For a change, it didn't rain Saturday night, so I awoke Sunday to a much drier campground. First on this day‘s agenda was to walk over to the Flickerings barn to see some of the short films that were being featured this year. I was pretty impressed with most of them. My favorite film featured a child’s cartoon stick drawing coming to life and having to satisfy his hunger and thirst with the child‘s cookie and kool-aid. I also really enjoyed an amusing mockumentary detailing the rise to stardom and corresponding fall of a fictional church praise band. Afterwards, I caught a little bit of the last session of the writing seminar. I then caught some more short films at the Flickerings barn. I was most impressed by a film featuring a group of men gathering to play a game of Russian roulette. The desperation of these characters, expressed in different ways, was quite gripping. I caught the last of the memory and movies seminar, and then after one last visit to the merch tent to get a Cornerstone T-shirt, I walked over to the Gallery Tent for the last time. I saw Jeff Elbel's band, Ping, give an entertaining show, featuring about 8 or 9 people on stage playing various instruments. One of the songs was dedicated the band‘s very pregnant female singer and her “muffin in the oven“. That evening, I wandered over to see Miranda Stone playing acoustic guitar at one of the seminar tents. Jeff Elbel joined her for one song, a version of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire”. The two of them were accompanied by hand percussion (a fancy word for clapping) given by a kid who was drafted into the performance because he happened to walk past the tent wearing a large sombrero. It was one of those spontaneous Cornerstone moments that make the festival so memorable. That evening, I caught one more screening at the Flickerings farm, an Iranian movie called "The Wind Will Carry Us". The movie showed what happens when an impatient movie director is forced to slow down and appreciate the people and pace of life in a village in which he is staying. After one more interesting discussion, I walked next door to the Imaginarium, who were holding a movie night of their own. I caught the end of "Planet of the Apes" (the original, of course), and saw "Ed Wood" for the first time. I don‘t know why I had never bothered to catch this film before, but I am very glad I did. Snacks were served as well, breakfast cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, just like we were all eight years old again.

When the movie ended after midnight, I walked back to my tent one last time. The festival was truly starting to wind down. Kids hung around the picnic tables outside the food tents, chilling out in an end-of-festival vibe. Some of the tents were already starting to be dismantled. The merch tent had been emptied of most of its boxes of merchandise, and the open spaces give me the impression that it could be quite a suitable setting for a rodeo or a three-ring circus.

As I drove home the next morning, listening to some of the Cds I bought, I was able to reflect on this year’s festival. Perhaps the nicest thing about this year’s festival was the fact that partly due to the rain, the temperature wasn't as hot as it usually is in July in Illinois, so I wasn't totally drained by the end of the fest. I didn’t catch as many bands this year as I had at past festivals, but I enjoyed getting to meet some new people, catch up with some old friends, and getting exposed to some interesting films. All in all, I really had a great time, and am planning on coming back next year!