There were some things I could always count on as a kid, I would always be hungry roughly 45 minutes after not eating enough at dinner, math would always be my worst subject in school, I would always be too afraid to go straight down the hill on my roller blades instead of weaving back and forth into neighbors yards and every summer I would get to enjoy the Country Bear Jamboree Vacation Hoedown.
Then, the year I graduated, the year I became an official 'adult' they closed the jamboree.
I enjoy live theater a lot, but the Country Bears were a step above that. What is more fun than a bunch of jovial singing bears?! For those of you who never got to see this show, or choose to pass it up, you are missing out.
We meet our host, Henry, who is revealed from behind a red velvet curtain after a short intro by three mounted heads (A deer, a buffalo and a moose). Mom liked to point out that the deer's name was Max, my Grandpa's name. Henry is kind of the glue that holds the show together as the rest of the cast seems to be slightly out of their minds most of the time.
Like I said, my main memories come from the Vacation Hoedown, which was not the standard show for the bears. Every year over the summer months the entire show was altered with new costumes and songs for the vacation holidays, as well as during the winter. In true Disney fashion they would do massive changes with complex costumes and re-programming the bears to sing new songs.
Instead of his top hat and tie, Henry was dressed in a camp t-shirt (still fits, kinda) and a park ranger hat. He and the Bear Skin Rugs, the house band, would sing about how much bears love the outdoors and it kind of became their anthem for a minute. Then they had a range of acts including a mountain climbing Elvis bear, a snorkeling bear with an octopus girlfriend, a bear vacation slide show and three singing lady bears in bikinis. All the lyrics were all changed to bear-themed things and there is plenty of corny jokes and sight gags.
Two parts of the show always made me smile,
1) The 'Ghost Riders in the Sky' sung by the Bear Skin Rugs. Its one of those foot-stomping, clap along kind of songs. Plus, little Oscar, the bear who sits on the front of the stage with his bottom lip sticking out and his teddy bear gets his only line, well kind of, he just says "Uh-huh"
2) Teddi Barra coming down from the ceiling. During the Vacation Hoedown she was dressed in a yellow rain slicker and sang 'Singing in the Rain' after descending from a giant flower. I think she fascinated me because she balanced on a tiny swing overhead and I was amazed at how they got her to move so much.
It was a chance to sit down and relax and watch the bears put on a great show, usually after being traumatized by Splash Mountain. You could hum the songs for the rest of the day, or at least until you got on 'It's a Small World'. I was so sad when I got back to Disneyland and Pooh had taken over the space.
A Glimpse Behind the Magic
Disney is very good at paying homage to attractions they change or remove, and the bears do get a wink during the Pooh ride, in one room if you look behind you, you can see Max, Buff and Melvin, the buffalo, moose and deer from the Jamboree.
Not only was this show very entertaining, but it also showed me that I could enjoy different genres of music. Despite living in the south, I was more or less discouraged from listening to country music, so for a while the bears were my only country performer I could reference.
I had a neat experience with the bears again however, when I made my first trip to Disney World, where the show is still alive and kicking. It was late in the evening before I got a chance to go, and none of my fellow park goers were too keen to see the show so I went alone. It was a magical moment for me to sit in a nearly empty theater and see the gang all together again, singing new songs (for me at least). It was like sitting down with a group of friends you haven't seen in years.
Lesson Learned
Sooner or later you have to grow up, but that doesn't mean you have to forget the little things that made you who you are.
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