It’s Sunday morning, the sun is shining, and a raven is chatting.
A car alarm sounds, and a dog that doesn’t sound like it’s used to being in the woods barks with a mixture of delight and fear.
These are my surroundings, as I reflect on the past two days of the Edge of World Music Festival right here in Tlell, Haida Gwaii.
I’ve got a coffee in hand and a few new grey hairs after wrangling excited teenagers all weekend. It’s quite the task, not unlike herding kittens. All were thankfully safe.
The music was relaxing and joyful, with local legends getting the crowd moving as only they can. The weather cooperated, mostly, with the exception of the Rainmakers set (we should have seen that coming!)
Many people ask me if I’m still involved with the Festival. I am, but in a peripheral way. My only official role is Ambiance Coordinator. That’s the fun stuff of the festival – the art, the lighting, the general vibe. These are the big creative projects we talk about endlessly, dreaming of the impossible.
The reality is that ambiance is a lot of fighting with rope lighting that will only light a third of the way, unless you bend it just so, but once you take the time to lay it out, it decides that bendy fix is no longer operational, preferring darkness.
After re-painting all the light towers over the last two years, it was time for the backdrop refresh. Behold the Octopus! He is the largest octopus I have ever painted, and it was a bit of a challenge to get him into existence.
First, fabric had to be sourced from a Langford FabricLand. Mysteriously, the woman who helped me knew what she was talking about when she said that they don’t ship to Haida Gwaii, as she used to live in the small cottage at the Tlell bridge!
Then, Tremclad paint was used to create the black outline. There was zero room for error, as once paint met fabric, there was no walking the black back to being white. This resulted in multiple errors that then had to be worked into the overall design. It got my heart rate thumping, though that might have been the fumes from the paint as well.
When set up begins, it’s a lot of fast decisions and trying to explain to volunteers what you want done as you’re trying to figure out the best use of what you have, what works, and what fits with how the site is shaping up that particular year.
And the damn rope lighting.
The octopus was first hung wrong. I wasn’t there, so I shouldn’t have assumed they would have hung it like we always had, with five panels on the back and two on the sides. I tried to take the compliments on the design with grace, but found myself always offering the caveat that it wasn’t actually hung correctly.
The kicker was that it was my husband, who I am currently separated from, who mis-hung the panels. Each time I looked at them, I was greeted with 25 years of relationship triggers. It was unfair to both of us!
I am happy to report that the following day, said husband took on the monumental effort of correcting the layout and honouring my artistic vision. I was so happy, I hugged him when I got to the grounds. That mistake, and correction, allowed us to access the care we’d felt for each other for years, especially as we built and ran the Edge of the World Music Festival.
And those are the lessons of Ambiance and Life. You think you know how it will work, but you’re constantly trying to adjust to your surroundings for the things you have, the things that work, and how the situation is unfolding. The things that should be simple, like rolling out rope lighting, rarely are, but mistakes bring people together.
On another note, Fall Fair was the previous weekend and saw great attendance, wonderful performances, and surprisingly good weather! They didn’t book the Rainmakers …
