Family, Festivals, and Fairs
All of a sudden, it’s October. This blog is getting harder to keep up with, especially now that we’re back in the office two or three days a week. Time seems to just evaporate now. All of that to say, I have some catching up to do. So buckle-up, this post is going to cover the highlights from June to September, and we had a surprisingly busy summer!
To start off, we traveled to Saskatoon in June for Elayne’s memorial. This was a tough trip, and we didn’t really know how the weekend would go. We stayed at the Delta downtown but Kirby’s sister Heather, and her daughter Emerson (and the cats, and the dog, and the birds, fish, and temporary rabbit), were home-base for the weekend.
On the Saturday we drove out to Parkside, where Kirby’s mom grew up and where the memorial was held.
It turns out I don’t have many photos from the ceremony itself, but it was very touching and the lunch was one of the best I’ve ever had. These small town church ladies really know how to put on a nice lunch. After lunch we chatted with family from near and far, and they were all so nice. Then we made the small pilgrimage to the cemetery in town to lay Elayne’s ashes to rest.
It was a very nice memorial and it was especially nice to meet so many of Kirby’s cousins and family. On our drive back to Saskatoon we were treated with a beautiful glimpse of heaven.
After Saskatoon, we decided to go see Feist perform at the Ottawa Jazz Festival. This was our first time at Jazz Fest in Ottawa. It’s a very interesting venue because it’s right in the middle of the city. My expectations were low but the show was really good.
After Jazz Fest we had our games night on Canada Day weekend with Bill and Sylvie at Beorn and Sabrina’s place. We were also successful in our second escape room, which was very exciting. And then we had some great food and enjoyed an evening of games.
Next up was Bluesfest, where we saw Weezer, the War on Drugs, and the Smile. The shows were OK but the vibe was off (too many loud drunk people and way too hot).
At the end of July we were back in Magog and Lennoxville for mom’s (kind of) surprise birthday party. We started the day off with a little tie dying.
This was a lot of fun and they turned out pretty great.
After the tie dying we went to Magog for a small family party by the pond where we all dressed up in ‘hippy’ clothes. Then later in the afternoon we went back to mom’s place for a bigger party.
It was such a nice evening, with mom’s friend Carole coming all the way from B.C. for the party.
Then in August we were off to Goderich for a short vacation. Our first stop was Midland to visit Kirby’s cousin Rod and his wife Fran. You can tell Kirby was very happy I took this photo (don’t let him fool you, that’s a grimace and not a grin).
Then we were off to Goderich to visit John and Connie and play some cards.
We stayed in a great Airbnb right off the square while we were there. On the Friday we did a few things around town, including a visit to the historic jail (or gaol as it’s called) where we enjoyed seeing the tribute to my great grandfather who died working in the jail as a turnkey. We also had fun with some of the other exhibits.
Later that day we enjoyed a bit of the Celtic Festival, until the rain chased us off.
The next day was crazy hot, and we spent most of the afternoon chasing the shade. But we had beautiful weather into the evening and enjoyed a spectacular performance by Loreena McKennitt. It was pretty magical.
Once we were back home we decided to check out Vankleek Hill for our first county fair of the summer. Unfortunately it was too wet for the six-horse hitch, but we did get to watch a very exciting demolition derby.
After Vankleek Hill we had an absolutely packed Labour Day weekend. On Saturday we went to the Perth county fair for their demolition derby.
On Sunday we bought last-minute tickets to see Interpol open for Smashing Pumpkins at the Canadian Tire Centre.
And on Monday we were in Shawville for their demolition derby (it was nearly 35 degrees with no shade in sight, we didn’t last long).
You’d think that would be our last demolition derby of the summer. But it wasn’t.
I can honestly say we didn’t set out to see four demolition derbies in one summer. But my friend Kelly decided to make herself a list of things she wanted to do before she turns 50 next year and apparently, about 8 years ago, I told her about going to a demolition derby and it left such an impression on her that it made her list. So the following weekend Kirby, Kelly and I made the drive out to the Renfrew county fair for what turned out to be the best demolition derby of the summer. Kelly had the best time.
And I was so relieved the experience didn’t disappoint.
To cap off the summer was our fourth and final music festival, City Folk. This turned out to be a great end to our summer of festivals and fairs. We saw arguably the best performance of the summer; the Tallest Man on Earth (spoiler, he’s not that tall).
And the following night we watched Bush, a 90ies band, close down the night. It was such a great night, it was everything I hoped it would be.
So in case you’re not keeping track, that was 4 festivals and 4 county fairs, with a smattering of celebrations and concerts and games. I feel very grateful to have had such a full and eventful summer.
Now I need a nap.
gabandkirby 