This was my first visit to the Jamboree although I had wanted to go for several years now because it is broadcast on our local PBS station, WCTE, and I enjoy watching it, but I never remembered to actually go. Anyway, I was ready for it this year.

First of all, I’ll get my complaining out of the way. It was hot and there wasn’t much shade facing the stage. But the good news is that free water was available. The stage is downtown on the square by the courthouse. There were plenty of food booths near the stage too (The firemen make the best hamburgers). I tried a fried Moonpie just to try it, but I didn’t care for it. There were also a number of other fried snacks available I would never try like fried Oreos and fried Twinkies.

On stage was nonstop entertainment from amateur musicians and singers from across the country. There were also square dancers, cloggers and buckdancers. There was even more pickin’ and fiddlin’ going on in the shade trees off the stage. At the end of the second night, there is a Fiddle-Off for the Grand Championship which has the junior and senior winners competing against each other. Check out the video for a few short clips of some of these events.

There were over 100 craft booths around the square. Most of the booths seemed to have handmade goods for sale. I think there is even a competition for the best booth. I couldn’t find anything that fit my tastes but I did see an interesting looking lantern at an antique store nearby.

Youth Square Dancing

Mandolin

Novelty Act featuring jug and washboard

Gospel Singing Quartet Family

Old-Time Banjo

Autoharp

Shade Tree Picking - with guy dancing on board

For more information about the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree, visit smithvillejamboree.com

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Continue reading for more examples of her work.

Jolly Rampage

In this time-lapse video, you can watch as the painting comes to life.

Here are some more examples of her work. These are a few of my favorite doodles I pulled from her blog. More works can also be found in her deviantart gallery.

Make a Wish!

Clever Girl...

Now I can truly fly.

I just had the strangest dream!

Related posts:

1. My First Oil Painting
2. Wicked Witch Oil Painting

"Wicked Witch" Oil Painting by Paul Harrison

This is my fourth oil painting on canvas. The inspiration for this came from when a wasp entered the house, which is always fun. Anyway, I thought it looked like a little witch riding a broom so I wanted to paint it next to a tornado like the Wicked Witch in the movie Wizard of Oz.

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3. Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Back Bay Fens

Buddhist teachings say that the human corpse goes through nine stages of decay. In this hanging scroll from the 19th century, Japanese artist Kikuchi Yosai illustrates the changes that occur to the body of an elegant court lady.

I created the video above to present the scroll better than just providing an image because it’s a large scroll and difficult to view on a computer screen. You can click the image of the scroll below to view a larger version too.

Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk

This hanging scroll can be viewed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

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3. New York City Free Wallpaper

Amazing Art of Snow Sculpture

Noupe Design Blog has a collection of photos of snow sculptures from around the world. The snow sculpture shown above is from the Ice & Snow Festival in Harbin, China. Image credit: frankartculinary

La Villa Hamster

La Villa Hamster is a hotel in Nantes, France where you can live like a hamster. You get your own waterspout, crawlspace and hamster wheel! The bathroom even features giant wood chips! It’s hard to believe this is a hotel in France instead of Japan. Dicovered via Spot Cool Stuff

Danakil Desert

Danakil Desert has been named “the Cruelest Place on Earth by National Geographic. Not only is it a desert, but it features volcanos, geysers and toxic gases. Check out the photos at Oddity Central. Some of the photos remind me of Yellowstone.

Fly Geyser

Fly Geyser

Speaking of geysers, check out these beautiful photos of Fly Geyser in Nevada that the blog Kuriositas has collected. FLy Geyser is less than 100 years old. It was created when the owners of the land were drilling for water. The geyser is located on private land but it can be seen from a distance on the road. Discovered via Neatorama

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle is a 17th century Japanese castle located in Himeji, Japan. It is the largest and most visited castle is Japan. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Sword in the Stone

In a small Italian chapel in Tuscany, there is a real sword in the stone! The sword dates from the 12th century so it is possible that the legendary Excalibur originated in Italy before it was associated with King Arthur in England. Atlas Obscura has the history of the sword.

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I was going to provide a link to an article for each item in the list but I got tired of it. You will just have to search for it yourself or ask me what something is. You can also click on the map above to see an interactive map where you can click on a location to learn more about it.

