2018 Winnipeg Folk Festival
It was a truly memorable folk fest this year. There were a few snafus and bummers, as well as weather-related issues to deal with, but it all came together nicely as usual and a good time was had by all. Of course every folk fest is memorable, but this year's was one that will not be topped by the time it had come to a wonderful end.
As usual, it starts out with dragging all our camping stuff out of storage and doing the usual inventory, including the rounding up of batteries for lights, fans, and other things. Then there's chairs, bicycles, the shower gear, inverter, etc. I had a brain fart and shorted out our inverter, so we had to get a new one, but other than that we found everything and got it organized before the last minute. The peace of mind is worth it, believe me.
We got the van mostly loaded the night before we left and I figured out how to not spend 30 minutes getting the hitch on for the bicycle rack too by remembering how to be a tool using animal, and then secured the bikes on the rack. So come Tuesday morning we only were an hour late getting on the road, which is pretty darn good for us. Our friend Teresia was taking care of our dogs, and poor Tucker had to wear a cone of shame because of a cut on his butt he wouldn't leave alone, but he was already on the mend before we left so we weren't worried about him.
The trip to Winnipeg went by quickly, with only a little road construction for a few miles in Minnesota and North Dakota to deal with. We made a quick stop in Fargo at the Barnes & Noble bookstore to get a Games magazine for Erin as she likes to do the puzzles while listening to music at the folk fest. Then after the usual last U.S. stop in Pembina to gas up before crossing the border we sailed though customs and made it to the Bhigg House in Winnipeg by 7:30pm.
Since the sun didn't set until 9:40pm there was plenty of time to load most of the group camping gear in our van to take out to the campground in the morning. Thankfully Wolfgang Klassen also came by with his truck to take some things too, so I didn't have to cram the minivan full to the ceiling this year. Then since Erin and I hadn't eaten dinner yet we went out with Elizabeth to a diner for a late supper. (Dave was at a wedding reception on Tuesday night, so we didn't see him until after we got back from eating.) About the only bummer was that Elizabeth's driver's side door window had been smashed the night before when it was parked on the street, so she would have to park it in the garage for the night. That meant parking our loaded minivan and two bikes (locked to the rack, but still) out on the street for the night, which made us nervous of course, but there wasn't an alternative.
We turned in around 11:30pm and set the alarm for 6:15am. I didn't sleep all that well, and when a thunderstorm hit around 5:30am I got up, looked out to see if the minivan was o.k. and was relieved to see that it and the bikes were fine. So I jumped in the shower and got dressed, and then Erin was up and got dressed as well and we were off. We made a stop at a Tim Horton's for breakfast and coffee before heading out to Birds Hill Park, and just as we went past the entrance at 8am there was the end of the long line of folkies waiting to get in to camp. We waited there for a half-hour before the line started moving, but luckily we were right across from a porta-pottie so having the coffee wasn't a problem. It took another 45 minutes before we finally exchanged our tickets for wristbands and made it over to the festival campground. It had been raining early, but by the time we got there the storm had blown through and the sky was clearing. But wow, was it windy!
We ended up parking just past the bend in the road, which meant a long walk, but at least it was on the road which is easier to roll a cart on that a dirt path. So being foolish, we overloaded the cart for our first trip, mostly the shade structure, and the two of us trudged slowly down to the 1A pathway, and eventually made it to our usual campsite, which Heather had held for us. Whew. Wolf was also there, so I went back for another load while Erin supervised, because that's what Erin does. That, and she was trying to conserve her sore hip and not overdo it. I did two more loads and Wolf did one for me too, which by then I needed myself.
The high winds made putting up tents difficult, but as Erin and I were starting to put up our own big tent (it's 16'x10') a couple of festival campground volunteers came by and offered to help us, and in no time it was up. I need to write the festival about that and express my thanks about that generosity, it's what helps make the folk fest such a wonderful event. We had everything up by about 4pm, including the shower tent (which I did all by myself, after a few failed efforts in that wind) and the kitchen tent too. Dave and Elizabeth came and Elizabeth had sandwiches and cold drinks to share that were greatly appreciated as Erin and I hadn't been able to get groceries for ourselves.
Then others were arriving, including Karen and Juan, who had a rotten thing happen to them earlier in the day while they were visiting Winnipeg's Museum of Human Rights when Karen had a car window smashed and Juan lost a backpack with his passport and meds in it. Thankfully he was able to get more meds right away for $100 (yay Canadian health care system) and started getting the passport dealt with. Sadly getting a new car window wasn't as easy so that had to be covered with plastic sheeting until she made it back home.
Then we found out that Dave Clement's tent (the one Erin and I got him three years ago) was missing its rain fly, so Elizabeth and Dave had to go back into town to get another tent and they ended up staying in town for the night, but at least they got to go swimming in the park's lake before heading home. I was hungry enough to go over to one of the campground food trucks and got a pizza for supper, and shared some of it with Wolfgang who had been working hard all day long. I did take a stroll around the campground and then we all kind of crashed out early as it was still windy and a fire wasn't an option.
Thursday morning started out calmer, but then got windy again (gusts up to 40mph!) and it damaged a pole on one of our tent's side windows. It wasn't fixable but at least we could do without it. I saw a few other tents and such that were blown over, but thankfully there was no other damage in our Baggiecon group. Of all the things that can happen weather-wise, wind is about the worst (fire is THE worst) because a tent can only hold up to so much. It was a beautiful day otherwise, so after hauling water and having coffee I got on my bicycle and decided to ride around the park and visit the Quiet Camping area where other folk fest campers who like more peace and quiet at night stay. I stopped on the way to visit a cemetery where those who had settled the area before the park was created from the land they lived on were buried. Lots of Ukrainian and Polish names there, and their graves were being kept nicely and remembered well. I don't believe in life after death, but the living do find solace there.
