How ya'll doin'?
Haven't heard from any of you in so long I'm begining to wonder if you really exist.
I'm here at Pembina River, about 100 K west of Edmonton. Got here early this afternoon and decided to take a time-out to write.
Loved the Edmonton Folk Festival, not that the line up was all that great, or that I actually "caught" all that much of the stage performances, but what I did see was good.
Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives stand out. The drummer had a high sweet voice that could coax the gospel out of any country tune. And Marty, Marty gave the crowd a history lesson on the goings on in the neighbourhood where he, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison lived for decades. His mandolin solos were hot like jalapenos and the band, in their sequined outfits, were, well, superlative!
Caught a session with Connie Kaldor, Tom Paxton and Buffy Ste. Marie that was joyful. They came out off the top and blatantly said, here in flag waving Alberta, that the way to end the war is to stop going to the war. Buffy also reminded the crowd about how Americans were told for years that Viet Nam wasn't a war, just as we are now being told that Iraq isn't in a state of civil war. It was good stuff to hear off the stage, especially in Alberta.
As far as the festival goes, its a good one. Different type of organization. They are compartmentalized to the point of neurosis. Even the different departments within the departments operate at arms length from one another. No one knows anyone outside their immediate jurisdiction. Its top driven but its run like a communist dream, all the trains are on time, so it probably is a facist regime deep down under all the compartments.
They're really good to their volunteers but tend to favour the long termers, overall, and within the departments. Newbies are expected to work extra shifts. I was relieved of that obligation but took it on anyway, pulling an extra evening security shift, and an eight hour tear down shift, during which I hit myself in the face with a wrench and now look a little like a boxer who lost the fight.
One of the nicest parts of my Edmonton visit was where I stayed, after I got away from Whyte Avenue and the Commercial Hotel, which really was a dive, dungy, overheating, brick fire-trap, with some very nice people working in it. The place stank, dank, too many years of beer and potato chips.
The volunteer coordinator from the folk fest put me onto a couple named Ann and David who have a house near the city center airport. That's about 12 blocks from the Ramada Hotel and Convention Centre, where all the performers stayed, and where a party was thrown for the volunteers each night. There was a timely shuttle service from the hotel to the site, which was in Gallagher Park, on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River.
Ann and David weren't home when I pulled into their yard and set up my camp. I'd been given their address and assurance it would be all right. I set up on trust, then went off to the site, where things were just about to start up. I didn't meet them until later, in the middle of the night, when they came in off a long road trip, moving equipment and banging and crashing all over the place. I lay there quiet in my tent, and they didn't even notice me, until they checked their mail box and found the note I'd left.
"Hi,
My name is Will. That's me camped in your yard. Vicki sent me.
Hope I have the right place."
Sometime later, as Ann crept through the night to attach a return note to my tent, I said, "Hello!" and scared the bejesus out of her. We laughed about it, and I pretended I'd slept through their clamour.
Ann and David are musicians, piano players. Ann writes songs and tours once in a while. Her name is Ann Vriend, perhaps you've heard her. David isn't a full time player, he has another job still, but I heard him playing and he's pretty good. I enjoyed my time with them, which was little and infrequent, but we did manage to have a Bison barbeque together, and I got to tell them some of those giant lies I like to tell, like I just crossed the prairie again!
My job at the festival this time was perimeter security. Basically I stood along the fence line and watched out for people trying to go over or under it. Didn't actually catch anyone doing that, but I did see a few contemplating it. Mostly I just said hi to people, listened to the music and watched the masses move.
The site of this festival is unique. All the stages, eight of them, are set into their own natural ampitheatres, which are in factsteep toboggan and ski runs. In the winter the site is used for skiing and toboganning. Each hill, or stage area, is bordered by a ravine full of cottonwood and birch trees. It works fairly well, although there is considerable sound bleeding between two of the daytime stages. One end of the festival, containing stages 3, 4, 5, and 6, is a long stretch of ground that takes about 10 full minutes to walk at a good pace. With crowds it could take 20 minutes to move from one end to the other. The main part of the field was east of the long run, and was more square in shape, bordering three sides on residential build up. In this area were stage 1, 2, 7 and Main. The main stage only ran for one hour in the afternoon, and was the only one that ran at night, after about 6 pm. Also in this area was a small childrens area and a weak craft fair inside a giant tent. There was also a giant beer garden, lots of crowd cover, and the food concessions, all in behind the main stage, facing the main toboggan hill, which sloped up the south face of the coulee. Because it is a hill, and a steep one, there is no bad seat in the house. This is one festival where people don't have to worry about seeing over the lawn chairs. The area is easily the size of a football field, except less elongated, more like a giant semi circle. It is an area that can accomodate 50,000 people and a great place for a concert. When you're standing on that hill at night, with downtown Edmonton gleaming in the background, and the northern sky shifting and changing colour, it may be one of the most spectacular festival sites anywhere.
