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I was eagerly awaiting the announcement for this year’s Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Let me put this into perspective.

I have been going to this music festival for over 35 years. I think I missed one festival when my wife broke her ankle before the gates even opened on day one. But that’s another story.

I consider the hill at Gallagher Park in the river valley to be as close to sacred ground as I can identify. It is where I go to ground myself for the 12 months leading up to the 4-day festival starting all over again. It is a magical, happy place.

Over the years, I’ve come to trust the Artistic Director, Terry Wickham, to entertain, amuse, and surprise with quality performances. There is always a good mix of the familiar with the unknown.

I remember seeing Jimmy Lafevre for the first time. I’d never heard of him before Folk Fest. Four bars into his first song, my wife and I exchanged glances as if to say, ‘Where has he been all my life?’

I remember k.d. lang on the main stage. This was in the day when her anti-beef statements did not endear her to many beef-loving Albertans. She moved around the stage, side-to-side, and stood on the piano, essentially saying I own this moment. And she did, too.

I remember sharing a drink in the beer garden with a stranger. It was crowded, and he offered a bit of grass to sit on beside him. We passed an hour so easily, reminiscing about shared experiences over the years of witnessing magical moments on the side stages. We were both in awe to have watched a performance by Silk Road (a Vancouver-based Chinese string ensemble), Linda Tillery (a very large presence, while being humble, from San Francisco), and Chester Knight (an Indigenous singer/songwriter from Saskatchewan).

I’ll close my reminiscing with this incident. The ‘hill’ is where the audience sits, and the stage is front and centre at the bottom of the hill. It is part of the bank of the North Saskatchewan River. I was walking down the hill with many other members of the audience, trying to get to one of the other 6 stages that were presenting artists simultaneously.

I felt a small hand reach up to grab my thumb. A little stranger had kept his eye on the uneven terrain while walking down the hill. He thought he was holding his father’s thumb. I looked around and saw Dad was just a few steps behind and to the side. I gave him the look that said everything was good. We walked a good way down the hill before he looked up. Shock!

“You’re not my Dad!”

The real Dad stepped in to reassure him, and we all went our separate ways.

So, thanks for your indulgence at this time of the year.

Please give this a bit of a think. Are there events, special places or times of the year that have that deep spiritual connection?

Please comment: Send me an email with your bit of a think. I am curious about your thoughts.

Photo by Rohit Dey on Unsplash

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