest places that she could find.

She had hoped that no one was going to look for them there. But of course, it didn't matter now. Instead, she could just soak up the sun here for a while.]

How are you finding things here?

Oh? What do you enjoy about it?

[Food? Places? People? Padmé is curious about what draws people to liking places. She can go on about Naboo, about what it is that she loves about her home planet. She does feel blessed to have grown up there. Yet it is unique to know what people love about where they live, or what they don't.]

It's surprisingly easy to settle in to.

[Which is both a blessing and a curse. She does feel anxious some days, that desire to return home to what is familiar that is strong. Yet, she is realistic. There is no easy fix to returning home.]

The people here are very friendly though. That's always nice.

[Sorry Padme, but you asked for it, because if there's one thing that Alex loves (other than her partner, and being a reporter and her friends and coffee) it's the adopted city where the Canadian has made her home for the last decade or so since college. Honestly, she can't imagine living anywhere else, even if there are still one way tickets to Brazil sitting in her suitcase at home. So, Alex is practially glowing when she gushes about it.]

Oh, so many things. I mean, it's cold and rainy really often, but we're also right on the ocean, and it's beautiful. The Pacific Northwest is really amazing with things like scenery. And the people there are sometimes terrible hipsters, but there's a whole community around them that just kind of adopts you. Besides that, they have the best coffee, beer and music. In some ways, it's a lot like the festival last month was here. A lot of places where you can just go and hear really good bands before they were big and thus definitely satisfy your hipster status.

[There's a laugh in her voice as she says the last part, because saying 'oh you don't know them but I saw them in some obscure club in some past date' is definitely a part of that whole culture.]

But yeah, people are definitely nicer here than they are there. I think it's because we kind of don't really have that much of a choice, you know? Live together die alone and all that stuff.

[Yes, Alex just quoted Lost without thinking about it. It's a thing.]

[When someone speaks about something that they enjoy or are adamant about, Padmé will gladly sit and listen for hours. There is something to be said about the joy that others have over certain things, and she's always interested in what those are.

She can see the signs already by how animated she becomes, and in turn, it draws a smile from her as she starts. Padmé's own attention is clearly on her, body facing her, leaning in as she starts. She's always been fond of water herself, so she can understand that. It seems a lively place though.

Yet there is one thing that she does require clarification on.]

Sorry... But what is a hipster?

[For a moment, Alex just blinks at her friend because honestly, she sometimes forgets that there are people here from different worlds and that there are different sorts of slang to both learn and to share. Granted, Alex doesn't normally consider this sort of thing one of the ways that she'd like to share, but it, along with 'frat boy' have both come up this week, a fact that amuses Alex to an absurd degree. So, in the end, Alex just lets out a little bit of a laugh and explains with a grin:]

Hipsters are this annoying group of people [Of which Alex is actually a member, but shush.] who act rather pretentious around certain things. They think that they're a member of a counterculture and that makes them more "authentic" and they tend to hate things that are popular because a lot of the time things that are popular are actually lesser in their eyes. [Thankfully Alex missed that part of the hipster role.]

They tend to be fond of how much better things were before other people heard of them or watched them or whatever. They just tend to suck the fun out of things sometimes.

[It is something that Padmé has run across, with people not understanding the exact words that she uses. Jedi. Padawan. Naboo... Any planet or designation, even animals and plants, are different. Not always, but every now and then there is a word that is thrown in that she has no idea about, and likewise that others have no idea what she is referring too.

How she starts makes Padmé give a little surprised blink. Although as she continues, she can start to understand. She is familiar with people who are full of themselves.]

I see. Thank you for explaining that. No doubt that would be bothersome to deal with.

Yeah they definitely can be. For the most part, not all of them are that bad but god knows the ones who are definitely really are. But even with how bad they can be the rest of it makes it all worth it, honestly. I do like it here, [Alex admitted it softy because well she knew she should be home doing things that were important but right now it wasn't an option so she was just attempting to look at it as the vacation that maybe it could be.

So long as there was no more illnesses and kidnappings and all of that.

Alex gave her friend a quick smile for a moment before she asked:]

What about you? What do you miss?

[It is the atmosphere here that does go a long way. Is it on purpose though? Keep people happy and they tend to ignore other slights.

Not that it has been all sunshine. Yet, compared to some of the events that Padmé has been through, that she has witnessed, or that she has heard about, this place truly isn't too bad. No slavery, from what she can tell. No poor. No illness. Nothing of the sort.]

Ah.

[The first thing that does spring to mind is an answer that she shouldn't give. She had told Anakin that nothing would ever happen between them. Yet, the young Jedi does remain on her mind...]

Being able to speak to my family. My duties back home. My friends. The people here are very friendly, which does go a long way to alleviate some aspects of this place.

[Alex is more aware than some that it's not all sunshine and shadows but she does believe in the fact that the natives genuinely do not wish the harm for the most part. Oh of course some do without a doubt for the most part they don't. It makes her feel safe here. Or at least as safe as possible. Safer than home at any rate. Which was why this was a vacation.

But she also nods along with what Padme is saying, because Alex knows that's true as well. She misses home and her job and her friends and yes even knowing that it's up to them to save the world. However for all of that, at least Alex can maybe offer a small bit of hope.]

