Luctor et Emergo

The rain stayed away. It was sunny, and it was humid at first. A reasonably steady breeze kept things moderately cool as the temperature climbed into the higher 20’s.
The ground outside and through the main gate was well trampled and starting to smell of rotten things, and there were some wet spots in the parking lot but the site stayed in good condition.

Continue reading “Winnipeg 2004 – Saturday”

The rain stopped, the clouds broke up and the sun came out by about 1:00 PM. There was a steady breeze. The sunshine and wind helped to dry out the festival site, which returned to a pretty good condition. There were some areas of the parking lot, including the area leading to the main gate that were wet and muddy but the working site was good.
My volunteer assignment was fence patrol at Site West, which involved watching sunbathers, kite-flyers, and frisbee players. I was able to get some of the music at Big Bluestem and the Green Ash Hollow. There were a variety of workshops at Big Bluestem. The Winnipeg bands the Duhks and the Mammals had a good crowd and good energy level. There was a workshop called Tortiere et Gumbo with Quebecois and Cajun music from Les Batinses, Genticorum and Granger & Dugas.

Continue reading “Winnipeg 2004 – Friday”

Forecasts and opinion polls seem to be pretty much equally unreliable.
It was cloudy when the gates opened and when the Winnipeg Festival started, but a light rain started around 7:30 PM and kept up all evening. The ground began to get wet, although I did not see any accumulations of standing water in my travels. The site supervisor responded by shutting down the carts and ATVS. No vehicular traffic. It was a sensible strategy. The mild impressions made by vehicles passing over dry ground in the preceding days became visible in the wet grass, and more traffic under wet conditions would have created ruts, puddles and mudholes.

Continue reading “Winnipeg 2004 – Thursday – Rain”

The countdown is over. It’s Thursday. I’ve read my manuals and practiced radio speak and I’m ready to face life as blue vest volunteer at 8:00 PM.
The campground opened yesterday, the main gate opens today and the opening night mainstage concert starts at 6:00 PM with the Perpetrators followed by Spirt of the West, Tegan and Sara and Taj Mahal. The idea seems to be to give each performer a generous opportunity. Taj Mahal is scheduled for around 10:30. I should be able to see almost everything, as my floating security crew is assigned to support the mainstage tonight from 8:00 to midnight.

Continue reading “Winnipeg 2004 – Showtime”

The weather forecast has changed for the better. The forecast for rain on Thursday has been changed to mixed sun and clouds, high of 24. It will probably be cool later in the evening, but a dry day guarantees that the site will not be turned to mud on the first night. The forecast for Friday has changed to mixed sun and clouds, high 28, with a risk of showers. The mosquito situation has improved in Winnipeg. The number of mosquitos in the City entomologist’s traps has fallen drastically after very cool nights on the past weekend. The City has been fogging, but that isn’t why the bugs are gone. I live in an unfogged neighbourhood, and bugs are gone here too. The media have not reported the explanation for the drop. It hasn’t been cool enough to kill them, and there is a suggestion that many bugs have gone dormant with the cool temps and haven’t come back yet. I’d like to think that many bugs have died off and that larvicide programs have abated the new hatch, but I don’t know.

Continue reading “Winnipeg 2004 – Countdown: 1 day”

Two more days to the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
On June 21, I spent a couple of hours being oriented and instructed in the duties of the Site Security volunteer crew. On June 30 I went to the T-shirt meeting to get my volunteer’s pass, T-shirt and Festival program.
The weather has been reasonable. There has been a little more rain over the last few weeks but nothing to adversely affect site conditions. The forecast for the next couple of days and the weekend is reasonably good. Friday and Saturday are forecast as sunny with temperatures in the mid-twenties (C) which is good. It will be warm enough but not deadly hot, although the steady sunshine will still require people to take care to avoid sunburn and overheating.
There is a forecast of clouds with a chance of rain on Thursday. Rain on opening night has been known to turn the main stage area into a bog that endures for the whole weekend. If the festival site is spared and the rest of the forecast comes to pass, the conditions should be very good.
There have been a few changes to the site. It would seem from the map that there is a large new shelter or tent in the area previously used as Stage 2, and that this area has become the children’s tent by day, now named the Chickadee Big Top. This area doubles as nighttime cabaret called the Firefly Palace, which is a new idea. The stage near the First Aid tent, which was the Children’s stage last year, has reverted to being a regular performance stage.
Most of the stages, formerly known as Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the Children’s stage or Family area, have been renamed Bur Oak, Big Bluestem, Snowberry Field, Green Ash and Chickadee Big Top.
Since I call my Web site and this blog “A Sea of Flowers” I should applaud naming a stage “Big Bluestem” for one of the grasses of the tall grass prairie, but a couple of the names are just too cute for my taste.