So, Deanna, always the trooper and one to usually go for it, even when it's definitely the unknown, said, "SURE!" and we took off down the 105 highway on a 5 hour road trip to get to the festival. Here's some of the experiences we were capable of sharing together; one as a "vet" and one as a "newbie";
The olfactory senses get a good shakin' when people have been dancing in +30 heat. Nothing like getting up close and personal with the world's true scent like at a folk fest, especially when you go into the dancing pits (no pun intended).
You meet a ton of people over the few beers had under the tent and almost everyone we sat with was willing to share their story. Over the course of two days, we chatted with a man that "accidentally" spent more money at the Folk Fest Music Tent then he should have buying CD's. He thought he'd wait over a cold beer first before breaking the news to his wife. I personally don't think she's going to be too upset, and hey, he got a free CD out of the deal. (They were giving away Folk Fest compilation CD's to anyone that dished out the big bucks.) We met a woman who was having a romantic dilemma and her friend asked us for advice on her behalf. I thought about how scary it was that I was giving romantic advice. We found out that everyone always ends up knowing someone from Red Lake. We met young carpenters that are hoping to be "responsible carpenters" by using reclaimed wood in most of their building projects. That made me reminisce on how nice it was to be idealistic when I was 24. We met a couple of fathers who allowed us to "ooh and ahh" over their babies while they took a well deserved, very short break from daddyhood. This is when I remembered that babies attach themselves to jewelry by their mouths as my bracelet was completely sucked clean with 7 month old baby slobber. We met a girl that was just about to move to New York City and we met a couple of girls that turned their noses up and didn't want to talk to a couple of small town girls at all. Well….their loss. All of that over beers; so really a beer tent isn't just a beer tent. Yep, it's an experience.
You learn very quickly that even a "short chair" is a bit too tall for the folk fest. The ones that that Mad Nomad used to make years ago were really the best ones and I kick myself for not buying one when I had the chance, but I always invest in something beautiful for my neck from the artisan's tent instead of something practical for my butt. But I use the camping seats that sit on the ground and have the supportive back and they do the trick, and it's really easy to sneak into small spaces when you use one of those (like in between tarps at main stage). And they're cheap and light and easy to tote around all day. And I put a strip of florescent pink duct tape on the back of the chair and advertised the Trout Forest Festival on it for people behind me to read. Nothing like a bit of a plug for another awesome festival, right?
You learn that everyone is different shapes and colours and sizes and heights and styles, and we're all beautiful and lucky to be together under the same sun.
You see that music is transformative, and a folk fest is not what it stereotypically seems. There can be a stigma attached to the term "folk fest" (especially if you live in a small little town….ahem) but the Winnipeg Folk Fest does an excellent job of making sure there is a selection and eclectic variety of music for all tastes. One minute we were sitting in our chairs "butt wiggling" (as I like to call it when you politely dance while sitting) to the sounds of "Delhi 2 Dublin", and the next thing you know, we were in the middle of a wicked mosh pit, bouncing around like a couple of teenagers to their wild fusion music. We started our day on Saturday morning with the soulful gospel of the Sojourners, and we ended our night in the dark with Australia's Cat Empire. And in between that there were a few fantastic Ukrainians.
You are so close to strangers in the crowd, that it really is tempting to touch some times. And sometimes that's ok.
Tattoos are the norm at the fest. It's an excellent way of seeing new artistic body creations and delightful to the eye. A woman even asked to take a photo of my tattoo which I was honoured to do. Wait until next year when my family tree is carved into my left arm which I'll wear as a badge of honour.
