First, I want to thank all the Harmony Bazaar committee and staff, volunteers, town of Lockeport staff, tech crew, venders, Lockeport Medical First Responders, billet home / yard owners, sponsors, and performers. It is a lot of hard work to put together a festival but seeing a year of hard work come together and come together well is so worth it. Thank you as well to those who enjoy great music and came out to the festival. Your support helps our festival grow.
Such a great weekend that it is hard to pinpoint favourite moments. Well that isn’t totally true…. Two for me were from the green room; first when Melanie Doane took my “just about to have a snit” daughter out to stage side to watch the show and gave her some snuggles, and feeding Coco Love Alcorn’s baby some pears back stage so she could scat it up during the Sunday afternoon Irish’s Invitational.
The massive downpour of Saturday morning was a bit of a challenge but we got through it as a team. The Harmony Bazaar committee /staff, Seacaps Park’s site crew, and Anthony Gosbee’s sound technicians made sure we kept equipment and patrons as dry as possible. We didn’t want anyone to miss the talent we had on stage.
Michelle Wright and Melanie Doane gave performances exceeding our expectations. Both sang crowd favourites and were to say the least enchanting. Both Juno winners interacted in the community as well with Melanie Doane attending the Legion Breakfast (having pictures taken with the Legion’s kitchen crew), and Michelle Wright talking with festival patrons for almost an hour after the show signing autographs and having her picture taken.
Other musical highlights were the Open Mic with the greatest span in age we have ever seen with a three year old and then an 80 year old taking the stage, the Legends Stage featuring the music of Patsy Cline, and Irish’s Invitational a stage where performers from the weekend jam together as the finale to the festival.
As a festival we enjoyed record attendance each day with many new faces in the crowd. We have heard a lot of positive feedback to continue to grow the festival and with presenting sponsors like The NSLC, Transcontinental, and Sobeys Shelburne along with a slew of stage sponsors we can do just that.
One last HUGE “thank you” to the Harmony Bazaar summer student Sara Balish. She was my right hand at the festival and worked so hard.
Errin Williams Spidle
Harmony Bazaar
