Janesville's Rock Around the Block has something for everyone
JANESVILLE — The sausage was unaware of who he was.
But he knew what he was drinking.
On Sunday afternoon, a few sausages and several thousand people turned out for Rock Around the Block in downtown Janesville.
The day-long event, which featured more than two dozen bands, family activities and food from local restaurants, was a success any way you looked at it.
By mid-afternoon, most of the downtown parking lots were full, with people cheerfully ignoring the “leased parking” signs.
The weather was perfect, the music was energizing and almost everyone was eating or drinking. (In Wisconsin, that’s a sure sign of happiness.)
It was hard to say whether the sausages were happy.
The sausages—the Klement’s Racing Sausages to be specific—were wandering through the crowd scaring some children and giving high fives to others.
When a large brownish sausage wearing a sombrero was asked which sausage he was, he paused and said, “I don’t know.”
When asked what he was drinking, he answered instantly: “Bud Light.”
The sausage that was with him was wearing a baseball uniform. He didn’t know his own name, either.
When asked was he was drinking, he said, “I ain’t drinking.”
Good for him. It just goes to show that a sausage can have a lot of fun without alcohol.
Another group that was having a lot of fun were the dancing banana girls from the Madison Elementary School PTA.
Taylor Lea, Paige Olson and Lauren Perry, all 10 years old and all in the fifth grade, were selling cotton candy. They all had bananas painted on their faces, and when asked—or when inspired—they would break into their banana song and dance routine.
It’s hard to describe, but the short routine was a cross between a poms routine and a Girl Scout camp song.
This was their second year at Rock Around the Block. Last year they came as spectators. Was this year better than last year?
“Probably, yeah,” Olson said. “It’s more fun to sell stuff.”
Just a block away, Team Electronics and Best Buy were sponsoring a Guitar Hero contest.
While the old people marveled at the evolution of technology, the young people just jammed away.
At the end of the day, Kyle Hauger, 14, won the contest with 303,111 points at the expert level. If the last video game you played was Asteroids, a little explanation is needed: 303,111 at the expert level is like reaching level 100 in Pac-Man.
Here’s the best part of Hauger’s win: For the last 30 seconds or so of his run, he put the guitar behind his neck and played it that way.
“Dude, you rule,” as the old people used to say in the 1980s.
Runner up was Charlie Palan, 16, with 176,588 points.
At the Battle of the Bands stage, Melodic Hex was getting insane with real instruments.
Dylan Peyer, lead singer, said his band was made up of recent Parker High School graduates.
Peyer described the band’s music as “metal,” but a more accurate description would be “metal infused with Red Bull” or “metal that’s gone off the deep end.”
What did he think of Rock Around the Block?
“It’s a good time,” Peyer said.
Sep 1, 2009 at 8:31 p.m.
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I've been lucky enough to play at Rock Around The Block each year since its beginning, and each and every year I look forward to the day. It is well organized, and people seem to just enjoy the food, the music and each other! Kudos to all who organized and participated in the event. I had a great time!
Sep 1, 2009 at 11:49 a.m.
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We missed pretty much the whole thing. We did get to Main St to see Cutting Room Floor. AMAZING! I didn't realize there were so many things for kids to do. I thought it was a huge drink fest so we were waiting for a babysitter. Next year I'll know!
Sep 1, 2009 at 11:05 a.m.
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THANKS and kudos to all the organizers, volunteers, vendors, and musicians. May you rock on for many years to come!!!
Sep 1, 2009 at 10:46 a.m.
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NO RIOT AT LOCAL FEST
SOCIETAL BONDS REMAIN INTACT, EXPERTS SAY
Sep 1, 2009 at 10:20 a.m.
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jviers77: There was 20 food vendors this year. That is double from last year. Keep in mind that it cost the vendors to set up and with many more vendors, no one makes any money to off set the cost. That means the following year no vendors will come again because they lost money. The event may fold. I believe 20 was a good number.
Sep 1, 2009 at 10:06 a.m.
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I was surprised at how civil and orderly the event seemed. It was a nice event for the community to come out and enjoy. I would've liked to have seen more food vendors, but hopefully that will come along as the event continues to grow in the future. Nice job for a change, Janesville.
Sep 1, 2009 at 9:29 a.m.
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I was shocked!
Good food.
Good entertainment.
Well behaved crowd.
It felt like a community event...
...in Janesville?!?!?!?!?
...a glimer of hope remains!
Sep 1, 2009 at 9:26 a.m.
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I'm bummed I missed this year's event. Hope each year brings in a bigger and better crowd. :)
Sep 1, 2009 at 8:19 a.m.
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I hope everyone enjoyed my break dancing at Rock Around the Block.
(Next time pay attention to the tip jar.)
Aug 31, 2009 at 11:59 p.m.
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Hornet if you were overhanging into a driveway. You are lucky you did not get a ticket. There is a 4ft clear rule in Janesville from the edge of the driveway. The other car was probably OK. You were the one in the wrong.
Aug 31, 2009 at 10:29 p.m.
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If you did not come you missed out on some great food as there where 20 food vendors to wet your apatite. For those who remember the taste of Janesville, this bigger and better. If you liked music you could go from stage to stage and find something you enjoyed. Bands changed through out the day. Many performers where showing there talent in various locations. Example Karate America kids. I don't know how many attended but my guess would be 10,000 came and left during the day.
Aug 31, 2009 at 8:04 p.m.
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Maybe the organizers of this event should take over the Fourth of July festivities...they seem to know how to make things happen!
Aug 31, 2009 at 7:45 p.m.
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My family would like to thank the Rock County Recap teams for helping this event remain clean and "smelling" nice! Yes, the weather helped, too, by not being too hot, but they seemed to be working at moving the garbage quite quickly. It was nice to see the young people from the various schools -- including the Key Club from Parker working for the children's events. We'd also like to recognize the folks in Orange shirts -- the Independent Order of Odd Fellows who helped with security. (I'd personally like to thank the driver who took up too much room with his/her car so we had to overhang into a driveway. When there's a crowd, try to tighten up the parking spaces...thanks.)
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