It's said; "Eeere-o", not "Jy-row" at the Greek food booth, and they won't give you what you want unless you say it right! (I'm sooo glad I say it right.) I broke my rule of not eating meat to have East India House's buttered chicken. I apologized to the poor factory farmed chicken that suffered for my gluttony and divulged. Then I had an amazing vegan meal at the Mondragon the next day. Call me a hypocrite. Everyone has their weakness and mine is folk fest food. There was Thai, Greek, Italian, Vegan, vegetarian, meatitarian, sweetitarian, fresh, processed….everything delectable for the palette along the food strip. Dish out the coin and help the local vendors by buying their food. Plus, it's a huge pain in the ass to tote a cooler around. I immediately taught Deanna the importance of going for a meal during "down time" to avoid the lineups. But the line ups are kinda fun too because of the various conversations you pick up and the interesting characters that walk passed you to get to where they're going.
DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE SUCTION CUPPED NIPPLE DECORATIONS FROM A FEW YEARS BACK? I almost built up the nerve to get some this year and they weren't selling them. I don't have a lot of time left with gravity. Time's running out. But I'm learning that doesn't really matter….at least not at the fest.
I also learned that you can't control the festival and Karma is fantastic. Let me elaborate. Deanna was having a extraordinary time at the festival and I was super happy that she had an excellent experience. We were at main stage on Saturday night and the Cat Empire was just starting. We scooted our chairs into an excellent free spot and pulled out the bug dope. Then Deanna's neighbour asked her what she was spraying on herself, so she told him. Then she sat down and her neighbour asked her whether she needed a blanket, and she kindly declined. Then Deanna's neighbour asked her where she got her camping chair, to which she briefly replied. Then it happened, and in all of my 15 years of going to the festival, I've never been subjected to such ignorance. The woman in front of us scolded Deanna, specifically Deanna, telling her that she should go over to the dancing area if she wants to chat. I was personally embarrassed for my friend who was just being polite, and just being a part of the experience by chatting with a stranger about Folk Fest-ish kind of stuff; warmth, bugs, chairs….you know…main stage topics. I apologized to Deanna, explaining that was not a common occurrence. In my mind I thought, man, if that woman was so desperate to hear the Cat Empire in pristine conditions, then she should buy the Cat Empire DVD, which is available, and watch it at home in her controlled environment. Or she should get off her ass and buy a tarp ticket so she can be a part of the tarp run and not have to sit way at the back with us other chumps. I also thought, maybe this woman has just had a bad day, which is an oxymoron, considering she's at the WINNIPEG FOLK FEST, and then she made her second "error" which led me to a pseudo psycho analysis of her….a young boy was walking passed her and she redirected him so that he wouldn't walk in front of her. Obviously this woman had control issues. So, this is where karma comes in, because something completely beyond her control happened next. The Cat Empire demanded that the whole audience get off their feet and dance. DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! 10000 people stood up in front of her and danced their faces off and she couldn't see a thing because of course, she didn't stand up. This is a woman that doesn't do what SHE'S told. And I knew allllll the words to their fantastic music, which probably didn't help a woman with control issues. I didn't have to say a word to the woman that doesn't realize that she can't control a folk festival. Karma and the Cat Empire took care of that. Does that mean that I think people should be loud and obnoxious and talk on cell phones at festivals? Hell no, but Deanna was not that at all, and neither was her neighbour. They were being folk fest-y the best way possible by cashing in on the whole experience.
You know that cliché saying "dance like nobody's watching"? Do it at the festival. Everyone else does and nobody cares.
When you're driving back to your hotel or friend's house or where ever after the festival, and you stop at a red light and turn up the music really loud and decide to see whether you and your friend can make the car shake with your butt dancing, make sure you don't have a cab full of people pulled up beside you watching in shocked surprise. Or refer to the point just before this one.
Buy at least one piece of pottery, one piece of jewelry, and one piece of clothing that remind you of the warmth of the festival during those stupid, cold nasty winter days. And take the time to chat with the artisans. They put in a lot of time over those cold, nasty winters to give you something that represents goodness.