Then I found a paved pathway going through the woods that I went down, and it not only got me out of the wind but was nice and shady too. What a nice park! I also spotted a horse trail (there's a ranch next to the park where you can get a horse and go trail riding - Erin used to do a breakfast ride on Sunday mornings many years ago during the folk fest, and they still offer it) and then arrived at one of the Quiet Campground sites, which only had a few cars parked there. I rode around to four other sites and only one had more than ten vehicles parked in it, so there's not that many people doing Quiet Camping, from what I can tell. I did come across another group of friendly volunteers who were greeting people arriving at the Quiet campground, so I'm sure more people were coming as there would be music at the Main State later in the evening.
Then I rode on the park ring road for a mile or so and took a driveway down to the park's lake, where I found an unpaved trail that was still bikeable and rode around the far side of the lake to where the concession was and ordered myself a burger and went wading in the lake to cool off a bit. Then I jumped back on the bike and cruised back to the festival campground to find a few more people arriving to set up their tents. Dave was back and the other tent they found in their garage was... not that great, unfortunately. Karen was going back into town though and offered to take Dave back to the Bhigg House again to see what they could find, and they took off while I was still in camp. Next year I'll spend more time making sure what's being taken out has been gone through and checked out first. (FWIW, I write these reports more for my benefit than for any entertainment value it has. Obviously.)
As Erin hadn't gone around the festival campgrounds yet, I thought we could go over to play Scrabble at the Big Games site in Zone 4 (where the RV's are). Erin liked that idea and so did Heather (?), so we walked over and found three other folkies had just started a game, so I joined as the fourth player and Erin got to do what she likes best - help everyone make up words! I was leading towards the end, but just got beat out after a killer word was played. Oh well, it was a hoot just to play. Then I got to play a game of chance tossing rings on little bottles and won by getting two of my five rings around them, and my prize was a handy tote bag. Hey, it didn't cost anything to play so it was a good deal. Then it was back to camp, where I finally got out my guitar and started playing under the shade structure.
By then Kat Rother had arrived with her friend Janis and they were setting up their tents around the Baggiecon circle. I had my Rise Again fake book on the stand and turned the page to the Musicals section and found Matchmaker (from Fiddler on the Roof) and started playing and singing it, and almost immediately Kat came over and started _really_ singing it, with gusto. What fun! Kat told me she once performed in a production of the musical and loved the songs, as do I. It's moments like these that make the folk fest such a wonderful time. Wolf also got his guitar out and we pass the time playing music under the blue summer sky.
After about an hour of so of that, it was getting late enough in the afternoon for the water in our black water cubes to be warm enough for a shower, so I took one and then decided not to go watch the Main Stage show that night. Which is kind of odd for me, but I was feeling a little tired and just wanting to chill. So I did. We did have a nice fire and spend time around it doing some music again before turning in. I'd forgotten my earplugs when packing, but I did manage to sleep well enough.
Friday started out much better wind-wise, but it was definitely warmer. Since this was the only day that our friends Lana and Anya would be at the folk fest, Erin decided to spend the day with Lana, which left me free to do whatever after I was done doing the tarp run at 10:20, again with a #1 tarp ticket thanks to Polly. I found a great spot close to the front of the Main Stage but far enough back you didn't have to look up more than look out, in other words about five tarps/rows back.
After grabbing a sushi burrito (and a pair of green sunglasses as a promo gift) at Chosabi in the food court I headed over to find a shady spot at Bur Oak at 11am to hear a celtic band from Quebec, Genticorum. They were a trio (guitar, violin, accordion) and had people up dancing even though it was already getting hot, and though I didn't dance myself I was also bouncing along to the beat in my seat. Then it was up to the Little Stage in the Forest at noon to check out Wallis Bird, who was a very young woman from Ireland who was a fiery performer, doing a lot of percussive work with her guitar and also using amplification to drive her beat. She reminded me a bit of Ani DiFranco. At the end of her set, I then drifted over to Spruce Hollow to catch a workshop featuring among other Ferron, titled Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, and yep it was songs about lost love and longing, and Ferron does those very well. Of course there was another workshop featuring Martin Simpson that was at the same time, and that was a bummer of course. There always has to be at least a couple conflicts that can't be resolved at the folk fest.
Then I headed over to the Big Bluestem state to catch a workshop featuring among others fiddler Natilie McMaster, and... it was packed. Thankfully I ran into Erin and Lana who were already there under a shade tree and I joined them to hear a great workshop with lots of fiddle playing and dancing. McMaster is really popular in Winnipeg! Here's a picture of Lana and Erin in the shade that I took. We also had one of Lana's former students who was selling ice cream bars stop and sell us a few, which were really tasty and frosty cold, and while he was there next to us he was swarmed by plenty of other folkies looking for cool treats under the hot sun.
By the time the workshop was over it was 4pm, and I headed back to camp to relax, have a beer, and a shower. Dave and Karen had returned and as luck would have it Karen has found the missing rainfly on Dave's good tent in an out of the way shelf in the Bhigg House garage. Dave and Elizabeth were busy setting it up next to our tent where we'd held a spot for it. Our RV battery was doing fine thanks to the solar panel getting plenty of sun, which was a good thing because everyone in camp had a phone or tablet that needed charging. We did have an issue using a power strip with Shaun's old inverter, so it was good thing Erin and brought the new one too and the power strip worked fine with it. You never miss your power until your device's battery runs down. Or something like that.
