folk festival

I was able to attend the Mission Folk Music Festival with some friends yesterday. It was held in Mission, about an hour's drive away. It's a city on the far east of Vancouver (I think). Anyway, it was my first time to drive in a highway! Hindi ko alam san ko kinuha ang lakas ng loob para magdrive sa isang highway dito.

So the Mission Folk Music Festival is a yearly festival that's been running for over 21 years. It's a weekend event and people go there just to relax and see different acts perform. Some even stay there for camping. I don't have pictures as I don't have any camera here, but one of my friend did bring his camera. Check it out here.

They setup the festival in such a way that there are three small stages, and one main stage. The main stage opens after 5:30 pm I think, but the small stages play a lot of different acts from noon time until main stage opens.

What's interesting about this event, for me that is, is that it's the first time I saw these people, gather in this park, and they are all so relaxed. They just bring their chairs, blankets, and watch. Some are even barefooted! The place is nice, weather is cool, and the people who attend it are really followers of the event. I even got to talk to a lady, who has been attending the event for almost 20 years. Then there's this other lady that has been volunteering for over 17 years already. This event is part of their lives.

In terms of the shows itself, I really enjoyed one act I was able to watch. It's a body percussion type of show, where there were three groups and 1 guy, who made music by just doing various sounds, using as simple as clapping and stopping, and voice blending. It was pretty nice. And the other guy, he can beat box and play so many different sounds.

All in all, this event goes down to my experience memories as one of the most interesting experiences I've had so far. It was a what I can call, a breath of fresh air.