Austria

• Admont Abbey
• Kunthistorisches Museum
• Melk Abbey
• Landeszeughaus
• Palace of Mirabell
• Salzbergbahn Halstatt
• Vienna
  • Belvedere (palace)
  • Demel
  • Hofburg Imperial Palace
  • Naschmarkt
  • Schatzkammer
  • Schonbrunn Palace
  • St. Peters Church
  • St. Stephen’s Cathedral
  • Vienna State Opera

Belgium

• Brussels
  • Manneken Pis
  • Musee  Magritte Museum

Croatia

• Dubrovnik
• Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Split
  • Diocletian’s Palace

Czech Republic

• Archiepiscopal Chateau of Kromeriz
• Cesky Krumlov
• Konopiste
• Lednice
• Olomouc
  • Regional Museum in Olomouc
• Prague
  • Prague Astronomical Clock
  • Strahov Monastery
• Sedlec Ossuary

Denmark

• Aarhus – The Old Town
• Ærøskøbing
• Copenhagen
  • Christianshavn
  • Church of Our Savior
  • Rosenborg Castle
• Kronborg
• Legoland
• Roskilde Cathedral
• Viking Ship Museum

France

• Arles Amphitheatre
• Beynac-et-Cazenac
• Bordeaux Cathedral
• Carcassonne
• Chambord Chateau
• Chateau de Blois
• Chateau de Chaumont
• Chateau de Cheverny
• Chateau de Langeais
• Chateau Saumur
• Chateau de Sully-sur-Loire
• Chateau de Valencay
• Chenonceaux Castle
• Grotte de Lascaux
• La Mer de Glace
• Metz Cathedral
• Millau_Viaduct
• Mont Saint-Michel
• Nimes
  • Arena of Nimes
  • Nimes Castellum
  • Jardin de la Fontaine
  • Maison Carree
• Palace of Versailles
• Palais de Fontainebleau
• Paris
  • Basilique du Sacre-Coeur
  • Flea Market of Paris Saint-Ouen
  • Grand Palais
  • Lourve
  • Musee d’Orsay
  • Petit Palais
  • Saint-Sulpice
• Place de la Concorde
• Place Stanislas
• Place des Terreaux
• Pont du Gard
• Rocamadour
• Strasbourg

Germany

• Aachen – Palatine Chapel
• Bacharach
• Berlin
  • Altes Museum
  • AquaDom
  • Berggruen Museum
  • Bode-Museum
  • Charlottenburg Palace
  • Ethnological Museum
  • Friedrichswerder Church
  • Gemaldegalerie
  • Neues Museum
  • Pergamon Museum
• Bremin – Town Musicians
• Burg Eltz
• Cologne Cathedral
• Deutsches Uhrenmuseum (English: German Clock and Watch Museum
• Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (English: Old Masters Picture Gallery)
• Goslar
• Hamburg
  • Museum of Ethnology
• Hamelin
• Heidelberg Castle
• Hohenschwangau Castle
• Lowenburg
• Magdeburg Water Bridge
• Munich
  • Alte Pinakothek
  • Residence
• Neuschwanstein Castle
• Rothenburg/Oberlausitz
• Sanssouci
• Stahleck Castle
• Wartburg
  • Mainfränkische Museum
  • Residence
• Wiblingen Abbey

Hungary

• Budapest
  • House of Terror

Italy

• Aqua Claudia
• Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
• Biblioteca Marciana
• Contarelli Chapel
• Florence
  • Boboli Gardens
  • Florence Cathedral
  • Galleria dell’Accademia – Michelangelo’s David
  • Ponte Vecchio
• Herculaneum
• Leaning Tower of Pisa
• Manarola
• Milan
  • Cenacolo Vinciano – “The Last Supper”
  • La Scala
  • Santa Maria delle Grazie
• Miramare
• Naples
  • Cappella Sansevero
  • Castel Nuovo
  • Naples National Archaeological Museum
  • Palace of Caserta
  • Pompeii
• Noto Cathedral
• Ostia Antica
• Positano
• Rome
  • Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
  • Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva
  • Baths of Caracalla
  • Borghese Gallery
  • Catacomb of Callixtus
  • Castel Sant’Angelo
  • Circus Maximus
  • Colosseum
  • Galleria Sciarra
  • Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II
  • Parco degli Acquedotti
  • Piazza Navona
  • Ponte Sant’Angelo
  • Roman Forum
  • Trevi Fountain
  • Sant’Ignazio
  • Spanish Steps
  • Uffizi
  • Villa Adriana
  • Villa Farnesina
• Scrovegni Chapel
• Siena
  • Palazzo Pubblico
  • Siena Cathedral
• Universita’ Degli Studi Di Padova
• Valle dei Templi
• Venice
  • St Mark’s Basilica
  • Teatro La Fenice (“The Phoenix”)
• Verona
  • Arena
  • Piazza delle Erbe
  • Via Cappello – Romeo & Juliet
• Villa d’Este
• Villa Pisani
• Villa Romana del Casale

