Dead Men Talking!

Over the few years Judi and I have visited a number of military re-enactments. They are great fun to see and experience! The sound of the cannons being fired and the smell of gunpowder all add to the adventure! Most of these re-enactments take place during the hot summer months and many of the re-enactors wear stifling wool uniforms. It makes me hot and sweaty just thinking about it! The re-enactors attention to detail is legendary. Everything has to be perfect, true to the period they are depicting. Walking through one of their encampments, you can actually visualize yourself being back in time! On the battlefield it is even more captivating. You can feel the intensity of the battle! Guns firing, smoke filling the air, soldiers marching and officers shouting orders, advances and retreats, all for the sake of authenticity! As the battle progresses, soldiers begin to fall as though they have been shot! They lie there as their comrades walk over them! The sun scorches their fallen bodies! Truly “in the heat of the battle”! There is so much happening; it’s hard to take it all in! Who notices that some of the “dead” have dragged themselves to the shade of the “old oak tree”? Who can tell that there are “dead men talking”!

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!! (Part Two)

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that Judi and I visit a lot of festivals and events throughout the year. Unfortunately some of the visited festivals don’t offer “good value for money spent”.  Even though many of the festivals we visit don’t change an admission fee, that doesn’t mean they are offering good value. I’m not just talking about the cost of admission. I’m talking about the other costs, gas to get there, parking, food, products, midway, etc. We, as festival and event consumers, should expect and demand “good value”! Most festivals and events are organized and run by hard working, well intentioned volunteers. They want to do their best, but they are not professionals! Most groups do what they have always done! It’s easier that way! We need to make festival managers, volunteers or not, more accountable for what they are offering and how they inform and train their volunteers. We can do this by giving festival and event organizers constructive feedback. Most festivals and events have contact information on their websites. If they don’t, that’s a great place for them to start improving! If, after giving an event your feedback and you still feel negatively, you have the final “hammer”. Just don’t go back to the event plus you can tell your friends and family about your negative experiences. If enough people boycott the event, its organizers will soon get the picture!  The economy is going through a “readjustment” period now and all businesses (profit and non-profit) should re-evaluate their operation. Those that don’t, likely won’t last. It’s up to us, the “festival consumer”, to join the “fight” and “help” organizers go in the “right’ direction After all, we deserve “good value for hard earned money spent”!

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!! (Part One)

I’ve been thinking a lot, lately, about “value for money spent”. This is especially true for the cost of gas! Why are gas prices so high and why, as consumers, are we accepting it? When you go to a “service station” there, usually, is no service! We pump our own gas, check our own oil and fill our windshield wiper fluid. So all we are paying for is the gas and the equipment that dispenses the gas. I guess we have now all accepted this as the “norm”. It now seems to be creeping into all aspects of our lives. When you go into many Supermarkets and Big Box store you almost have to beg for service! Their justification seems to be lower prices. The pendulum went from perhaps too much service to very little. With the economy on the downturn, the pendulum seems to be swinging back. So, after this “longwinded” introduction, here is my point. If we, as consumers, ban together, we can make a difference and we can cause change. We can start a mini revolution and start demanding better service, competitive prices and better products. Let’s face it, we control the purse strings. We decide where and when we are going to spend our hard earned money! It’s time to fight back, so “let’s get ready to rumble”!

(More “Rumble” in Part Two)

It’s The Little Things…

As I think back on all of the communities and festivals (300 plus) we have visited so far, it’s the little things, unexpected things I remember the most!

In Elmvale, our first “Nomad Festival”, at their annual Maple Syrup Festival, it was the taste of local real maple syrup!

While traveling with my Grandson to the Antique and Classic Boat Show, it was stopping along the way at a trading post and being given two free containers of “Nibs” chocolate ice cream pieces.

Then there was the very interesting genealogy store located in the picturesque village of Campbellville that we discovered on our way to the Waterloo County Quilt Festival.

In Perth, at the Festival of Maples, there was the wonderful Matheson House Museum located on Perth’s main downtown street.

One Fall during our Colours ‘n Crows (unfortunately no longer running) tour in Buckhorn, we marveled at the fall colours and the views across Pigeon Lake.

Colborne’s Apple Blossom Tyme Festival produced a special treasure for Judi at their Library book sale. Judi found a book she had been searching and paid only $2.00!

The jousting contest the Gregor’s Crossing Medieval Faire (again, unfortunately no longer running) took my breath away when the two Knights faced each other with lowered lances.

During our trips we saw amazing farms, beautiful scenes, interesting architecture and quaint rural towns and villages! All wonderful memories! Being a “Festival Nomad” certainly has its advantages!