I didn't head down to catch the very first act on the Main Stage at 6pm, but with Natalie McMaster being next up at 7pm I definitely wanted to take full advantage of the front baggie. I was joined there by Erin and Lana, who also wanted to be up front, and McMaster took the stage with her band and she lit up the crowd from beat one. McMaster fiddled, danced, fiddled and danced, all in the bright sun and heat, so when she took her bottle of water and poured it down on her chest, we shared in her relief too. (Erin knows about that from years of working in the summer heat at renaissance festivals.) The highlight of the show though was when McMaster invited her seven year old daughter onto the state to also fiddle and then dance for the audience, and of course everyone clapped and cheered her on. IMO, this was the best Main Stage act of the festival for me at least - traditional and energetic and sweet.
Next up was a band from Boston, Darlingside, four guys singing all around one microphone and playing traditional accoustic instruments. I liked them and was settling in to enjoy their set when my phone rang and it was Kerri, who had planned on arriving on Friday in time to hear Natalie McMaster but was delayed, and she was in the festival parking lot and she had tried to call others in our Baggiecon group and managed to reach me finally. I said I could meet her and take her back to our site in the festival campground. I stopped by the back baggie to let folks know there that I was going to help Kerri and then headed for the parking lot, where I met Kerri playing a rather funky fiddle at a tent where a guy who has been selling homemade intruments for the past several years has been. (It's one of those things the festival just lets happen, and it's cool.) So I introduced myself, and found I'd seen her before playing for her duo Sister Tree in the Twin Cities. Small world! We headed back to camp, got a cart and went to her car to bring her tent and her own fiddle back to camp. Then I helped her pitch her tent, and we headed back to the Main Stage.
Of course this all took well over an hour, so by the time I was back on the front baggie the next act, The Strumbellas, from Toronto, was up on stage and whooping it up. I'm glad I at least caught part of their set as they were a lot of fun. Then it was time for the night's headliner, Courtney Barnett and her band to play. Barnett's style of rockin' guitar riffs and talking blues soon got the crowd getting into her groove, but she also threw in a couple of really pointed and angry songs too about some of the things women face that they shouldn't have to. That reminds me that this year the ration of male to female performers was 50/50. While the WFF has for decades been good about getting female acts to perform at the festival, women have never been equally represented either. I later heard one of the women on one of the daytime stages remark that she was happy that she didn't have to look for other women performers to talk with for a change, so there's that.
Barnett's set ended at midnight, but for us it was back to camp to stay up for a while longer. Approaching our circle I heard someone singing Northwest Passage and golly, it sure sounded like it was Stan Rogers himself singing it. Turned out it was Stan's son Nathan Rogers who had come to sit in the Baggiecon circle for awhile (Nathan has camped in festival camping before) so it was what you'd call a memorable moment to be sure. Nathan stayed around for a bit and sang a couple more songs, and then headed off in to the night. By then I was kind of bushed, so I turned in around 1am, but having forgotten to pack earplugs, I kept waking up about every half hour to hear singing, laughing, and talking around our campfire. Not that I really minded, but sleep it was not. Then around 4am I woke up to the sound of someone being sick nearby and then the voiced of a couple of festival medics who came to help out. They were very kind and then took the sick person to the first aid tent. So much for getting a good nights sleep though. I think I finally managed to get maybe two hours worth, but I woke up a little after 7am on Saturday morning and needed coffee bad, and that wasn't good.
So after again running the front baggie and getting breakfast, I headed over to Bur Oak to hear Nathan Rogers lead a workshop of Stan Rogers songs, and of course singing along was MANDATORY. The title of the workshop was 45 Years, because it was the 45th year of the Winnipeg Folk Festival this year and there's this song by Stan called 45 Years that were meant to go together, you see. A lot of other Baggiecon folks were there too, as you might expect, including Dave Clement. Sadly, Erin wasn't feeling well that day and stayed back in camp, but as luck would have it the Bur Oak stage faces directly at the part of the festival campground where we were all camped, so Erin could hear it at least. I did capture three of the songs Nathan Rogers did for her and she saw them later.
I stuck around after the show for a bit waiting for Erin, and then helped Dave Clement over to the Snowberry state to listen to the We Banjo 3 band from Ireland while Dave was waiting for his wife Elizabeth to arrive from town to go swimming with him at the lake. It was getting pretty warm and windy by then, but I found a shady spot way in the back for us to sit and we relaxed, listended, and talked a bit too. By the time the concert was over Elizabeth still hadn't come, but Kerri came by and she sat with us too, and I decided to head over to Green Ash to hear another workshop with Mandolin Orange and Darlingside, while sitting again way in the back under a shade tree. I had plenty of water to drink and a comfy chair, and the music was nice too.
I felt like heading back to camp then, and had a bit to eat and drink, and then I just kind of crashed out. I had gotten very little sleep the night before and with the heat I just needed to stay in camp instead of heading back to the festival grounds. I was so tired I eventually went to bed early and finally found some earplugs so I was able to get over eight hours of decent sleep. It was a bummer to miss all the performers on Main Stage Saturday night, and Erin said the band Las Cafeteras was terrific. Oh well, I'm going to have to pace myself better next year. Erin did buy a CD of Las Cafeteras and I have listened to that at least.
Sunday morning I felt much better and before leaving camp to do the tarp run at 10:15am I talked with Erin and we planned to meet later at the gospel workshop at the Big Bluestem stage at 11am, and then spend the day together. So after the tarp run I grabbed some breakfast and walk over to the stage it started to very lightly drizzle I found a spot under a spruce tree to stay dry under and eat while waiting for Erin. She arrived just before 11am and wanted to sit up front, and we were able to find a nice spot for the two of us a few rows back, and there was only a little wisp of a shower during the show, which gave me a chance to wear my poncho for the only time that weekend. Ken Whiteley was leading the workshop and it was very good, with members of all the various bands and performers playing together well and of course the audience sang along too.
