Thunderstorm does little to dampen mood at Beaufort Water Festival
After a long weekend of sandbar trips, concerts in the park and then the popular Motown Monday, the 60th Beaufort Water Festival Time Warp Tuesday had an oddly slow start.
An afternoon thunderstorm may have shied people away.
But apart creating a slightly unpleasant sludge to the grassy dance floor, the rain was accompanied by a cool sea breeze, relieving festivalgoers of the summer heat.
As the sun started to go down, people gradually started making their way into the festival gates.
Many of the dedicated guests sported tie-dye T-shirts, flower crowns and circular-framed sunglasses in spirit of the '70s theme.
Despite the smaller crowd and unpredictable weather, this is what Commodore Bill Damude had in mind when he decided to change Tuesday night's theme from last year's Salsa Tuesday.
One festival volunteer, Josh Schott, went above and beyond with his hippie attire, strutting around in a large puffy Afro, cut-off jean shorts and large bug-eyed glasses.
"I'm just looking to have a good time," he said, while carrying an iced cold drink.
The band White Chocolate added ambiance to the '70s theme by with oldies tunes including "Shake your Groove Thing" by Peaches and Herb and "That's the Way I Like it" by KC and the Sunshine Band.
Jack and Melody Melvin, a couple visiting from Jacksonville, Fla., planned to get groovy in celebration of Jack's 60th birthday.
The couple, on their first visit to Beaufort, heard about the festival from a friend.
"We couldn't believe that it was the 60th anniversary of the festival. It seemed like fate," Melody said. "We are having a fabulous time; this music is right up our ally."
Even toddler Rusty Walker, 4, and his older brother, Kanaan, 8, enjoyed the far-out tunes, which were recorded more than 30 years before their time.
The two boys danced and jumped to the music in the front row of the dozens of lines of lawn chairs.
Throughout the night, the band continued to keep the crowd moving to a long list of songs, echoing far beyond the downtown swing bridge and down the intracoastal waterway.
This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 9:26 PM with the headline "Thunderstorm does little to dampen mood at Beaufort Water Festival."