Folk Fest Fun

A family tradition we’ve enjoyed for many years is attending the annual Edmonton Folk Fest with our family and good friends. It’s a four day festival of music held outdoors at Gallagher Hill just east of downtown. Now our young grandchildren even attend!

This year the weather was perfect – sunny and 28 – 30 degrees C (82 – 86 F)

Enjoying the sun and the music at folk fest

The music – always an eclectic range to choose from on the side stages and on the main stage – was both mellow or spirited depending on the artist. As usual we saw some old favorites and discovered some new delights.

This year we discovered Ryan Shaw – an incredibly talented and energizing young performer. He had 10,000 people in the palm of his hand in a joyful dance.

We also danced under the stars at midnight to Michael Franti and Spearhead - a previous favorite. He’s another performer who touched the crowd and had us all moving in unison to his heartfelt and positive commitment to peace and humanity.

The closing act on Sunday night was Chris Isaak, a seemingly unlikely candidate for a folk fest. When he came out in his pink sequined suit we thought maybe it was time to call it a night and head home. We didn’t and I’m glad. This man is AMAZING. Hugely talented, versatile, and funny as all get out!

Hula hoop for heart

You may think that sitting around at a folk music festival would be a very passive activity. Not so. Not only did I feed my soul and dance and move to the music, but the festival site is located at the base of a steep hill (yes we do have some hills on the prairies) that creates not just one, but several natural ampitheaters. Trekking from stage to stage (7 side stages as well as the main stage) and climbing the hill several times a day, meant that my KAM (kinetic activity monitor) recorded great activity levels for the weekend! I even joined in and hula hooped – such fun!

Plus we brought most of our own heart healthy food with us so we could avoid the junk food kiosks.

After four days, late nights, and lots of activity I’m tired. But I’m already looking forward to Edmonton Folk Festival 2009.