![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
There and back again
Jul. 18th, 2019 10:51 amErin and I had a good time at the Winnipeg folk fest this year as usual, although Erin's knee pain limited her walking around significantly. She did have her bicycle to ride from the campground to the festival site though, which did help somewhat. The weather started out stormy on Wednesday and ended stormy on Monday, and it got pretty hot on Sunday, but us Baggieconners coped well enough with it. The music as usual was good, with only the Sunday Main Stage being a bit meh, although Kacey Musgraves had plenty of fans in the crowd and did put on a good show to close out the night.
We did have a nice visit with Donna and Terry out in the woods at their ReTreat on Monday and then on Tuesday I was able to pack most of the group gear in Erin's minivan, only missing a dish rack that was gotten later. Thanks to Donna lending us her handicapped parking pass we were able to get a parking spot right next to trailhead 1A, which saved me an immense amount of walking from the overflow parking area. And certainly Erin was happy to not have to walk so far on her painful knee. So we had the camp set up in time to just enjoy the evening around the fire and sing a few songs before turning in.
I'll write more later about the festival itself, but I'll mention here that there were a lot of performers that were new to the festival this year, more so than usual. It's also more a pop than a folk fest these days, but there still were folky moments to be had and some blues, bluegrass, and celtic moments too. It's a very well-run event set in a beautiful provincial park that is so big that even with thousands of people around I never felt crowded, except on a couple of the pathways at times. So depending on one's mood, you can get close to the music at the stages or relax further away and still listen in. Only real complaint was that sometimes the music from other stages was loud enough to be intrusive.
Sadly, I got a call from my sister Andrea on Saturday morning that my father had passed away earlier in the day. My dad had been in hospice care for almost nine months and I knew it could happen, but he'd been doing o.k. according to my mother when I talked with her on Sunday before Erin and I left for Canada. Dad was sleeping at the time so I didn't get to talk with him, but the last time we talked he was in good spirits. My sister Andrea was very sad though because she was going to fly down to see him in only five more days time. Now he's gone, and of course it's hard to believe that we'll never see him again. I'm flying down to Bradenton on Saturday to be with Mom, Andrea and my sister April for a few days, and there will be a family gathering for a memorial in August. Dad didn't want a formal funeral and his body has been cremated, and Mom will decide what to do with his remains. I'll miss singing for my Dad, as he always loved singing along too.
We did have a nice visit with Donna and Terry out in the woods at their ReTreat on Monday and then on Tuesday I was able to pack most of the group gear in Erin's minivan, only missing a dish rack that was gotten later. Thanks to Donna lending us her handicapped parking pass we were able to get a parking spot right next to trailhead 1A, which saved me an immense amount of walking from the overflow parking area. And certainly Erin was happy to not have to walk so far on her painful knee. So we had the camp set up in time to just enjoy the evening around the fire and sing a few songs before turning in.
I'll write more later about the festival itself, but I'll mention here that there were a lot of performers that were new to the festival this year, more so than usual. It's also more a pop than a folk fest these days, but there still were folky moments to be had and some blues, bluegrass, and celtic moments too. It's a very well-run event set in a beautiful provincial park that is so big that even with thousands of people around I never felt crowded, except on a couple of the pathways at times. So depending on one's mood, you can get close to the music at the stages or relax further away and still listen in. Only real complaint was that sometimes the music from other stages was loud enough to be intrusive.
Sadly, I got a call from my sister Andrea on Saturday morning that my father had passed away earlier in the day. My dad had been in hospice care for almost nine months and I knew it could happen, but he'd been doing o.k. according to my mother when I talked with her on Sunday before Erin and I left for Canada. Dad was sleeping at the time so I didn't get to talk with him, but the last time we talked he was in good spirits. My sister Andrea was very sad though because she was going to fly down to see him in only five more days time. Now he's gone, and of course it's hard to believe that we'll never see him again. I'm flying down to Bradenton on Saturday to be with Mom, Andrea and my sister April for a few days, and there will be a family gathering for a memorial in August. Dad didn't want a formal funeral and his body has been cremated, and Mom will decide what to do with his remains. I'll miss singing for my Dad, as he always loved singing along too.