Erin and I headed over to the forest stages, first to catch part of Ferron's concert at Spruce Hollow and then go hear Martin Simpson's set, which was fantastic. We'd found a spot in the front row and got to see a true master of fingerstyle guitar up close. You can't believe he's playing so well and then you stop caring about that and just listen to the song. He did one about his father that he said he always sings in his set, and it was funny and sad and true to life. That reminds me that I want to get his latest CD because he didn't quite have it ready in time to be available at the folk fest.
Then because Erin wanted to, we went back over to the Spruce Hollow stage to catch the last half of the "Memphis in the Meantime" workshop that featured Lilly Hiatt (John Hiatt's daughter), Amythyst Kiah, and the 10 String Sympathy, and it was a great workshop with all three working and playing of one another. Nice when that happens, and I was really impressed by Amythyst Kiah's performance.
By then it was 4pm and I decided to go back again to camp and shower, have a beer, and just check up on things. It does make me nervous to have my guitar there sometimes, especially given that the night before Erin had had both her iPad tablet and Android phone stolen from the table they were being charged on under our shade structure. This year was the first time Erin had ever had something ripped off at the festival campground, and while it didn't ruin a good time it was still a bummer. Oh well, she had the phone "bricked" immediately, making it worthless, and later got herself another new iPad (the stolen one was nice enough but it was six year old) after we got home from Costco that she really likes now. Next year we'll figure out a way to secure all our wireless devices better while they're charging.
I did take my time getting back to the front baggie and only caught half of the set by St Paul and the Broken Bones, who were a big ten-piece band with a front man who was a pretty darn good soul singer for a white guy, because he wasn't afraid to be BIG as a singer. Reminded me of Charles Barkley, who I say a few years ago at the folk fest, especially when he went out in the crowd to sing. They really got the crowd fired up good on a beautiful Manitoba summer evening.
The tweener then was Huun-Huur-Tu, the Tuvan throat singers from, yes, Tuva. Erin heard them over twenty years ago at the folk fest and the sounds and harmonies they voiced during their short set were well-recieved by the crowd too, and I'm sure there were plenty of people out there who had also been there back when. It's nice when some acts get to return after so many years.
Then there was Passenger, who was just one guy out there on stage with a guitar and nothing else. Seemed a big out of place given how the previous act was so hot and big sounding. He started out singing and then appealing to the crowd to join along which might have been a bit too cute but he was so sincere and nice about it that you couldn't help but be enthused too. He'd been a street busker and I'm pretty darn sure that's where he honed his ability to grab an audience. So I was really getting into it when Polly P. came back to the front baggie and told me that Dave Clement was going to be up on stage later for the finale to sing The Mary Ellen Carter with Ken Whitely.
Whoa.
I'm sure the look on my face was about as dumbstruck as I'll ever look. You see, Dave back in 1994 with his band Dandelion Wine was supposed to do The Mary Ellen Carter for the fok fest finale but because there was a storm that blew in during the last main stage set by James Keelaghan (who we were told at his show this past October literally lifted the stage lights up and then down, which was pretty scary when you're up there) they ended the fest for safety reasons. (Erin's told me that she'd had her car backstage to help transport Dandelion Wine's gear and how she had to drive out with four passengers and all their instruments in her little Ford Escort wagon, in the blinding rain, bottoming out in the dirt road ruts, but thankfully they made it back to the Bhigg House o.k.)
So I went back to the back baggie and saw Erin, who also confirmed that Dave would be part of the finale. (Erin said she'd heard it from Heather, who had heard it from Dave back in camp earlier that day. Long story short, Dave was also at the Martin Simpson show sitting with Susan Israel, a good friend and fine musician herself whose daughter plays with Ken Whitely, and she was relating how Ken really didn't like singing the more "nautical" verse of The Mary Ellen Carter and Dave reminded her of the time he almost sang it on the main stage, and I guess a little lightbulb went on in Susan's head. Susan later talked with Ken about having Dave sing the problematic verse and Ken, bless his dear heart, said sure, David could join them and sing that verse.
So now you know the rest of the story. Anyway, I went back to hear the rest of Passenger and then the last set by Sheryl Crow, who was really a lot of fun and did her sunshine pop thing with her fine band well. It's not folk music but when you know all the songs and can sing along it's still a great time. Just as much fun as The Barenaked Ladies Sunday night closing set was last year. Crow did get to do an encore, and then it was time for the finale. Almost every Baggiconer was there and right up along the front of the main stage to hear The Mary Ellen Carter and we were yelling "Dave! Dave! Dave!" which he heard and laughed a bit about. Susan Israel was next to Dave (I'm sure she was helping guide him on and off stage) and laughed too. What a wonderful moment. I've never seen Dave with a bigger smile on his face than he had up there under the bright lights.
I'll just link to the video I shot of the performance and say no more. Best folk fest ever.
It was a truly memorable folk fest this year. There were a few snafus and bummers, as well as weather-related issues to deal with, but it all came together nicely as usual and a good time was had by all. Of course every folk fest is memorable, but this year's was one that will not be topped by the time it had come to a wonderful end.
As usual, it starts out with dragging all our camping stuff out of storage and doing the usual inventory, including the rounding up of batteries for lights, fans, and other things. Then there's chairs, bicycles, the shower gear, inverter, etc. I had a brain fart and shorted out our inverter, so we had to get a new one, but other than that we found everything and got it organized before the last minute. The peace of mind is worth it, believe me.
We got the van mostly loaded the night before we left and I figured out how to not spend 30 minutes getting the hitch on for the bicycle rack too by remembering how to be a tool using animal, and then secured the bikes on the rack. So come Tuesday morning we only were an hour late getting on the road, which is pretty darn good for us. Our friend Teresia was taking care of our dogs, and poor Tucker had to wear a cone of shame because of a cut on his butt he wouldn't leave alone, but he was already on the mend before we left so we weren't worried about him.