Netherlands

• Amsterdam
  • Anne Frank House
  • Rijksmuseum
  • Van Gogh Museum
• Kinderdijk
• Kroller-Muller Museum

Norway

• Borgund stave church
• Bryggen
• Flam Station
• Geiranger
• Oslo
  • Frogner Park
  • National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
  • Viking Ship Museum
• Roros

Poland

• Auschwitz
• Malbork Castle
• Wieliczka salt mine

Portugal

• Biblioteca Geral Da Universidade De Coimbra
• Lisbon
  • Jerónimos Monastery
  • Maritime Museum
  • Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
  • National Coach Museum
• Nazare
• Pena National Palace

Romania

• Peles Castle

Slovenia

• Piran
• Predjama Castle

Spain

• Avila
• Barcelona
  • La Boqueria
  • Casa Batllo
  • Museo Casa Gaudi
  • Museu Picasso
  • Park Guell
  • La Rambla
  • Sagrada Familia
• Butron
• Dali Museum
• El Escorial
• Granada
  • Alhambra
  • Generalife
• Great Mosque of Córdoba
• Italica
• Madrid
  • Museo del Prado
  • Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
• Ponferrada
• Salamanca
  • New Cathedral
• Santa María de Guadalupe
• Segovia
• Seville
  • Seville Cathedral
• Toledo
  • Iglesia de Santo Tome
  • Toledo Cathedral
• Valencia

Sweden

• Stockholm
  • Skansen
  • Stockholm City Hall

Switzerland

• Abbey library of St Gall
• Bellinzona castles
• Bern
  • Zytglogge
• Chillon Castle
• International Clock Museum
• Lavaux
• Madonna del Sasso
• Museum zur Wehrgeschichte Festung Fürigen
• Olympic Museum
• Schilthorn

UK

• Bath – Roman baths
• Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd
• Dublin
  • Trinity College Library
• Giant’s Causeway
• Inveraray Castle
• Llangernyw
• Loch Ness
• London
  • Bank of England Museum
  • Bermondsey Market
  • Big Ben
  • British Library
  • British Museum
  • Clockmakers Museum
  • Courtauld Institute of Art
  • Hampton Court Palace
  • HMS Victory
  • Kensington Gardens
  • Museum of London
  • Portobello Rd
  • Tower of London
  • The Rolling Bridge
  • Tate Modern
  • Trafalger Square
  • Wallace Museum
  • Wells Cathedral
• Longleat
• Ring of Brodgar
• Urquhart Castle
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Warwick Castle

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1. French Mantel Clock
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Fotopedia Heritage

The free Fotopedia Heritage app was created in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It features thousands of hand-picked photos from the UNESCO world heritage sites across the globe.

To get started, you can flip through random photos from around the world or just watch a slideshow. If you want to browse photos by country, just tap the magnifying glass icon and it will list every site in that country. For faster browsing, you can tap the filmstrip icon to scroll through a list of thumbnails.

Each photo you view will have some accompanying text to help you learn about the site you are viewing. Just tap the “i” icon to bring up the info panel. This panel also provides a link to the site’s tripadvisor.com page so you can find ratings, nearby hotels and other attractions.

Some other cool features include:

• a map that finds your current location and sites nearby
• saving favorite photos
• sharing photos via social media
• setting photos as wallpaper
• also available for iPhone and iPod Touch

Rough Guides World Lens

The free Rough Guide World Lens app presents you with hundreds of inspiring photographs as soon as you start the app. Just tap on a thumbnail to start browsing the gallery. Each photo has a caption to describe the place or event shown. The app gets a new set of images every few weeks for you to browse through.

