June 14, 2010

Exhausted, happy and still full of amazing food ala Scott and Dan, we've triumphantly returned from Westfest weekend in Ottawa. What a blast! To those of you who made it out to Westboro Village in the nation's capital, good on you. If you didn't, you missed the greatest party in town.

Yes, it's festival season and yes, they can be found all over, but Westfest has a very unique feel to it. Aside from its killer lineup of artists of all kinds, styles, ages and genres, what really makes this festival a treat to be a part of are the people involved. Volunteers, crew, talent and audience alike are all just so happy to be there. It's a happily-mellow vibe from start to finish. Everyone's sunny smiles even managed to keep the looming rainclouds away.

I think I had the best job of the whole crew: the disembodied "Voice of God" (that official title was even written into the script). Stand side-stage with a mic, rile up the crowd, introduce hosts and acts, then go watch them. Speak, relax, repeat. Even better was the last-second change to allow me centre stage to close down the festival, finally placed face-to-face with the awesome audience who'd been keeping me energized for three days. A big thank you to everyone who came out, to the great talent who kept us all more than entertained, to the incredibly hardworking volunteers and crew, and of course to Elaina, Westfest's guru. Congrats on yet another successful event. See you there again in 2011!

Holl