Their volunteer kitchen was at the end of the long run, near stage six, and was capable of feeding 3,000 per serving. They did a great job, although the fluids provided weren't up to my snuff. Not a herbal tea to be found, not on site and most certainly not at the parties. At the parties there were signs posted cautioning people to keep an eye on their drinks, in case of spiking, but the non-alcoholic drinks, which were basically pop. were left in open pitchers on a counter top where anyone could drop a few tabs of drugs in them. Imagine going to a party where only the designated drivers get wiped!
The parties had some good performances. Amos Garrett, who is getting very old, played like a kid, keeping the thousand plus crowd hopping. Upstairs, in the "quiet rooms" I heard Oscar Lopez and James Keeleghan with a bunch of bluegrass players. And at five am on Monday, in the lobby of the hotel, some players played until their shuttles left for the airport. There was a big concert harp there, a mandolin, stand up base and an accordian. It was a nice way to end the experience, chamber bluegrass!
I was treated well by the crew, given responsibility, and introduced around. I worked hard. Things went well. If I want I'll be able to go back again. That's nice. I've concluded that I really like working festivals. In some ways, I'd like to take the best of the two I attended this year and maybe build a new one, say, Canada Day In the Kootenays, with lots of all kinds of stuff and more.
Maybe when I'm too arthritic to ride my bike, I'll take up that occupation.
Didn't get out of Edmonton until yesterday, Wednesday. Hung around Monday because, like I said, I was at the party until 5:30 am and didn't get up until after noon. Was going to leave Tuesday but something inside made me go back down to the site and put in an eight hour clean up shift. They fed me and I took a wrench in the face, it was a fair trade. Cleaning up also helped me debrief from four days of music, crowds and food. Everyone who attends a festival should hang around a day or two after and help tear it down. That's when you find out what it takes, and who the real movers and shakers are. They're down there unpounding the nails they drove in the week before.
Its about building community, thinking on the go, making people happy. Like I said, I love working the festivals. Its nice for me to get a sober look at them. When I was young, I was too drunk to remember much.
Speaking of drunk, last time I was in Jasper Alberta I was drunk. That was at least 20 years ago. This guy I knew, and I, rolled in on festival weekend and stunk up the town. In fact, I don't think I've ever been sober in Jasper, and I've even been drunk on the train in Jasper. So sometime this week I'm going to be doing something differnet. I'm going to be sober in Jasper (if what I've been doing all these years is still working) and I'm really looking forward to it.
Got out of Edmonton early yesterday. Went north along the 127th Street bicycle path, turned west at 137, to the bypass, which isn't marked on any maps. That took me briefly, and quite scarily, out on Hwy 16, The Yellowhead. Its a big four laner full of semi-trucks, dump trucks and people who gotta go. Fortunately, I found a paved service road on the north side that took me almost to Spruce Grove. When I did get back out on the highway it was lighter, and got even lighter when I passed Hwy 43 going north to the Peace River.
Last night I paid $20 to stay at Wabamun Provincial Park. It was a nice park but the sites were all gravel and the highway could be heard loud and clear. This morning I got up, decided I deserved a slow day, and took the wind here, to Pembina River Provincial Park. I've been given an exposed site near a three way stop on the gravel road, and neighbours in a travel trailer, mom dad and preteen kids, with hokey country music blarin,g and a meter high fire burning in the late afternoon. Oh well, nearby there is a nice river bank where I can go to escape the fate of a lousy site. Mercifully, I've been able to squeeze myself up against a big pine tree and have some modicum of shade and shelter.
Tomorrow I'm shooting for Nojack Lake. Plan here is to do short days, go easy, and be in Jasper six days from now. That way I can go short on the big tourist traffic days, Friday and Sunday, and get into Jasper mid week, when there is likely some camping to be had. Might stop a day or two there, if it feels good.
Not sure which direction I'll go after that. I could go south to Lake Louise, southwest to Kamloops down the Yellowhead, or west to Prince Rupert and onto Vancouver Island. Anyone got a preference?
Will