Alright
readers, this entry is far long overdue. The Calgary Folk Music Festival was
from July 26th-29th and for four glorious days I listened
to music, enjoyed Prince’s Island Park,
took dips in the Bow River and ate way too many mini-donuts than is healthy
in a 96-hour period.
And what’s even crazier than all this, is that I did all of that for free. The Festival costs about $65 for a single day pass and something like $200+ for the whole four days, but I didn’t pay a cent. And I’ll tell you why: volunteering. Do it. And try to do it often, a couple times a year at least. Because even though you’re not getting paid in actual cash, for the Folk Fest as an example you get entry (that doesn’t include lineups!) into the grounds, free meals twice a day, unlimited access to snacks and drinks (not alcoholic…like lemonade and the like), access to the after parties with the artists and a pretty bad ass badge that you can waive at security guards and feel quite important. Volunteers for Folk Fest are important. The whole event depends on them. Only seven positions of people who work for Folk Fest are paid. Seven. So why do people do it? To support and promote artists and events like this one that makes our community in Calgary so vibrant.
And you’re doing it green. All the garbages at Prince Island were taped over and sealed. Virtually everything could be recycled and composted. You had to buy a plate for a toonie whenever you got food and when you returned it, you got your toonie back. There were no water bottles sold onsite. Everything sold at the Market is from a local business.
You + music + park + good vibes + amazing food = Folk Fest.
So what could you volunteer to do? There are many, many positions you could sign up for: security, beer gardens, artist liason, artist transport, chef, stage crew, merchandise, recycling, photography, etc. etc. I worked a crew called “Side Stages” and what we did is set up the stage for the artists to play on it. When the stage was set up, we could watch the show and just had to make sure we came back in time to set up for the next one. Or we could have stayed backstage and made small talk with Shad or Cold Specks or whichever other act was there to play on your stage next. Pretty good deal!
Even if I had paid the $200-odd dollars I wouldn’t have had that kind of experience. And that’s what it’s about, experience. So often when you live in the city, or maybe in the 21st century in general you buy material junk you don’t need (a t-shirt in a slightly different shade of yellow with a slightly different neck-line). And you do this for other people: birthdays, Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, anniversaries! Gift-giving is so hard isn’t it? What should I get them, what do they need? Or when people ask you when your birthday rolls around: what do you want? And again, for me at least, I am paralyzed by these questions! Gift-giving is the worst! And not because I’m an ungenerous Grinch, but because I don’t want any more useless things to crowd my closet or apartment and I don’t want to do that to someone else either. So if you’re gonna buy someone something, buy them an experience: like Folk Fest (if they’re not gonna volunteer!) or theatre or art classes or what have you. Or buy them a beer. That can definitely be an experience. And so often we always have to focus on a million different things at once. We live in an age of multi-tasking as survival. But out here on the grounds for the majority of the four days, I listened to music. I sat on the grass and I listened to music. Music made by souls, not autotune.
And what’s even crazier than all this, is that I did all of that for free. The Festival costs about $65 for a single day pass and something like $200+ for the whole four days, but I didn’t pay a cent. And I’ll tell you why: volunteering. Do it. And try to do it often, a couple times a year at least. Because even though you’re not getting paid in actual cash, for the Folk Fest as an example you get entry (that doesn’t include lineups!) into the grounds, free meals twice a day, unlimited access to snacks and drinks (not alcoholic…like lemonade and the like), access to the after parties with the artists and a pretty bad ass badge that you can waive at security guards and feel quite important. Volunteers for Folk Fest are important. The whole event depends on them. Only seven positions of people who work for Folk Fest are paid. Seven. So why do people do it? To support and promote artists and events like this one that makes our community in Calgary so vibrant.
And you’re doing it green. All the garbages at Prince Island were taped over and sealed. Virtually everything could be recycled and composted. You had to buy a plate for a toonie whenever you got food and when you returned it, you got your toonie back. There were no water bottles sold onsite. Everything sold at the Market is from a local business.
You + music + park + good vibes + amazing food = Folk Fest.
So what could you volunteer to do? There are many, many positions you could sign up for: security, beer gardens, artist liason, artist transport, chef, stage crew, merchandise, recycling, photography, etc. etc. I worked a crew called “Side Stages” and what we did is set up the stage for the artists to play on it. When the stage was set up, we could watch the show and just had to make sure we came back in time to set up for the next one. Or we could have stayed backstage and made small talk with Shad or Cold Specks or whichever other act was there to play on your stage next. Pretty good deal!
Even if I had paid the $200-odd dollars I wouldn’t have had that kind of experience. And that’s what it’s about, experience. So often when you live in the city, or maybe in the 21st century in general you buy material junk you don’t need (a t-shirt in a slightly different shade of yellow with a slightly different neck-line). And you do this for other people: birthdays, Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, anniversaries! Gift-giving is so hard isn’t it? What should I get them, what do they need? Or when people ask you when your birthday rolls around: what do you want? And again, for me at least, I am paralyzed by these questions! Gift-giving is the worst! And not because I’m an ungenerous Grinch, but because I don’t want any more useless things to crowd my closet or apartment and I don’t want to do that to someone else either. So if you’re gonna buy someone something, buy them an experience: like Folk Fest (if they’re not gonna volunteer!) or theatre or art classes or what have you. Or buy them a beer. That can definitely be an experience. And so often we always have to focus on a million different things at once. We live in an age of multi-tasking as survival. But out here on the grounds for the majority of the four days, I listened to music. I sat on the grass and I listened to music. Music made by souls, not autotune.
And I heard new music! I love that feeling. When
you’re hearing a song for the first time, you close your eyes, bob you head and
tap your foot and think, “What is this? What have I been missing?” When the
four days were over I had about 20 things I needed to download on my computer
right away.
I don’t know if you went to Folk Fest this year or any other or maybe you even volunteered! (Again, if you haven’t, and you love music, do it. You can apply to be a volunteer every March on the website!) Or maybe neither and you already know these artists and their songs. But if not, here are the top ten artists (in no particular order) that were new to me this year, along with a song. Enjoy!
Sarah Jarosz: Come Around
Cold Specks: Blank Maps
Little Scream: Cannons
Del Barber: Love Is Just a Wrecking Ball
Lindi Ortega: Use Me
Reuben & The Dark: Love Is Not A Pretty Word
Three Metre Day: Stay That Way
Mark Berube: Looking For Another
Shad: The Rose Garden
Joy Kills Sorrow: Wouldn't Have Noticed