Some other cool features include:

• a map that pinpoints each photo and allows for searching
• slideshow mode
• saving favorite photos
• sharing photos via social media
• setting photos as wallpaper
• also available for iPhone and iPod Touch

Geo Photo Explorer

Geo Photo Explorer is a simple to use app that allows easy exploring and virtual touring of the entire world. To get started, just browse to a region of the world you want to explore and tap the globe icon at the top of the map. This will load up to 100 photos onto the map. Simply tap a thumbnail on the map or browse the results panel to see the photo.

Some other cool features include:

• search for places on the map
• history of all photos viewed in current session
• history and favorites of locations searched
• several different modes of photo visualization
• saving favorite photos
• sharing photos via social media and Bluetooth
• setting photos as wallpaper
• also available for iPhone and iPod Touch

Google Earth

What makes Google Earth a great tool for travel is that it allows easy navigation of the Earth and it’s terrain in 3D. By enabling the Panoramio Photos and Wikipedia layers, you can navigate to a region you want to explore and just tap on the icons that show up to get a photo and a description of that location. The Businesses layer will show icons for hotels, restaurants, etc. if you zoom into a city or town. This app is also available for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Goby

Goby is an app that helps you find things to do (currently in the US only). It can detect your current location or you can search for a destination. Select a category for what you are interested in doing and you will get a list of every upcoming event and attraction nearby. There is also an advanced search to find things to do during a specific time.

Once the search is complete you are presented with a map pinpointed with all the attractions you might be interested in.  You can also browse through a list with photos sorted be relevance, date, distance or title. Simply tap an event for more details, directions, phone numbers and to share via social media. This app is also available for iPhone and iPod Touch.

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The following photos represent only a tiny fraction of all the minerals on display at the museum. These are just some of my favorite.

Flourite

Flourite

Flourite

Copper

Actinolite - variety byssolite, fibrous

Halotrichite - another example of fibrous crystals

Barite Sphere

Gypsum - from a cave in Mexico

Grossular - with vesuvianite in limestone, polished

Gypsum - variety selenite "ram's horn"

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2. Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Back Bay Fens
3. Vermont’s Fun Museum and Factory Tours

"Niagara Falls" pitcher, porcelain, ca. 1855

One of my favorite objects I have seen on display in museums across the country is the “Niagara Falls” pitcher. These were made by United States Pottery Company in Bennington, Vermont during the 1850s. Supposedly the design is inspired by Niagara Falls. I guess I can see the resemblance.

You can find this pitcher at the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio and the Portland Museum of Art in Maine. Also, according to Brooklyn Museum‘s website, they have one in their collection.

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1. Antiques and Covered Bridges in Maine
2. Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Back Bay Fens
3. Medieval Comb

Chocolate Christmas Tree

Patrick Roger, a chocalatier in France, created a 10 meter tall Christmas Tree for charity. It took a month to make and a ton of chocolate. Check out the video to see it built in 30 seconds. Discovered via Oddity Central.

Love Love

Love Love is a boat designed by french artist Julien Berthier that looks like it is sinking. It is a fully functional boat and he even traveled around the world in it! Discovered via Oddity Central

Mexico’s “Frozen” Waterfall

Hierve el Agua

Hierve el Agua in Oaxaca, Mexico looks like a waterfall, but it isn’t water and it isn’t exactly falling either. It is made of mineral deposits just like formations found in caves! More photos at Kuriositas. Discovered via Neatorama. Image credit: Wikipedia user Lavintzin

Bodie – California Ghost Town

Bodie is one of the largest and best preserved ghost towns in California. It was a boomtown during the Gold Rush. Now it is a historic park where you can walk the streets and even go inside a few buildings. Discovered via Atlas Obscura

Rocamadour, France

Fairy Tale Town - Rocamadour, France

Rocamdour, France looks like a town right out of a fairy tale! I can’t wait to see this place myself. Discovered via Wikipedia

Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens is a famous amusement park in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the second oldest amusement park in the world. I haven’t looked into Denmark destinations yet but this one looks like a must experience for me. Discovered via Wikipedia

Things to Do in Florence, Italy

I already know that there is a lot to do in Florence, Italy but the BrilliantTips blog has some great tips for planning the trip so I thought I would share the link!

Related posts:

1. Web Discoveries: Snow Sculptures, Hamster Hotel, The Sword in the Stone and More!
2. Web Discoveries: Manmade and Natural Wonders
3. Web Discoveries: Cave City, Sand Sculptures, and More!