The Name Game...

Does anyone remember Norma Tanega’s song “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog” or Johnny Cash’s song “A Boy Named Sue”? Perhaps you don’t (unfortunately, I do!), but hopefully it will give you an idea about our next adventure. First of all, I am going to change the name and theme to protect the culprits. It was a beautiful spring day and we were off to visit the “Anywhere Kumquat Festival” (not the real name). We had found the festival listed in the “Festivals and Events in Ontario Guide” (our festival bible) and then went onto their website to check out the event. The site was vague, but the festival sounded interesting so we decided to visit it. Besides, I love the taste of Kumquats (who doesn’t). I had visions of Kumquats dancing in my head! You know, Kumquat pies, Kumquat cider, Kumquats on a Stick, you name it and I visualized it. We got up early so that we could enjoy our day and the early morning drive. Once we got to the festival site, we found a convenient parking spot and then joined the crowd. I was licking my lips, ready to dive in! At first we looked enthusiastically for Kumquats, any type of Kumquats, but none were to be found! We searched high and low, around this corner and that, but still no Kumquats. We couldn’t even find items that were related to Kumquats. It seemed that the festival organizers liked the idea of Kumquats. After all, they had chosen it as their theme. They just didn’t seem to know how to deliver on the theme. I am sure that the organizers were well intended, but they missed the mark completely. We could have been disappointed and angry and gone home with our “tails between our legs” (a metaphor). However, being true Festival Nomads, we could go to wherever the “winds blew us” (another metaphor), so we decided to stay and make the best of the day and the non-Kumquat festival. As it turns out, we had a great time and really did enjoy our visit. Now any time we go to theme festivals we check them out more completely. As the old saying goes, “Live and Learn”!