The trip to Winnipeg went by quickly, with only a little road construction for a few miles in Minnesota and North Dakota to deal with. We made a quick stop in Fargo at the Barnes & Noble bookstore to get a Games magazine for Erin as she likes to do the puzzles while listening to music at the folk fest. Then after the usual last U.S. stop in Pembina to gas up before crossing the border we sailed though customs and made it to the Bhigg House in Winnipeg by 7:30pm.
Since the sun didn't set until 9:40pm there was plenty of time to load most of the group camping gear in our van to take out to the campground in the morning. Thankfully Wolfgang Klassen also came by with his truck to take some things too, so I didn't have to cram the minivan full to the ceiling this year. Then since Erin and I hadn't eaten dinner yet we went out with Elizabeth to a diner for a late supper. (Dave was at a wedding reception on Tuesday night, so we didn't see him until after we got back from eating.) About the only bummer was that Elizabeth's driver's side door window had been smashed the night before when it was parked on the street, so she would have to park it in the garage for the night. That meant parking our loaded minivan and two bikes (locked to the rack, but still) out on the street for the night, which made us nervous of course, but there wasn't an alternative.
We turned in around 11:30pm and set the alarm for 6:15am. I didn't sleep all that well, and when a thunderstorm hit around 5:30am I got up, looked out to see if the minivan was o.k. and was relieved to see that it and the bikes were fine. So I jumped in the shower and got dressed, and then Erin was up and got dressed as well and we were off. We made a stop at a Tim Horton's for breakfast and coffee before heading out to Birds Hill Park, and just as we went past the entrance at 8am there was the end of the long line of folkies waiting to get in to camp. We waited there for a half-hour before the line started moving, but luckily we were right across from a porta-pottie so having the coffee wasn't a problem. It took another 45 minutes before we finally exchanged our tickets for wristbands and made it over to the festival campground. It had been raining early, but by the time we got there the storm had blown through and the sky was clearing. But wow, was it windy!
We ended up parking just past the bend in the road, which meant a long walk, but at least it was on the road which is easier to roll a cart on that a dirt path. So being foolish, we overloaded the cart for our first trip, mostly the shade structure, and the two of us trudged slowly down to the 1A pathway, and eventually made it to our usual campsite, which Heather had held for us. Whew. Wolf was also there, so I went back for another load while Erin supervised, because that's what Erin does. That, and she was trying to conserve her sore hip and not overdo it. I did two more loads and Wolf did one for me too, which by then I needed myself.
The high winds made putting up tents difficult, but as Erin and I were starting to put up our own big tent (it's 16'x10') a couple of festival campground volunteers came by and offered to help us, and in no time it was up. I need to write the festival about that and express my thanks about that generosity, it's what helps make the folk fest such a wonderful event. We had everything up by about 4pm, including the shower tent (which I did all by myself, after a few failed efforts in that wind) and the kitchen tent too. Dave and Elizabeth came and Elizabeth had sandwiches and cold drinks to share that were greatly appreciated as Erin and I hadn't been able to get groceries for ourselves.
Then others were arriving, including Karen and Juan, who had a rotten thing happen to them earlier in the day while they were visiting Winnipeg's Museum of Human Rights when Karen had a car window smashed and Juan lost a backpack with his passport and meds in it. Thankfully he was able to get more meds right away for $100 (yay Canadian health care system) and started getting the passport dealt with. Sadly getting a new car window wasn't as easy so that had to be covered with plastic sheeting until she made it back home.
Then we found out that Dave Clement's tent (the one Erin and I got him three years ago) was missing its rain fly, so Elizabeth and Dave had to go back into town to get another tent and they ended up staying in town for the night, but at least they got to go swimming in the park's lake before heading home. I was hungry enough to go over to one of the campground food trucks and got a pizza for supper, and shared some of it with Wolfgang who had been working hard all day long. I did take a stroll around the campground and then we all kind of crashed out early as it was still windy and a fire wasn't an option.
Thursday morning started out calmer, but then got windy again (gusts up to 40mph!) and it damaged a pole on one of our tent's side windows. It wasn't fixable but at least we could do without it. I saw a few other tents and such that were blown over, but thankfully there was no other damage in our Baggiecon group. Of all the things that can happen weather-wise, wind is about the worst (fire is THE worst) because a tent can only hold up to so much. It was a beautiful day otherwise, so after hauling water and having coffee I got on my bicycle and decided to ride around the park and visit the Quiet Camping area where other folk fest campers who like more peace and quiet at night stay. I stopped on the way to visit a cemetery where those who had settled the area before the park was created from the land they lived on were buried. Lots of Ukrainian and Polish names there, and their graves were being kept nicely and remembered well. I don't believe in life after death, but the living do find solace there.
Then I found a paved pathway going through the woods that I went down, and it not only got me out of the wind but was nice and shady too. What a nice park! I also spotted a horse trail (there's a ranch next to the park where you can get a horse and go trail riding - Erin used to do a breakfast ride on Sunday mornings many years ago during the folk fest, and they still offer it) and then arrived at one of the Quiet Campground sites, which only had a few cars parked there. I rode around to four other sites and only one had more than ten vehicles parked in it, so there's not that many people doing Quiet Camping, from what I can tell. I did come across another group of friendly volunteers who were greeting people arriving at the Quiet campground, so I'm sure more people were coming as there would be music at the Main State later in the evening.
