Medal Day

I'm heading to the hills of New Hampshire this weekend to go to Medal Day at the MacDowell Colony. Peterborough is the town that Our Town was based on and many a famous artist has stayed in the colony there. I used to see an artist or two, sometimes, passing through the woods on my runs when I lived there. They were shy and quick, like deer.

The last Medal Day I went to featured this redheaded singer lady performing some sort of a tribute to Merce Cunningham. It was a very The Emperor Has No Clothes experience as she sang this weird-ass song that she made up on the spot which basically involved her going "Muhmuhmuhmuherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrcccccccccccuhuhuh" and so on, while everyone appeared to listen in rapt attention and just acted like it was all so wonderful when it fact, well, it was kind of stupid. OK, maybe stupid is a little harsh. But it wasn't all that.

Anyhoo, after the medal is presented you get to walk around and pet the deer (I mean visit the artists) and chat with them and see their wee houses and the wooden boards where talented and fascinating people have signed their names, because they stayed there, too. The whole rest of the year, the public is not allowed on the grounds of the colony, so it's pretty neat to be let in, and also it is free and you get to eat cheese (although this you have to bring in on your own).