How are you doing Rogue? Thursday was an odd day, for myself at least. I'm not sure but it seemed like there was a odd vibe in the air. Everything seemed slightly akimbo. Thursday's are like that though. It still brings a warm feeling to my heart to see people strolling down the street to catch a show on a Thursday (a Thursday?...in Fresno?). Maybe the change in weather sapped some of the energy. Even on a day that lacked some of the electricity there were still good times to be had. "The Rose and Clarise Show" had people laughing, its good to hear people laugh. It is pretty amazing the amount of talent that we have gathered around Fresno right now. There are a lot of talented people here all the time, but now we have local talent mixing with talent from around the country (and world for that matter), and it's good. What's more it is really nice to see the different performers supporting each other. There always seems to be three or four people in the audience that are performers for other shows.

By the by Rogue, you've done something other than bring a lot of talent together for the people of Fresno to enjoy. You've also give Fresno a chance to shine. I've seen performers from other parts of the country out during and after Rogue. I've spoken to them and they all tell me that Fresno is a cool place. They obviously enjoy the festival, but its more than that they are enjoying Fresno. And you know what? When I talk to them it's not Riverpark they tell me about, it's not Edward's, Signature's or the other megaplexes, it's not the big chain restaurants, or the Starbucks that they tell me about. It's not those things that make Fresno less Fresno-y, it's those things in Fresno that subsist despite of the Riverparks, the Fashion Faire, the new boutiques clothing stores or the stale confines of a Starbucks. It is those things in Fresno that you can't get else where.

Shhhh...come closer Rogue, I have a secret to tell you. It is the oddities, the local flavor (like yourself) that makes any town worth coming back to. The places that I've been to that I remember, that I would like to visit again sometime are those that had their own personality. For these two weeks you've shown Fresno that we can have our own personality, that we don't have to depend on the Riverparks, Fashion Faires, Starbucks, Macys, (insert your favorite unique flavor killing monstrosities here) to make us what we are. My greatest hope is that Edwards theatre is a ghost town this Saturday, that the burners at P.F. Changs are cold, that the Elephant Bar is silent while Rogue venues are bustling, Thiaphoon, Million Elephant, M are busting at the seams with hungry patrons and Teazer, Revue, Javawava are teeming with coffee and tea drinkers talking about what to see next.

Rogue, I'm worried that come Sunday things might return to normal. Local businesses will be forgotten again, ignored for the shiny facades, and out of place palm trees and fountains. That the excitement for local entertainment will give way to the next big show coming to the Save Mart Center. We may not be able to stop this trend toward homogenization but that doesn’t mean that we should push for it. Well Rogue, for eight days we pushed back. We’ll see what happens on Sunday…