Celtfest 2009

Saturday morning dawned cold and rainy, but AC and I braved the downpour and headed out to our music workshops with instruments tucked under our arms and umbrellas held high. We spent most of the day indoors, and by the time our workshops ended, the rain had too, so we enjoyed the warm-up concert in the park that night without a drop of rain falling on us.

At the end of the concert I turned around and looked back at the stage and managed to get this picture. Pretty huh? It was a beautiful evening in the park and weather forecasts promised us a nice sunny day to follow.
The main act at the Saturday evening concert was the Fritzgerald Family from Bancroft. Mom played the piano, dad played the base guitar and the four kids seen here step-danced, played violins, mandolins and drums. They are a very talented family and put on a fabulous show.
The next day AC and I were in the park by 11am with lawn chairs, picnic basket, mugs of coffee, sunscreen, sunhats and umbrellas. We were set for any weather that might come our way. We planted our lawn chairs under a tree, and sat under sunny skies to listen to music...
and watch step-dancing. What a treat. These kids were amazing...
and the groups just got better and better as the day progressed.
The blue skies continued for most of the day, and the weather helped...
draw a fair crowd to the event.
It is such a beautiful spot for an outdoor concert.
During one of the breaks in the music while the stage was being set up for the next act I took a few minutes to visit the music booth to talk to "Dr T", the man who made my bodhran, to ask him about Tippers to go with it. A bodhran is a Celtic drum and a tipper is the drum stick. I did find one that I liked the look of, and it felt good in my hand. He offered me a concert discount, so we made a deal and I walked away with a new tipper.
Just before the last act of the day took the stage the storm clouds rolled in and dumped on us big time!! Most of the crowd headed to the food tents to take refuge from the downpour, but I sat under my umbrella and weathered the storm just fine in my lawn chair. My feet and legs got cold and wet, but the rest of me stayed warm and dry. Once the rain stopped and the sun came out again AC took this pic of me sitting under my umbrella in the almost empty field.
This was my view of the stage from under my umbrella. As you can see, a few brave souls wandered around in spite of the rain, but most of the crowd had dispersed.
I sat tight, and soon the rain stopped, the sun came out and the concert continued.
Ah Celtfest! It was a great weekend, and I am already looking forward to next year.