Annapolis Valley Exhibition 2012



During our travels to Nova Scotia last week, we attended the 86th Annapolis Valley Exhibition (13 to 18 August) in Lawrencetown.  It was our first time experiencing a "truly" local country fair and it was interesting.  It sure was a different kind of life style than we are use to - horses, cows, ox pull, tractors, veggies, crafts, etc. and of course, music.

Bridgetown Fiddler
A group of 20 musicians who have been entertaining audiences for over 25 years.  They perform at churches, community halls and fundraisers throughout the Valley.

 

 

Nothing like enjoying homemade french fries outside the cow barn!
(LtoR:) Bren, Gerry and Paul

 

A view of the Exhibition grounds

 

The tractor area

 

Lots of horses, stables, etc

 

Some of the prize winning quilts
Amazing work

 

 

 

Local crafters working on a quilt

 

My favourite was this lighthouse quilt
Each individual square was a hand-painted picture by different artists.

 

 

 

Miniature Equine Obstacle Driving

We attended concerts on Thursday and Friday evenings at the John Langley Memorial Riverside Concert Stage.  Charlie A'Court gave another outstanding performance on Thursday evening but unfortunately it poured rain so the attendance was very poor - nonetheless an encore was demanded by his fans.

Friday evening was a better evening weather wise for a concert
(LtoR:  Paul, Gerry, Bren)

Friday evening we were treated to a great concert by Honeymoon Suite, a 1980's rock band hailing from Niagara Falls, Ontario, currently touring Canada.  A great performance.

Honeymoon Suite

    

Paul and I enjoyed having the opportunity of experiencing a local country exhibition and plan to attend again in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bluegrass Festival, Surfside

Surfside Beach held its 2nd Annual Bluegrass Festival today and Paul and I were there to enjoy it. It was a nice day to sit outside in the sun under the palm trees enjoying local bluegrass music and snacking on barbecue pulled pork sandwiches. While we were there, two bands performed.

The first band we heard was Sawgrass.



The second band was The Morris Brothers. They played a more traditional bluegrass music.

It was nice to see a good turn out for the festival and everyone looked to be having a fun time.

I know that this cute guy enjoyed himself.

And so did his sidekick.

The younger members of the audience had a great time for sure, dancing, doing chalk drawings on the street and just being kids.

We hope to attend again next year.

A Little Bluegrass

Last weekend Paul and I attended the First Annual Bluegrass and BBQ Festival held here in Surfside Beach. It was a fund raiser sponsored by the Shriner's Club of the area.

It was a nice day for sitting outside enjoying music. There was blue sky and lots of sunshine. There were two bluegrass bands performing for the afternoon.

The children were having a fun time dancing and playing. This little girl was such a cutie.

As I said, the music was very enjoying and so was the barbecue. There were vendors from the local area as well as North Carolina and Charleston. Paul and I sampled the pulled pork and pulled chicken sandwiches, and must confess, we had seconds!

There was such a mix of people with all the snowbirds in the area. Everyone was a clappen and a tappen to the music. Music always seem to bring us together...

Paul and I look forward to next year. The location was great as it was just up the street from our condo.

The Blues in Carleton, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec

Set between sea and mountains, the Carleton Municipal beach played host to the Maximum Blues Festival. Hard to believe that this was the setting for a music festival, but it was.

Paul and I made a day trip last Saturday to Carleton on the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec. We wanted to check out their annual Blues Festival. Other than it being a windy day, we had a good time. Here is Paul doing two of his favourite things - listening to blues music and being by the ocean, with New Brunswick in the background.

This is the municipal beach in Carleton next to the concert grounds. Lots of people were enjoying the beach and ocean, while listening to the music.

The first performer was Jay Sewall. He was quite entertaining.

Here is Dan Livingston and his Jug Band. It was a type of blues grass music. Dan had a great voice.

The last performer we stayed to hear was J P Leblanc from Bathurst, New Brunswick. This is the third time we have seen him perform and we like him more each time. A great voice and even greater guitar player. He was such a great crowd pleaser - he had three encores.

Here is my guy, among the crowd, showing his appreciation for the great music of the day. It was such a relaxing afternoon of music, other than trying to shelter ourselves from the fresh ocean wind.

As much as I was enjoying the music, I just had to get near the ocean and of course doing a little treasure hunting. When Paul and I looked at this photo, we commented on all the colors of blue, which was kind of appropriate since it was a blues festival.

Carleton is one of our favourite places to visit and we have marked our calendar for next year....