Club Obi Wan

Hey Everybody,

Some of us whipcrackers here in st. Louis are getting together this weekend. Here is something kent has written up that has gone to some of the other lists:



First ever St. Louis area Whip-nic!

Come on out and bring your whips! This coming Sunday on May 22nd will be the first St. Louis area whip enthusiast picnic. Come out and meet other St. Louis area whip enthusiasts who love to own and play with singletail whips. From signal whips to snake whips to Bull whips. All types of whips are welcome. All ages are welcome. All experience levels are welcome. From (Never before even picking up a whip) novices to whip savvy collectors! Paul Nolan from Midwest whips will be in attendence with atleast 20 to 30 whips of All sizes and lengths to practice with . He might possibly also be bringing a few whips in progress... so you can see what they look like from the INSIDE out. We will be setting up targets so people have something to aim at... but feel free to bring your own if you like. This is a family event so feel free to bring amusements for the kids.

Come One... Come all !


What to bring:
Whips! Yourselves! Not necessarily in that order. There are BBQ pits at the park so you can bring BBQ picnic stuff if you like. I will have a small gas grill that is open for use by everyone after I am done cooking my lunch. Also bring Drinks, sodas, water, liquid refreshments, Chairs , hats, snacks, junkfood, and of course.. your appetites. You name it.. feel free to bring it. And did I forget to say, whips? The park has water fountains, restroom facilities and a playground for the children on site.


Where:
Fenton City park,
Directions...
From Downtown St. Louis. Take 44 west to the Bowles exit. Take Bowles south (Back over the hiway, 44) and turn left onto south east service road. Head back east on the service road and turn right (south) onto Larkin Williams rd. Larkin Williams rd will run right past the park.. look for whip group on your right.

From West County.
141 south to 44 East. Exit at bowles road and turn right and immediate left onto south east service road. Turn right onto Larkin Williams road and follow to park.


When:
Sunday May 22nd 12:pm-ish till the last person leaves.

Contacts:
Paul Nolan from Midwest Whips.
(314) 484-0462
Email : Midwestwhips@yahoo.com

Kent O
(636) 675-4222
Email : DarkNamelessOne@aol.com

Wow! Fun was had by all. I wanted to thank everyone who attended the first St. Louis area Whip-nic. At last count, the turnout exceeded 40 + people, not including people from the park who just came over to watch and participate with our group. In my estimation we had a 2 to 3 acre area just filled with people cracking whips and trying them out, some for the first time ever. It was a GREAT time. If you weren't able to attend.. You missed out on some great whip cracking fun!

We had a whip maker from Wisconsin by the name of Adam H. Winrich who was pure poetry in motion with the long western style bullwhips. He could make those whips do things that just outright amazed me and the crowd. He was also excellent with the Florentine long bulls and fantastic as a show person. He brought along a nice selection for everyone to try out and purchase if they liked. I know of atleast one satisfied customer who went home with a new bullwhip. Thank-you Adam.

Chris Camp showed us all his form as his demo took off with the two handed style that is closest described as an intricate whip dance and still has me scratching my head in amazement at the speed and grace in which he threw his whips around. Chris is not only another wonderful performer, he is also extremely knowledgeable about whip throwing, and is more then happy to share that knowledge with anyone who asked. He is a wonderful person and I was outright pleased to make his acquaintance today at the whip-nic. Thank-you Chris.

Last, but not least of the three performers and key persons doing the demos was Paul Nolan. His Florentine whip style could only be described as absofreekinglutely fantastic and just outright mesmerizing. I was sorry to see him stop. His whips are also beautiful ( I plan on owning one of them myself here in the near future ) and he brought out quite a selection of them for people to try out and purchase. He also brought out a whip in progress that he was plaiting up for a customer, so everyone could see what they looked like from the inside out. It was an interesting sight to be able to see them in such a raw form as an unfinished product. It was also interesting to see how much work went into the making and braiding of the whip before the final finished product was delivered to the customer . And again, I know of at least one satisfied customer who went home happy with a matching set of awesome looking bullwhips. Thank-you Paul.

Thanks also goes out to Steve Brackmann who brought out his huge collection of whips, and freely loaned them out for everyone to use and practice with. He was also patient in teaching others the art of throwing whips, and was more then happy to help anyone out who was in need of his expertise. Thanks again Steve.

Thanks also to Jason for helping out in the event, and keeping all the things flowing right along, and for taking pictures to share with everyone.

We will hopefully give people more notice on the next upcoming whip-nic event so people can make arrangements to attend. We all hope to see a better turnout here in the near future. Thanks again to everyone who attended and participated.

Kent O

(A St. Louis area Whip Enthusiast)

Winrich Whips
Adam Winrich
www.winrichwhips.com

Midwest Whips
Paul Nolan
www.midwestwhips.com