The first 14 Ottawa Folk Festivals I attended were purely a one-way affair. I was basking in great music, (mostly) lovely summer weather, and the festival vibe.
Last year, I was there as a board member. You might guess the experience was somewhat different.
Let me tell you what I think of when I think of the Ottawa Folk Festival:
Laura Smith singing “Armistice Day,” and the utter silence of the audience when she finished. Don Ross creating musical sparks on his guitar and echoed in the sky as the Perseids meteor shower flashed overhead. Drooling over beautiful musical instruments that I cannot afford in the artisan village. Being proud to know we were the first water bottle-free festival in Ottawa. Buffy Sainte-Marie raising the hairs on the back of my neck as she whooped through “Starwalker.” Bruce Cockburn wandering the site and enjoying the festival just like me. Seeing musical friends like Meredith Luce and David Ross MacDonald onstage impressing the hell out of thousands of people.
I don’t quite know what the festival will bring this year. To paraphrase Lynn Miles “Unravel” ― I’ve watched a lotta festivals come and go, and this is what I know:
There are some great musicians booked. The new site will not have the sunsets on the river but, I suspect it may have its own charms. I REALLY don’t want it to rain. I hope we can mix the best of the traditions we’ve set over the last 17 years with some new things.
This festival is mine and it’s yours too, if you want it. Take part. Listen. Dance. Pick up a harmonica and make a tune. Sing along. Eat. Drink. Celebrate that a world of music has come to our doorstep and that in this too-brief season of summer we get to hear it in a beautiful outdoor site.
See you at the festival.
Bob LeDrew
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