My Family Had an Amazing Time with Gabriel Iglesias at the Sioux Empire Fair
My family was four of the over 16,000 people that packed the grandstands an the WH Lyon Fairgrounds on Friday (August 10) to see the great Gabriel Iglesias' return to the Sioux Empire Fair. And I'm here to report: HOLY NAUGHTY WORD! it was a spectacular time!
If you've never experienced Iglesias' comedy, do yourself a favor and watch his specials, most of which I believe are on Netflix. I have been a fan since his Comedy Central presents in 2003. Then last summer when me and the family went to Omaha, my son got introduced to Fluffy.
When we go on long drives, my wife and I like to pass the time listening to stand-up comedy. Jim Gaffigan and Brian Reagen when the kids are paying attention; and Amy Schumer and Dave Attell when they're not. Last year on the way to Omaha, I put on a Gabriel Iglesias album. I assumed that my son had his headphones on, like his sister, and was not paying attention. But, as my wife and I were laughing along we were joined by my son's howls from the backseat. He was loving it. We finished that album, he asked for more, so we listened to more. He was dying.
Since that trip, he has nearly memorized Iglesias' specials on Netflix. And when I told him last month that we were going to see Iglesias in person, he didn't talk about anything else.
I was sitting next to my son, who will be 14 soon, on Friday night watching him as Gaberial's name was announced and he came on stage. I have rarely ever seen a person sooooooooooooooo excited! His face was the picture of pure joy. He sat rapt, the whole show. He was laughing, clapping, cheering; like I'd never seen him before. It was one of those parenting moments when you realize why everything is worth it. I was able to bring him to this thing, let him experience it, and see him have such a good time. It was a big deal also because he, like his dad at his age, doesn't really like a lot of things. Including going places where other people are; especially thousands of other people.
So, thank you Gaberial for coming back to Sioux Falls and putting on a great show. Oh, and an additional thank you to the organizers of the Fair. With the thousands of people there for the show, everything moved quickly and orderly, from my perspective. Getting into and out of the venue, and parking/leaving the fairgrounds was smooth. It was a great time all around.
And Alfred, I hope you dad gets that time off.
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