Out Of The Burbs

Every once in awhile, a cool friend will invite me to do something outside my neighborhood where I get to see a bigger, broader and probably more realistic view of the world. Yesterday I went to the Calgary Folk Music Festival with GV ("glitter queen" to those who know her). Nestled in the beautiful Prince's Island Park, the five staged festival and great weather proved to be a rich experience. Music I had never heard of like The Burning Hell and esl and Delhi 2 Dublin mixed in with the quintessential Ian Tyson made my toes tap, fingers snap and body groove.

The festival provided lots of people watching at its best. Old hippies, punks, ayoung mom with afeather earring, Shelley's rabbi grooving, tattoos, dreadlocks, summer frocks. Our shared humanity. At the main stage, I sat beside a mature woman. Judging from her wrinkled skin and attire, she was definitely old school folk. She was snapping her fingers and singing along to the lyrics. I reached over to her and told her she was a delight. She acted as if she hadn't felt delightful in a long time.

I'm not sure who decides which food vendors will exclusively feed the masses at the festival; but, I'm pretty sure they are foodies. Sunterra, a portable wood fire pizzeria, Sugar Creek Kettle Popcorn, The Nut Man, and a frozen lemonade that was as refreshing as it was delicious had long lineups. Because the food stalls flanked the main path, temptations to sample all the offerings grew throughout the day. I resisted. Well mostly. The festival has gone green - or maybe it has already been green and I living in the 'burbs didn't know - and food is served on real plates and when returned, so is the deposit.

It was a pretty neat day; I had a pretty terrific time. Thanks GV for making it an A+ kind of day. As I climb back into the averageness of the 'burbs, I can enjoy this music and pretend I am a little cooler than I was the day before.