I’m writing from the backwoods of North Carolina, in the middle of soy bean country. That’s our truck and Airstream trailer sitting in Matt’s front yard. (Note the blue square. Basically we have some more work to do..) There is plenty of open sky and sweet tea down here.

Have we officially left on our trip yet? No-far from it! Well, not too far. We have 7 days to take off and right now Matt and I are in Albemarle, N.C. visiting with his family, packing up Matt’s belongings, and doing some detail work to the Airstream. What does one do with spare time in North Carolina? Why shoot guns of course!

Matt’s brother Steven took us out into the soy bean fields to do some target practice. The family is trying to convince me to take a gun on the trip. It’s a hard decision, but I imagine we’ll meet some characters on the road where a little bit of intimidation could come in handy.  I met a guy last week who traveled in an RV all across America for three years and he said he would never go on a trip without a gun.  I think I’ve been living a sheltered life in Charlottesville because it has been years since I’ve ever felt threatened.   Personally, I’d rather be shot than shoot someone else.

The past week has involved lots of preparation for the trip. There’s been goodbye meals, visits from friends, and Airstream work with Matt. Here’s a sample from the week:

Dark skies on I-81.

Dinner with gracious hosts Cameron and Rose. The best meal I’ve had in weeks (and all local)!

My dear friend Gregory comes for a visit and lunch at Mel’s–Charlottesville’s best diner/burger joint!

I had the fun experience of helping The Mr. and Mrs. Gum with their soon-to-be very impressive, traditional wood working bench. It’s a shame we’ll be leaving before it is completed. If you want fine furniture made, Wheeler Gum is your man. Besides, with a name like that, don’t you just want to meet him!

The very serious gluing process….

Hope Sowell saves the day with her impressive and patient plumbing skills!

Matt on the roof of the Airstream, riveting a new panel from where we removed the TV antenna. Look at those arms!

The neighborhood painter has taken a liking to the Airstream. Edward showed up about two weeks ago and has since completed a number of paintings. Last week he drove up in his eight-year old Honda hybrid and painted the Airstream and his car together. He told me they were the two most over-the-top futuristic things on the road and they had to be painted together. I’m giving him the old appliances from the Airstream and he’s giving me a painting. I love doing trades with artists. Edward paints all over Charlottesville and always wears headphones when doing so. He had a teepee in his backyard until a few months ago.

We’re in N.C. until Monday and then we return to Charlottesville for the vegetable oil truck conversion, continued preparations, and then a send off party on the 30th! Please come out and join us at 817 King St. Starts at 6pm. Bring us a good novel or mix CD for the road.

The American Festivals Project, partially funded by a National Geographic Young Explorer’s Grant, is led by photographers Ross McDermott and Matt Burris. The project explores America’s variety of small-town festivals, with the aim of discovering a rich diversity of culture that has in part remained hidden. Traveling in a Waste Vegetable Oil-powered truck, and living in a 1969 Airstream trailer, Ross and Matt are covering over one year of unique festival life from forty-nine of America’s states.

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Herein marks the first post to the American Festivals Project blog. For the next year (and possibly longer), Matt and I will take you across the United States as we visit over sixty small, hidden, and bizarre festivals. What an adventure lies ahead, but how much work we have to get there!!

I am currently in Charlottesville, VA working on our newly purchased vehicles that will take us around this grand country. We’ve acquired a 1969 Airstream trailer (our home for the next year), and a big ol’ Dodge Ram 2500 that will soon be converted to run on waste vegetable oil. More on that later.

We received some of our first press last week from the C-Ville Weekly. My friend Brendan was nice enough to do a small article. Read it HERE.

My days are spent fixing up the Airstream. We’ve had to re-plumb the entire trailer as the copper piping had ruptured in several places. My friend Hope is helping me with the plumbing because the project is a little beyond me. If you ever need a great builder (and female), Hope is the best! I’m also working on converting the bathroom area into a darkroom. I ripped out all the old, ugly bathroom appliances and I’m kind of simplifying the space. We will still have a shower, but the rest of the bathroom will just be counter tops for the darkroom. It’s been a big job, but a fun learning process. If I had the time and the money, I’d love to gut the entire trailer and start from scratch. However, with our budget, we are stuck to living with the 1969 decor. It won’t be so bad.
At this point, I don’t even know if the gas, or power converters work. I have yet to test the stove, fridge, fans, and exterior lights. There are so many old components to the Airstream that it can be very overwhelming to think about them at once. I’m sort of taking on one appliance at a time, and reading as I go. Hopefully it will all come together in the next few weeks. One day at a time, right?

The next few weeks look like this:
Continue renovation to the Airstream trailer.
Continue seeking sponsorship and selling prints.
Matt comes to Charlottesville around the 17th or 18th, or I go down to N.C. to meet him while we get more work done to the Airstream.
We plan our route and set up the darkroom in the week leading up to departure.
Truck gets converted to WVO a few days before departure.
August 31st-Hit the Road!

For those of you reading our first post, I hope you’ll bookmark the page and continue to read as our project progresses. Please note that we are currently pre-selling photographs from the project to be given out at the conclusion of the project. Matt and I hope you will take advantage of owning a print and in doing so, support the project.

Farther up and further in!