INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 34)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Crossing the Border... (Part One)

It was just two weeks after the horrific terrorist attack on the United States. The US borders, of course, were on “high alert”! Judi and I had traveled into the USA many times, but we knew that it would be different this time! We were scheduled to attend the annual Ruffed Grouse Society banquet in Warren, Michigan. This was one of the Society’s largest and most important fund-raising events of the year, so our participation as a major supplier to the event and to the Society was very important! Besides, we loved attending this fantastic event, plus we had several framed prize donations to deliver! Our drive from Cobourg to the outskirts of Windsor was uneventful. However, once we got a view from the “Peace Bridge” crossing, we had to stop due to crossing traffic. The wait, to say the least, was painful! We crept, and I mean crept, the distance to the US Border stations. We knew what we were in store for, because we could see what was happening to our fellow border crossers. As we reached the booth, 3 US officials surrounded our van. One was the customs officer and two were soldiers with their rifles at the ready! We were told to open the back of our van, which we did, but NOT to get out of the vehicle!

(To be continued)

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 33)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition … (Part Seven)

The Big Finish!!

This was going to be a lazy day for me. I wanted to be fresh for tonight’s soiree and then the long drive home. I arrived back in Charleston a little before noon. Before finding a place to park, I decided to drive around the downtown streets to get a better look at this beautiful city. If you have never been to Charleston, this is a city that should go on your "to go to" list. The quaint streets, the amazing architecture and the historic ambiance all combine in harmony. After a great lunch at one of the many downtown restaurants, I was off for another and final tour of the original’s art show. I took my time, just wandering through the rows of art, talking to the artists and enjoying the leisurely pace I had set for myself. Eventually the evening arrived and with some friends I had met in Charleston, we were off to the soiree. We followed the long line of people going to the event. Even though people had told me about the soiree, I relay had no idea what to expect. Finally, we reached the venue… it was located in the “Charleston Visitor Bus Shed”! The “Shed” was enormous. Of course, it should be. When not hosting a fabulous party, it was acting as a busy bus depot for incoming and outgoing buses. As we walked into the Shed, we were hit with a wall of music. There was a live band was playing on stage at one end of the Shed. As we entered the main hall, we could look down on the crowds of people milling around on the floor below. The outside walls of the Shed were lined food stations. BBQs with whole pigs being roasted; chickens and alligators on the grill; rolls, salads, drinks and deserts were there in abundance. The sights, sounds and smells all added to the excitement of the evening. The most amazing sight was when the roasted pigs were being delivered to the serving tables. People crowded around the servers waiting to rip off pieces of meat. It was a feeding frenzy. It reminded me of the trading floor scene in the movie “Trading Places” when they were buying and selling orange futures. On that high note, I took leave of my friends and headed for my car for the long ride home. I had decided to leave that evening as the weather reports were predicting freezing ran in the mountains. Fortunately, I saw very little bad weather on my trip home. It was a great experience; one I would certainly like to do again. The next time, however, I will take Judi… I know she would love it as much as I did.

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 32)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition … (Part Six)

The Real Show Starts…

The Preview days and nights are all about art. The final days are all about the celebration of nature and its wildlife. During the day, downtown Charleston hosts many events such celebrations. After exploring the original and limited-edition art all morning and after a pleasant lunch with friends, I decided to attend Jack Hanna’s wildlife presentation. It was not only very enjoyable (Jack is a great entertainer) but it was truly informative. After the show I wanted to explore the other activities. The festival provides a transportation system that can take you to any event you want to see. After investigating a number of activities, I took the bus back to the main venue to meet Sam. As there were no formal dinners or presentations that night, we went back to our motel for an early meal. I had heard from a number of people that the Saturday night soiree was an evening not to be missed. Due to business commitments, Sam needed to go home early the next morning and would unfortunately miss the soiree. I wanted to stay and attend.

… and that’s what happened!

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 31)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition … (Part Five)

Oh, What a Night…

The Preview Night Gala took place in the main venue. Fabulous food creations were scattered amongst exceptional original art. As I walked up and down each row, I was treated to treasures that satisfied both my stomach and my soul. Within the rows each artist had a booth to display her/her own original art. To see so much talent was breath taking. As I walked along to admire the art at each booth, I was able to stop to talk with its creator. It has always fascinated me on how an artist decides what to paint and then how to arrive at the finished piece. No two artists are the same, each is different from the other and yet they all seem to have the same kind of the passion required to produce a masterpiece. The great advantage of the Preview Night is that it gave us the opportunity to really meet and talk to the artists without the feeling of being rushed. Art was not the only attraction at the gala, Jack Hanna, one of America’s best-known naturalists, was on hand with a number of his best friends. Jack was definitely centre stage and if you were patient enough you could talk to him about his animals and then have your picture taken with him and them… I was (patient) and did (talk and photo). With so much art to admire and so many artists to talk with, the evening past all too quickly. Reluctantly we took our leave and headed back to our motel.

Tomorrow would be another busy day… the real Exposition was about to start!

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 30)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition … (Part Four)

Beautiful and Historic Charleston

The first event on Thursday was the Preview Afternoon. This allowed me to sleep in… a little. Frankly, I had wanted to get a fairly early start. I had heard so much about Charleston that I wanted to see it for myself. Yesterday was really a blur… into town late and no chance to look around. Today was going to be different. Charleston was founded over 300 years ago. Its quaint streets and wonderful shops all added to its uniqueness. To have a better feel for the city, we drove around the downtown streets. After a good tour we reached the building that housed the Preview. The SEWE art portion was divided into two venues, original art and limited-edition art. Not all of the participating artists had both. One of the great features of SEWE is that they insist that any artist participating in the show be in attendance. The “Original” venue was where all of the artists gathered for the Preview Afternoon. The art was spectacular. Even though the art was all wildlife, the interpretation of each artist was vastly different. From the main original’s venue, we left to view the limited-edition art. Although the reproductions were very good, they could not match the splendor of the original art. The Preview Afternoon started at 1:00 pm and ran until 5:00 pm. Although there was a lot to see, I was able to sneak away for some more site seeing. Right across from the main venue was The Old City Market. It was like stepping back in time. The jumble of shops and stall, the crowded aisle and the sounds of people talking and laughing all added to the excitement and vitality of the place. Time was marching on and I had to meet Sam to get ready for the Preview Night Gala and Sale… and what a time we had!