The folk fest hones in on your perspective, what you think is important in life, your philosophies, what grinds your gears, what makes you an individual…..it smacks you in the face when you hear a drum beat that resonates so deeply in your flesh that it's all you can do to catch your breath, when you hear words arranged so eloquently that all you can do is weep at the blatant truth that you denied until you heard it sung so sweetly, when you sip a beer and smile at your best friend who understands more about who you are through "the folk fest experience". I have gone to the folk fest with a lot of different people and I actually think it's an excellent way to know whether you "click" with someone or not. Throw some sweat, music, food and bugs between you and that person you dragged along with you, and you'll both walk through those gates knowing way the hell more about each other than you did when you initially got that wrist band put on (too tightly, I might add). Haha
Hey, Deanna; let's do it again next year, my friend! Happy birthday.
great post, rhonda, i haven't been to folk fest for a few years now but my dad used to take us when we were kids. his friend had a mini bus that was converted with bunk beds in the back... great memories from those days! anyway, i have 4 (actually 6!) of those chairs if you ever want some... a couple could use repairs to the fabric. i got them at junk 'n java (4 for $2!) because they didn't even know what they were or how they worked! i THINK she said recently she had gotten more of them lately? omgosh, i just realized the ones i have are just canvas fabric, like off-white... might be awesome to paint?!
ReplyDeleteYou should start with Ivy now while she's still "manageable". haha Some of my best folk fest memories are with Alexander as a baby. I remember once he crawled over to a lady that was sleeping and popped a grape in her gaping mouth! haha She laughed, after she choked, then chewed.
ReplyDeletePainted folk fest chairs! Excellent idea!
hahaha! that is a pretty good memory! you're right, now would be a pretty good time to take ivy since i wouldn't have to spend the ENTIRE time under the kids tent... maybe just a bit of time. i remember as kids getting snacks from random people whose tarps were near ours, but then being scolded by someone (i can't remember who? maybe just some random like that mean lady you were talking about?) that we shouldn't take things from strangers. i do remember that it wasn't my dad who was scolding us. i also clearly remember my dad and his buddies buying ziplocs with clear zippers to put vodka in and hide at the bottom of their water jugs! this took careful planning, obviously.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! That's pretty hardcore with the vodka. That must have been when they had a limit on alcohol intake under the tent. They used to limit people to 4 drinks per day. Makes sense, since it's a family event.
ReplyDeleteI always take food from strangers at the folk fest 'cause they're not really strangers. Everyone is quite familiar looking and super nice. It's a great place for children to take food from strangers. haha
Amazing, amazing post Rhonda. I miss Folk Fest so much. My uncle use to take us all the time when we were younger and I remember being so in awe of the spirit around the festival. How nice people people were, how the music captured your imagination and the food, OH THE FOOD!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Cat Empire story! Obviously that woman had never gone to folk fest before, I always remembered my uncle talking to everyone around the main stage and laughing at all the oversize pipes people were smoking, hahah.
One last thing. Are you vegetarian now? I have gone back to a plant based diet because I just cannot eat factory farmed animal products. That is what I get for learning about what I eat I suppose. Just waaaaay too many ethical, scary shit going down with it. I will however, eat stuff from an ethical, family farming practice or things that have been hunted. I was wondering if you were of the same feelings.
Anyways, glad that you were able to convert another to the folk fest way of life.
~Karli
Hey Karli! Yeah, that woman was definitely an oddball at the festival. YOu just can't control a festival. "nuf said. :)
ReplyDeleteStill no meat. Had some awesome moose stew last week and eat a lot of yummy tofu, and have adopted quinoa into my diet. I ate at "Fresh" here in wpg today and i almost, almost trusted the food source, but I didn't feel like asking her about the slaughter process, so I had a vegan sandwich slathered in hummus instead. YUM! But an animal can be ethically raised and then they turn around and transport the animal and the animal is slaughtered under such inhumane circumstances that it's just not worth it. The farmers are at a loss and feel they have no choice some times. It's downright frustrating. On a positive, since i stopped eating meat, I haven't been brutally sick. I missed the flu this year and I didn't get my end of school year nasty cold that I usually get. I'm good to go. Yay!