Then I rode on the park ring road for a mile or so and took a driveway down to the park's lake, where I found an unpaved trail that was still bikeable and rode around the far side of the lake to where the concession was and ordered myself a burger and went wading in the lake to cool off a bit. Then I jumped back on the bike and cruised back to the festival campground to find a few more people arriving to set up their tents. Dave was back and the other tent they found in their garage was... not that great, unfortunately. Karen was going back into town though and offered to take Dave back to the Bhigg House again to see what they could find, and they took off while I was still in camp. Next year I'll spend more time making sure what's being taken out has been gone through and checked out first. (FWIW, I write these reports more for my benefit than for any entertainment value it has. Obviously.)
As Erin hadn't gone around the festival campgrounds yet, I thought we could go over to play Scrabble at the Big Games site in Zone 4 (where the RV's are). Erin liked that idea and so did Heather (?), so we walked over and found three other folkies had just started a game, so I joined as the fourth player and Erin got to do what she likes best - help everyone make up words! I was leading towards the end, but just got beat out after a killer word was played. Oh well, it was a hoot just to play. Then I got to play a game of chance tossing rings on little bottles and won by getting two of my five rings around them, and my prize was a handy tote bag. Hey, it didn't cost anything to play so it was a good deal. Then it was back to camp, where I finally got out my guitar and started playing under the shade structure.
By then Kat Rother had arrived with her friend Janis and they were setting up their tents around the Baggiecon circle. I had my Rise Again fake book on the stand and turned the page to the Musicals section and found Matchmaker (from Fiddler on the Roof) and started playing and singing it, and almost immediately Kat came over and started _really_ singing it, with gusto. What fun! Kat told me she once performed in a production of the musical and loved the songs, as do I. It's moments like these that make the folk fest such a wonderful time. Wolf also got his guitar out and we pass the time playing music under the blue summer sky.
After about an hour of so of that, it was getting late enough in the afternoon for the water in our black water cubes to be warm enough for a shower, so I took one and then decided not to go watch the Main Stage show that night. Which is kind of odd for me, but I was feeling a little tired and just wanting to chill. So I did. We did have a nice fire and spend time around it doing some music again before turning in. I'd forgotten my earplugs when packing, but I did manage to sleep well enough.
Friday started out much better wind-wise, but it was definitely warmer. Since this was the only day that our friends Lana and Anya would be at the folk fest, Erin decided to spend the day with Lana, which left me free to do whatever after I was done doing the tarp run at 10:20, again with a #1 tarp ticket thanks to Polly. I found a great spot close to the front of the Main Stage but far enough back you didn't have to look up more than look out, in other words about five tarps/rows back.
After grabbing a sushi burrito (and a pair of green sunglasses as a promo gift) at Chosabi in the food court I headed over to find a shady spot at Bur Oak at 11am to hear a celtic band from Quebec, Genticorum. They were a trio (guitar, violin, accordion) and had people up dancing even though it was already getting hot, and though I didn't dance myself I was also bouncing along to the beat in my seat. Then it was up to the Little Stage in the Forest at noon to check out Wallis Bird, who was a very young woman from Ireland who was a fiery performer, doing a lot of percussive work with her guitar and also using amplification to drive her beat. She reminded me a bit of Ani DiFranco. At the end of her set, I then drifted over to Spruce Hollow to catch a workshop featuring among other Ferron, titled Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, and yep it was songs about lost love and longing, and Ferron does those very well. Of course there was another workshop featuring Martin Simpson that was at the same time, and that was a bummer of course. There always has to be at least a couple conflicts that can't be resolved at the folk fest.
Then I headed over to the Big Bluestem state to catch a workshop featuring among others fiddler Natilie McMaster, and... it was packed. Thankfully I ran into Erin and Lana who were already there under a shade tree and I joined them to hear a great workshop with lots of fiddle playing and dancing. McMaster is really popular in Winnipeg! Here's a picture of Lana and Erin in the shade that I took. We also had one of Lana's former students who was selling ice cream bars stop and sell us a few, which were really tasty and frosty cold, and while he was there next to us he was swarmed by plenty of other folkies looking for cool treats under the hot sun.
By the time the workshop was over it was 4pm, and I headed back to camp to relax, have a beer, and a shower. Dave and Karen had returned and as luck would have it Karen has found the missing rainfly on Dave's good tent in an out of the way shelf in the Bhigg House garage. Dave and Elizabeth were busy setting it up next to our tent where we'd held a spot for it. Our RV battery was doing fine thanks to the solar panel getting plenty of sun, which was a good thing because everyone in camp had a phone or tablet that needed charging. We did have an issue using a power strip with Shaun's old inverter, so it was good thing Erin and brought the new one too and the power strip worked fine with it. You never miss your power until your device's battery runs down. Or something like that.
I didn't head down to catch the very first act on the Main Stage at 6pm, but with Natalie McMaster being next up at 7pm I definitely wanted to take full advantage of the front baggie. I was joined there by Erin and Lana, who also wanted to be up front, and McMaster took the stage with her band and she lit up the crowd from beat one. McMaster fiddled, danced, fiddled and danced, all in the bright sun and heat, so when she took her bottle of water and poured it down on her chest, we shared in her relief too. (Erin knows about that from years of working in the summer heat at renaissance festivals.) The highlight of the show though was when McMaster invited her seven year old daughter onto the state to also fiddle and then dance for the audience, and of course everyone clapped and cheered her on. IMO, this was the best Main Stage act of the festival for me at least - traditional and energetic and sweet.
