My daughter and I managed to get there just as Adam Savage was introduced. We had the foresight to bring chairs, saving us from the "swamp ass" that MoJ so delightfully described. At first we set up quite close to the religious folks, but after an hour or so we retreated to the tent section. Excellent timing, as it turned out: the rain, which was just a drizzle to that point, really picked up. While my daughter inquired about the state of schedule integrity (about half-hour behind), I struck up a conversation with a guy wearing a clear poncho and a long soul patch. He asked who I was there to see most of all, and I said, oh, Dawkins I guess. He nodded his approval, then said the lead singer of Bad Religion had not one but two doctorates! Impressive, I admitted. The rain abated, and we repaired to the stage, or as close as possible (about 100 yards away). Tim Minchin has begun his set, and we sit behind a group of what I can only conclude is a family of Minchin groupies because the adults recite every word. It's amusing to see the tots clapping their hands to the "Pope Song."



Only real downer: a prepared Hitchens tribute kept freezing on the two jumbo screens and finally abandoned. I don't know if it was ever recovered in time because we left shortly after Dawkins' address. (Sorry, the promise of Bad Religion just wasn't enough.) But overall I was very pleasantly surprised by the turnout, considering the weather (forecasts called for PM thunderstorms), and while some of the speakers were a bit repetitious -- call-and-response, persecuted minority, etc. -- most of them were compelling. As for the anticipated clashes with Westboro and other religious types, what I saw were pretty tame, even amusing. I wish I'd had a chance to interfaith with this guy:







I gotta give him props for going into hostile territory and standing his ground without getting hostile about it. In all, the exchanges are mostly civil; at one point an atheist offers to hold "buddy's" camera as he continues his proselytizing.



Here's the sequel: (just the first few minutes are classic)





