Vans Warped Tour

Before going overseas to gead school, I went to the very last Vans Warped Tour to ever exist. in 2018, Kevin Lyman stated that he wanted to move on to bigger and brighter things, but that there would be a large celebration in 2019, which would have been the 25th anniversary of the tour. 

The festival started small in 1995, as an Eclectic alternative rock festival that would eventually include punk rock and other genres of music. skateboard shoe manufacturer Vans would become the first large sponsor of the store, and because of the sponsorship, they were able to take the tour all around the United States and so few stops in Canada. over the next two and a half decades, many different types of bands will perform at this Festival.

Just a few of the bands from the day I went.

Rumor has it that the festival came to an untimely end because of a few bands being packed with sexual allegations. Members of brand new and Pierce the Veil Scott flags for fire do to their relations with underage patrons, and to try and keep the image pure, Vans Warped Tour took its bow and left the scene.

However, in spite of all of the criticisms and allegations surrounding the tour, it's continued 2 be an outlet for teenagers to go and see all of their favorite bands perform 35-minute sets all in one day, and continue to be an award-winning tour for over 20 years. in fact, that's why I became so popular, that just a few years after its Inception, they decided to go Global, starting the 1998 tour in New Zealand. the crowds were enormous, drawing in nearly a million people in North America alone every single year.

And so, and the tail end of July, I went to one of their final destinations in Columbia Maryland. Merriweather Post Pavillion, a venue to which I've been several times before, posted several big name bands that day. I took a friend, and we have the time of our lives. I saw I saw several great bands that day, and also crowd-surfed for the first time in my entire life. Needless to say, there must be a repeat occurrence of these events.

Less Than Jake at a meet and greet. I missed out, as the line was at least 45 minutes.

The day that I went, there were over 50 bands, and five of which I had listened to frequently prior. besides crowd-surfing to August Burns Red, I broke up a fight during Chelsea Grin, met the members of Nekrogoblikon, sat in the bleachers for We the Kings and Simple Plan, nearly broke my neck to Sharptooth and Motionless In White, and enjoyed the positive atmosphere of Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, and Mayday Parade. 3OH!3 Also made appearance, although I had all but forgotten about their existence up until this point of time.

I didn't miss out on signing the petition for Goblin Rights, though!

It was a great show filled with great people, and they were many Shenanigans to be had from the audience members. if there is ever another occurrence of a festival as awesome as this one, be sure to go.

The Pagoda

There is an old building in Southern Pennsylvania that was established in 1908 as a tourist attraction and a luxury hotel. However, in 1910, their liquor license was denied and the bank foreclosed in Reading, and William Witman never opened the $50,000 hotel, tanking his investment. The city of Reading bought the property for $1 in 1911, and the facility was opened as a tourist attraction. To this day, the Reading Pagoda has been maintained by the loving citizens of Reading, and has seen lots of different people from different walks of life, including actual Japanese monks and scholars.

Getting my inner zen on in front of the pagoda.

The pagoda sits at the top of a rather tall hill and is visited often by people in the surrounding area. I myself have gone there a good bit. Their website provides a wealth of information on the location, and it is almost always open. It is a very lux and posh facility that has seven stories of stairs, perfect for any daycation or holistay. Its proximity to the business district of Reading makes it perfect for a bleisure trip or cinetourism, and will give you an Americanized tour of Japanese culture.

I myself paid the two dollar donation to climb the stairs to the top, where I looked out to see the world. And, it was bright and beautiful.

One Example of the view from the top.

So, one day, possibly years or weeks from now, if you find yourself in South-Central Pennsylvania, come and visit the pagoda. It will be a voyage to be remembered for years to come.