Next up was a band from Boston, Darlingside, four guys singing all around one microphone and playing traditional accoustic instruments. I liked them and was settling in to enjoy their set when my phone rang and it was Kerri, who had planned on arriving on Friday in time to hear Natalie McMaster but was delayed, and she was in the festival parking lot and she had tried to call others in our Baggiecon group and managed to reach me finally. I said I could meet her and take her back to our site in the festival campground. I stopped by the back baggie to let folks know there that I was going to help Kerri and then headed for the parking lot, where I met Kerri playing a rather funky fiddle at a tent where a guy who has been selling homemade intruments for the past several years has been. (It's one of those things the festival just lets happen, and it's cool.) So I introduced myself, and found I'd seen her before playing for her duo Sister Tree in the Twin Cities. Small world! We headed back to camp, got a cart and went to her car to bring her tent and her own fiddle back to camp. Then I helped her pitch her tent, and we headed back to the Main Stage.
Of course this all took well over an hour, so by the time I was back on the front baggie the next act, The Strumbellas, from Toronto, was up on stage and whooping it up. I'm glad I at least caught part of their set as they were a lot of fun. Then it was time for the night's headliner, Courtney Barnett and her band to play. Barnett's style of rockin' guitar riffs and talking blues soon got the crowd getting into her groove, but she also threw in a couple of really pointed and angry songs too about some of the things women face that they shouldn't have to. That reminds me that this year the ration of male to female performers was 50/50. While the WFF has for decades been good about getting female acts to perform at the festival, women have never been equally represented either. I later heard one of the women on one of the daytime stages remark that she was happy that she didn't have to look for other women performers to talk with for a change, so there's that.
Barnett's set ended at midnight, but for us it was back to camp to stay up for a while longer. Approaching our circle I heard someone singing Northwest Passage and golly, it sure sounded like it was Stan Rogers himself singing it. Turned out it was Stan's son Nathan Rogers who had come to sit in the Baggiecon circle for awhile (Nathan has camped in festival camping before) so it was what you'd call a memorable moment to be sure. Nathan stayed around for a bit and sang a couple more songs, and then headed off in to the night. By then I was kind of bushed, so I turned in around 1am, but having forgotten to pack earplugs, I kept waking up about every half hour to hear singing, laughing, and talking around our campfire. Not that I really minded, but sleep it was not. Then around 4am I woke up to the sound of someone being sick nearby and then the voiced of a couple of festival medics who came to help out. They were very kind and then took the sick person to the first aid tent. So much for getting a good nights sleep though. I think I finally managed to get maybe two hours worth, but I woke up a little after 7am on Saturday morning and needed coffee bad, and that wasn't good.
So after again running the front baggie and getting breakfast, I headed over to Bur Oak to hear Nathan Rogers lead a workshop of Stan Rogers songs, and of course singing along was MANDATORY. The title of the workshop was 45 Years, because it was the 45th year of the Winnipeg Folk Festival this year and there's this song by Stan called 45 Years that were meant to go together, you see. A lot of other Baggiecon folks were there too, as you might expect, including Dave Clement. Sadly, Erin wasn't feeling well that day and stayed back in camp, but as luck would have it the Bur Oak stage faces directly at the part of the festival campground where we were all camped, so Erin could hear it at least. I did capture three of the songs Nathan Rogers did for her and she saw them later.
I stuck around after the show for a bit waiting for Erin, and then helped Dave Clement over to the Snowberry state to listen to the We Banjo 3 band from Ireland while Dave was waiting for his wife Elizabeth to arrive from town to go swimming with him at the lake. It was getting pretty warm and windy by then, but I found a shady spot way in the back for us to sit and we relaxed, listended, and talked a bit too. By the time the concert was over Elizabeth still hadn't come, but Kerri came by and she sat with us too, and I decided to head over to Green Ash to hear another workshop with Mandolin Orange and Darlingside, while sitting again way in the back under a shade tree. I had plenty of water to drink and a comfy chair, and the music was nice too.
I felt like heading back to camp then, and had a bit to eat and drink, and then I just kind of crashed out. I had gotten very little sleep the night before and with the heat I just needed to stay in camp instead of heading back to the festival grounds. I was so tired I eventually went to bed early and finally found some earplugs so I was able to get over eight hours of decent sleep. It was a bummer to miss all the performers on Main Stage Saturday night, and Erin said the band Las Cafeteras was terrific. Oh well, I'm going to have to pace myself better next year. Erin did buy a CD of Las Cafeteras and I have listened to that at least.
Sunday morning I felt much better and before leaving camp to do the tarp run at 10:15am I talked with Erin and we planned to meet later at the gospel workshop at the Big Bluestem stage at 11am, and then spend the day together. So after the tarp run I grabbed some breakfast and walk over to the stage it started to very lightly drizzle I found a spot under a spruce tree to stay dry under and eat while waiting for Erin. She arrived just before 11am and wanted to sit up front, and we were able to find a nice spot for the two of us a few rows back, and there was only a little wisp of a shower during the show, which gave me a chance to wear my poncho for the only time that weekend. Ken Whiteley was leading the workshop and it was very good, with members of all the various bands and performers playing together well and of course the audience sang along too.
Erin and I headed over to the forest stages, first to catch part of Ferron's concert at Spruce Hollow and then go hear Martin Simpson's set, which was fantastic. We'd found a spot in the front row and got to see a true master of fingerstyle guitar up close. You can't believe he's playing so well and then you stop caring about that and just listen to the song. He did one about his father that he said he always sings in his set, and it was funny and sad and true to life. That reminds me that I want to get his latest CD because he didn't quite have it ready in time to be available at the folk fest.
Then because Erin wanted to, we went back over to the Spruce Hollow stage to catch the last half of the "Memphis in the Meantime" workshop that featured Lilly Hiatt (John Hiatt's daughter), Amythyst Kiah, and the 10 String Sympathy, and it was a great workshop with all three working and playing of one another. Nice when that happens, and I was really impressed by Amythyst Kiah's performance.
