Exciting day for Sanford

I apologize for the shakiness of the video. Part II coming tomorrow.

The 42nd president of the United States stopped in Sanford today. It’s still pretty cool to have typed that sentence.
Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking … look at the small town simpletons get excited over a little ol’ presidential visit. Well, whatever. It was an exciting day for me, so I suppose you can call me a simpleton.
I’ve only seen one other president in person during my lifetime, and that’s George W. I saw him in Houston after Air Force One landed at a military base near NASA.
But this one was more special, and a little more intimate. For the nearly 1,000 people who showed up at the McSwain Center in Sanford today, Clinton was nearly at arms-length, speaking on a flatbed trailer under a clear Carolina sky and in front of a bright green pine tree. You could have thought he was stumping for governor of North Carolina … but instead, the former leader of the free world was stumping for his wife, the former first lady and current Democratic hopeful for president.
Sanford’s got a pretty diverse political population, even though I’m told most of the people in our area are conservative. But Republican, Democrat or other … I have a feeling most of the people who showed up today did so to see a celebrity, rather than just attend an early voting rally.
As for Clinton’s speech … well, I haven’t had a chance to go back and watch the video I took, but I did appreciate his humor — joking about his love for donuts and gathering up Wal-Mart greeters to go vote. Some have debated whether his appearances have helped or hindered Hillary … I say this stop did nothing but help Hillary. From the people I talked to, about 99 percent of them were thrilled that Sanford was on the campaign trail. I’m sure at least a few people voted Hillary just for this today.

The Herald will have tons of coverage on the speech today, the people who gathered and Sanford’s short history of presidential stops (let’s put it this way, the last time a commander in chief stepped foot in Lee County, very few of us were alive).

At the Clinton event

Typing from cell phone. Just wanted to say there are about 1,000 people here waiting to see Clinton (who’s running late).

Am told he’s first president to stop in Sanford since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

By the way, it’s cold. Too cold for late April.

More to come.

Bill Clinton coverage today

I’m leaving soon to head to the McSwain Center in Sanford (it’s 7 a.m. right now) to see President Bill Clinton, who’s not scheduled to get here until 9-ish. Come back later for Twitter updates (top right of this page), hopefully some video of his visit and my thoughts on the event.

Man, I’m so tired.

Bill Clinton Sanford update

The following story will appear in Wednesday’s Herald

From staff reports

SANFORD — President Bill Clinton will visit Sanford Wednesday for an early voting rally at the McSwain Agricultural Center at 2420 Tramway Road.
Clinton, whose wife Hillary is campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president, is scheduled to be at the center from 9:15 a.m. to 10 a.m., according to Hillary’s campaign web site.
The rally, which is free and open to the public, is part of an early voting promotion tour that also includes stops in Apex, Lillington, Dunn, Hope Mills, Lumberton, and Whiteville.
The McSwain Center is one of four locations in Lee County where voters can cast their ballots early. The other three locations are the Lee County Board of Elections office on Steele Street, the Broadway Town Meeting Chambers on East Lake Drive in Broadway and the Northwest Pocket Fire Department on Pickard Road.
Early voting is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Election Day is May 6.

Parking
A limited number of parking spaces for the Clinton event will be available at the McSwain Center, although plans are to close off the road in front of the building at 9 a.m. Vehicles will not be admitted to the parking lot after the road is closed.
Further parking is available across the street at San-Lee Middle School, on the nearby grass at the Worthy House and along a nearby dirt road. Those parking there should walk around the nearby wheat field and not through it.

The Agriculture Extension says anybody who plans on being at this thing needs to plan on getting there EARLY.

Clinton update

OK, I’m writing this from my cell phone in Hattiesburg, Miss. But I got new details for Clinton’s trip, so I thought I’d give this a shot.

Former president Bill Clinton will be at the McSwain Center in Sanford at 9:15 am Wednesday to campaign for his wife, Hillary. He’ll also make stops in Lillington and Dunn after that.

I’ll post more when I know more.

Bill Clinton coming to Sanford Wednesday

I’m still in Louisiana, but I got this in my e-mail late last night.

President Bill Clinton will return to North Carolina Tuesday, April 29, attending events in Boone, North Wilkesboro, Elkin, and Mount Airy.
On Wednesday, April 30, President Clinton will attend campaign events in Apex, Sanford, Lillington, Dunn, Hope Mills, Lumberton, and Whiteville, NC.
All events are free and open to the public.

