From the Blog: Fireworks, Calliopes & Clowns"

[rastagirl777]

The next night was the last show and Rumple arrived at our yard, dressed to the nines and ready to party. He doesn’t get to go out all that much. Rumple is a hard-working family man, but tonight he was pretty excited to check this scene out.
When we arrived at Grand Lido we noticed that all the restaurants were closed. A cold front had come in overnight so the wind was whipping and the sea was rolling. As we ventured in we came upon a huge party on the beach – tonight was the “finale night” Grand Buffet. Most of the beach was taken up with food stations – Prime Rib, Jerk Chicken, Salads, Lobster, Fish…and Sushi! The posse dove in with great enthusiasm. Niah was just beside himself…”Pretty girls, free rum…and now this!” Rumple couldn’t believe his eyes. This humble Rasta felt uncomfortable getting up and going for seconds, we had to encourage him a little. Even to my North American, nothing succeeds like excess eyes this was truly decadent.
Show time! By then the wind had died down a bit and as soon as I started dancing I warmed up. The waves were still churning so Groove, lighting guy extraordinaire, set out to cast a most amazing light show on the sea as the waves rolled in, filling each crest with all the colors of the rainbow.

During the classic Grateful Dead song “Playing in the Band” Peg and I turned around the check on Rumple. There he was, his long dreadlocks swinging, his eyes closed, his body rocking with a huge smile on his face; it was as though he was born a Dead Head. He “got it” from jump.
At set break we gathered backstage where Matt grabbed Rumple right away. He was eager for Bob to meet his new Rasta friend.

After a rocking second set the band left the stage, just for a breather before the encore. Bob came on first waving a Jamaican Flag. When they finished he triumphantly announced “See you next year”. You bet.
Backstage after the show we all chilled out with the band members and crew, hugging everyone up, congratulating everyone on a great run. Weir was leaning back casually on a set of stairs as we talked about what a great experience this had been for him and his family. The entire band and its crew felt that way – as elated as we were by the experience.