It could be spelled Oooopa! or Opaa!, or just plain Opa! Wiki Answers says it means to party, or get down and dance. It’s an expression of joy that we scream out when the waiter ignites a pan of Saganaki in front of us, or in front of other people– whatever. It is a tradition that dates back to, what, maybe 1968 at the Parthenon restaurant in Chicago. Not the same as this Parthenon: they didn’t have flaming cheese there. Lucky for us we have a little place in Fort Collins that follows that same tradition and it’s close enough that we can bike there and back.
Conga drums and banjo on the cart with the Black Sheep
We had an invite for drummers and dancers at the Taverna so I thought it might be possible to attach a set of conga drums to the cart and just for fun I added the “Bouzouki Banjo” on the back of the cart. The pair of conga drums were a bit top-heavy for the modified dog cart and they shifted a bit while in transit but they made the trip unharmed. I was glad I brought the bouzouki banjo; it added to the evening’s music.
Black Sheep parked at the Taverna
The Taverna Greek Grill opened less than a year ago on College Avenue near the Target store. We liked it immediately because the owners like to serve flaming cheese (Parthenon style) and they especially like to break dinner plates (on purpose). On the first month of opening the Taverna, the owners also performed a number of fire breathing tricks inside the restaurant. They no longer do this and I would assume that its because the fire marshal put a stop to it. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Satori Dancers
I’m not sure how this was supposed to work. Were we a private party or something the restaurant owners were using to attract more business? I’ll say private party for now because it looked like the restaurant was full. They (somebody) wants to do it again next month.
Bohemian Caravan
The Caravan has been around since 2006. They call themselves a “motley crew” of dancers who like to improvise their dance routines at the spur of the moment anytime, anywhere. And any drum beat.