Yep, it appears Sanford will host a president this week, even if he’s just in town to promote his wife. Whether you’re voting Republican or Democrat and regardless of your feelings toward the guy or Hillary Clinton, you must admit it’s kind of neat that a two-term president is coming to Sanford. Here’s hoping for a big crowd.

When we get details of the stop we will post it here, as well as on our Web site, Gordon Anderson’s blog and Bill Horner III’s blog.

On an unrelated note, I’m leaving Louisiana in about an hour, and we’ll be on the road all day today and the first half of tomorrow. I should be back in the office Tuesday afternoon. See you then.

Lee County Board of Education endorsements

I’ve been out of Lee County and North Carolina this week, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t kept up with the elections there.
Today, we endorsed four candidates for Lee County School Board — Mark Akinosho, Bill Tatum, Shawn Williams and Lynn Smith. Our decisions came after meeting with each of the six candidates personally, after hosting a forum where all six candidates spoke and after publishing answers from all six candidates to questionnaires provided by The Herald.
Read our full endorsement by clicking here, and by all means, let us know what you think.

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man

Saturday night was the night I was looking forward to most at Festival International.
Over the years, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the different styles of music I’ve come across, from Celtic to African percussion and everything in between (no music from the Far East yet though).
But for the first time since I’ve started attending Festival, the organizers scheduled some flat-out ear-rattling punk rock … with a French-Canadian twist.
When I first saw the name “Les Breastfeeders” on the Festival line-up, I was intrigued. Then the more I read about them and the more YouTube clips I saw, the more intrigued I became.
They took the stage Saturday night just as the thunderstorms were going away, and the more they played, the bigger the crowd got.
In other words, they were good … and a breath of fresh air for Festival.

The best way I can describe their sound is punk, with a little mainstream rock (think Raconteurs) thrown in. They’re the French-Canadian version of an American “The” band (The Strokes, The Hives) … fitting as “Les” is French for “The”. I’m assuming “Breastfeeders” is French for, well, “Breastfeeders.”
I’m not much of a music reviewer, but I liked their sound. I also loved the performance, as the highlight of the show is watching their tambourine guy (who looks like a cross between Tom Kenny — the voice of Spongebob Squarepants and a Mr. Show veteran — and Igor from “Young Frankenstein”). He began the show wearing boa-sleeves (I called them gorilla arms) and throughout, he paraded across the stage like he was the focal point of the whole show. He even broke a few tambourines … “luckily” having spares on reserve.
Not since Paris Combo nearly 10 years ago (a much more tame French jazz group) have I instantly wanted to buy a CD after a Festival performance. It was a good thing I went ahead and bought their’s before their performance last night.
They play again today during the afternoon, but the forecast is for thunderstorms all day, so I’m not sure we’re going to make it.
Luckily, I’ve had my fill. And my ears are still ringing.

(ABOVE) Short two-minute video clip (taken with a tiny digital camera … so it’s not the best quality) from Saturday night’s performance, the song is “a mange ta ville.”
CLICK HERE to visit their Web site (the English version).

A few Festival photos

If you can’t pick your own nose ….

An idea of the crowd … and this was at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Much larger crowds come in the evening.

Part of the trio of Samarabalouf, a French gypsy band.

The African percussion band, MOOV.

Much more to come.

Festival International: Babylon Circus

We were disappointed that we had to miss Ivan Neville’s Dumpstafunk Thursday night (sick dog), but by Friday, we were back into the Festival swing.
We were able to take in a few bands Friday evening … not really paying much attention, but enjoying it all the same, but we were looking forward to the headliner Friday night, Babylon Circus.
BC is a ska band from France, composed of two singers (rappers) who are brothers, the typical guitar/bass/drums/keyboard get-up, and a brass section.
First off, ska isn’t necessarily my thing, and I’m not huge into French rap. But in the spirit of taking in different cultures (which is what Festival International is all about), I gave them a chance. I wasn’t disappointed.
It’s not that the song themselves were all that memorable … it was just a great show. I could get past the French mime routine (one of the singers was way too French for my taste) and the lead singer’s constantly asking us if we were enjoying our dream. It was the music — the thumping beats and the impressive guitar — that kept the audience into it. And the crowd was huge (and young) for a non headliner show (Festival’s biggest name usually plays Thursday night).
And the show was very much like a circus (which is why I suppose they mimicked clowns at times) — it was fun, it was a quick two hours and it was a great “start” to the festival for us.
Looking forward to the next few days.

BELOW: YouTube clip of Babylon from a few years back.
COMING UP: Photos from our experience.