By then it was 4pm and I decided to go back again to camp and shower, have a beer, and just check up on things. It does make me nervous to have my guitar there sometimes, especially given that the night before Erin had had both her iPad tablet and Android phone stolen from the table they were being charged on under our shade structure. This year was the first time Erin had ever had something ripped off at the festival campground, and while it didn't ruin a good time it was still a bummer. Oh well, she had the phone "bricked" immediately, making it worthless, and later got herself another new iPad (the stolen one was nice enough but it was six year old) after we got home from Costco that she really likes now. Next year we'll figure out a way to secure all our wireless devices better while they're charging.
I did take my time getting back to the front baggie and only caught half of the set by St Paul and the Broken Bones, who were a big ten-piece band with a front man who was a pretty darn good soul singer for a white guy, because he wasn't afraid to be BIG as a singer. Reminded me of Charles Barkley, who I say a few years ago at the folk fest, especially when he went out in the crowd to sing. They really got the crowd fired up good on a beautiful Manitoba summer evening.
The tweener then was Huun-Huur-Tu, the Tuvan throat singers from, yes, Tuva. Erin heard them over twenty years ago at the folk fest and the sounds and harmonies they voiced during their short set were well-recieved by the crowd too, and I'm sure there were plenty of people out there who had also been there back when. It's nice when some acts get to return after so many years.
Then there was Passenger, who was just one guy out there on stage with a guitar and nothing else. Seemed a big out of place given how the previous act was so hot and big sounding. He started out singing and then appealing to the crowd to join along which might have been a bit too cute but he was so sincere and nice about it that you couldn't help but be enthused too. He'd been a street busker and I'm pretty darn sure that's where he honed his ability to grab an audience. So I was really getting into it when Polly P. came back to the front baggie and told me that Dave Clement was going to be up on stage later for the finale to sing The Mary Ellen Carter with Ken Whitely.
Whoa.
I'm sure the look on my face was about as dumbstruck as I'll ever look. You see, Dave back in 1994 with his band Dandelion Wine was supposed to do The Mary Ellen Carter for the fok fest finale but because there was a storm that blew in during the last main stage set by James Keelaghan (who we were told at his show this past October literally lifted the stage lights up and then down, which was pretty scary when you're up there) they ended the fest for safety reasons. (Erin's told me that she'd had her car backstage to help transport Dandelion Wine's gear and how she had to drive out with four passengers and all their instruments in her little Ford Escort wagon, in the blinding rain, bottoming out in the dirt road ruts, but thankfully they made it back to the Bhigg House o.k.)
So I went back to the back baggie and saw Erin, who also confirmed that Dave would be part of the finale. (Erin said she'd heard it from Heather, who had heard it from Dave back in camp earlier that day. Long story short, Dave was also at the Martin Simpson show sitting with Susan Israel, a good friend and fine musician herself whose daughter plays with Ken Whitely, and she was relating how Ken really didn't like singing the more "nautical" verse of The Mary Ellen Carter and Dave reminded her of the time he almost sang it on the main stage, and I guess a little lightbulb went on in Susan's head. Susan later talked with Ken about having Dave sing the problematic verse and Ken, bless his dear heart, said sure, David could join them and sing that verse.
So now you know the rest of the story. Anyway, I went back to hear the rest of Passenger and then the last set by Sheryl Crow, who was really a lot of fun and did her sunshine pop thing with her fine band well. It's not folk music but when you know all the songs and can sing along it's still a great time. Just as much fun as The Barenaked Ladies Sunday night closing set was last year. Crow did get to do an encore, and then it was time for the finale. Almost every Baggiconer was there and right up along the front of the main stage to hear The Mary Ellen Carter and we were yelling "Dave! Dave! Dave!" which he heard and laughed a bit about. Susan Israel was next to Dave (I'm sure she was helping guide him on and off stage) and laughed too. What a wonderful moment. I've never seen Dave with a bigger smile on his face than he had up there under the bright lights.
I'll just link to the video I shot of the performance and say no more. Best folk fest ever.
Wallis Bird (who was next to Dave and Susan on stage) then sang Wild Mountain Thyme and did a wonderful version, and after her Amythyst Kiah sang Amazing Grace and made it new again, no small feat that, just her voice and guitar. Then all of us who were up front made our way back to the way back baggie and waited for Dave to return from the Main Stage, and then we all got in our traditional circle to sing Ripple before heading back to camp, singing shanties all the way back to the festival campground.
We then wound down around the campfire and burned as much wood as we could before turning in for the night, which was quiet and peaceful. Morning came clear and cool and after we all got up and had a cup or two of coffee, it was time to pack out. Unfortunately one of the baggie carts broke a wheel so it took us more time than it would have otherwise, but we managed to get everything out by about 1pm and headed back to the Bhigg House in Winnipeg to unload the Baggiecon camp gear in the garage and then Erin and I decided to head back home rather than stay, in part because we were still a little worried about theft from our van if it was left parked on the street.
The drive home was uneventful and fairly quick, with no hassles at the border which is always a relief. The dogs and cat were happy to see us as always. Best folk fest ever.
We then wound down around the campfire and burned as much wood as we could before turning in for the night, which was quiet and peaceful. Morning came clear and cool and after we all got up and had a cup or two of coffee, it was time to pack out. Unfortunately one of the baggie carts broke a wheel so it took us more time than it would have otherwise, but we managed to get everything out by about 1pm and headed back to the Bhigg House in Winnipeg to unload the Baggiecon camp gear in the garage and then Erin and I decided to head back home rather than stay, in part because we were still a little worried about theft from our van if it was left parked on the street.
The drive home was uneventful and fairly quick, with no hassles at the border which is always a relief. The dogs and cat were happy to see us as always. Best folk fest ever.