Maybe your friends will come here. It won't be the same obviously but it could happen. There are different people from the same worlds here and they can come at varied times. I was here for six months before my partner showed up and then my.... friend showed up two months after he did.

[It's hard for Alex to qualify what Simon is to her other than her responsibility, but also someone she cares about, so friend is close enough, she supposes.]

Perhaps, although I cannot wish for them to be here.

[She can't be that selfish, no matter how much she misses them. Having her mother here without her father? Or her sister without her husband and children? It would be worse if either of her nieces appeared without their parents... She would care for them, of course, but she knows that either or both of them would miss their parents dearly.]

But, no doubt it is nice to have your partner here. I've no one like that myself. A bit too work orientated.

[If it had been Nic, or someone in Alex's life who had a life outside of the show, she might have felt more bad about wishing that they ended up here. But like her, Strand's life had become the show, and in a small way (at least what she'd thought was a small way then) and by extension herself. That's what happened when you were both intense workaholics who spent more time together than people having an actual relationships.

So she doesn't feel bad for wanting him here in the slightest, especially now that he is here.]

Is there anyone at work that you've connected with? That's how I met Richard, honestly.

Oh. No. I mean, there are people that I work closely with, but no one that I feel romantically toward.

[Rush Clovis comes to mind, but she couldn't say that they had worked out. She also has no desire to make any attempt at rekindling that relationship.]

I don't mind. For now, my work keeps me busy, and I am surrounded by friends and colleagues who share my mindset.

[Alex just watched Padme for a moment before she gave her a little bit of a nod. If there was something that Alex got all too well it was throwing yourself into work and saying forget it your personal life. Of course that didn't work all that well when the two intermingled.]

What sort of things do you do?

[Alex didn't think she had asked before, so she was remedying that mistake right now. After all, asking questions was one of the things she was good at, after all it was definitely her job, but she had a way of asking them that felt genuine, because Alex definitely really wanted to know the answers to the questions that she was posing.]

At the moment, we've been trying to stop the Military Creation Act.

[Which might take a bit more explaining to fully provide why she didn't desire it to happen. Padmé has always been a believer of peace, a believer that meeting force with force should not be the go to answer. Conflicts usually stem from an inability to understand and communicate with each other.]

Typically, we act as mediators and regulate trade to protect the citizens of the Republic. We will draft bills or acts and the like and present them, or vote in turn on the ones that were brought forward. We discuss issues and come to decisions, or at least we try to. There are over two thousand representatives, so it sometimes takes time.

[Alex just blinked for a moment at the woman's obviously political job. Back home, Alex's involvement in politics basically stopped and started with feeling more than a little personally responsible for Trump being elected (look, Simon had told her that she'd sort of started the Apocalypse by playing things on her show, and while Simon could be sketchy as hell, she did trust and believe someone who believed she'd save the world. ) But she's visibly impressed by the idea that Padme is doing such good work when it comes to running the government where she was. But one thing sticks in her mind, and it falls out of her lips before passing through any sort of filter.]

Two thousand? God, how do you guys get anything done?

[Looking slightly abashed, Alex added:]

Sorry, reflex. But it seriously needs to be overwhelming at times. I don't think that I could do it, honestly.

Slowly, sometimes.

[As much as Padmé does desire to scream out or pull her hair. She doesn't. Rather, she often has to take a breath and a step back, and approach the situations with a neutral stance, to coax others, to sometimes rile them with words.

But she offers that wry smile.]

It is trying, at times, but then... When you are able to bring about something beneficial, it makes it all worth it.

It must take months to get anything done. I swear you must have the patience of a saint or something.

[For a woman who was incredibly impatient and frequently had no sense of chill, Alex was always slightly in awe of those who did have it. She probably would have been kicked out of the Senate somewhere around the middle of the first week honestly.

If she lasted that long.

But she focused on the other woman’s job as she asked:]

What kinds of things did you do? When you can get them to work, I mean.

You just try to keep in mind what you are fighting for.

[Verbally, that is. She can fight, to defend herself, and has done so, but harming others is not something that she takes pleasure in. She would always prefer that diplomatic solution.]

Ah. Relief aid to planets. Tariffs on those who abuse the system.

[Alex always tried to keep what she was fighting for in mind, but there were some days that were honestly better than others. And there was that whole prone to doing something stupid thing, but at least when Alex did something stupid, she committed to it a hundred percent.

Giving Padme a quick grin, Alex bumped her with her elbow lightly.]

Sounds like you're seriously quite the badass at home, Padme.

[That earns a soft laugh from Padmé as she offers a smile. There are many words she could use to describe herself, and she also knows that those that she works with consider her to be stubborn and strong-willed. She is.]

Well, I don't know if I would use that work. Thorough, maybe. Determined, certainly.

I'm determined.

[Alex announced with a grin before she added other words to what she was.]

And annoyingly persistent and a little insufferable sometimes, but I don't think I could do what you do. You should definitely take that badass boss title, Padme!

[There's a grin, because she means it and nothing her friend says is going to change her mind about it.]

[There is a little shake of her head. She can honestly say that no one has ever called her that before. Padmé offers a grin of her own, mirroring the one that is given to her.]

Well, I suppose I will take that as a compliment then.

monthly mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

beach

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)