Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song

Harmony Bazaar July 27-29, 2012

2012-02-03T18:14:00.000-04:00

For Immediate Release: February 2, 2012

Harmony Bazaar announces half-price early bird ticket sales and headliners: Juno-award winner Serena Ryder and Juno-nominated Sarah Harmer!

(Lockeport, NS) – The organizers of this year’s Harmony Bazaar Festival are excited to announce Canadian singing sensations Serena Ryder and Sarah Harmer as the headliners for the July 27^th-29^th festival in Lockeport. “Serena Ryder and Sarah Harmer are unbelievable female musicians and to be able to bring them to Lockeport is truly an once-in-a-lifetime event,” smiles Harmony Bazaar Artistic Director, Errin Williams-Spidle. Serena Ryder’s successes include the 2008 certified gold record and her 2008 Juno Award for Best New Artist. Her hits include “All for Love,” “Little bit of red” and her latest duet with Melissa Etheridge, “Broken Heart Sun.” Nominated for over 5 Juno awards, Sarah Harmer has certified platinum and gold records, with hits including “Basement Apartment” and “I Am Aglow.”

The weekend will feature many festival favourites including Irish Mythen and numerous local musicians. With the beautiful seaside town of Lockeport as a backdrop the festival - full of concerts, dances, workshops, dinners and music – is a weekend for everyone. “We are really pleased to be offering our committed attendees a very special half-price festival pass that’s on sale now until March 31^st,” explains Williams-Spidle.

Harmony Bazaar July 27-29, 2012

2012-01-29T20:55:00.003-04:00

Seacaps Memorial Park
Lockeport, NS

Line up and schedule coming soon!

Happy Holidays from Harmony Bazaar

2011-12-21T10:33:00.003-04:00

So it is that time again... friends, family, holiday music, and my favourite.... presents ;).

(wow when you put a period after a winky face it looks like I have a pimple). lol

So many things coming up with Harmony Bazaar and the NSLC sponsored A Place for Dory Mates concert series. Lets start by backing up a little bit.

November 18th saw GoGirls Nova Scotia's first GoGirls Fest at The Company House in Halifax supporting The Red Thread Movement. The women put on a great show to support this great cause. Thanks to all who played and came out!

Coming Up:

December 31st @ The Lockeport Fire Hall

NEW YEARS EVE DANCE (yup I am screaming it because it will be AWESOME!)

10pm start

tickets available at The Town Market

DJ Cory Nickerson

Friday, January 6th @ The Lockeport Legion

NSLC A Place for Dory Mates Concert

Irish Mythen & Catahoula Brown

8pm

Tickets 10.00 (advanced) 15.00 (door)

available at The Town Market

So Happy Holidays to all, and if you are not of the religious type, enjoy a couple of days off work!!

Peace,

Errin

2011-10-09T15:31:00.004-03:00

November 18, 2011

8pm

The Company House, 2202 Gottigen Street Halifax, NS

15.00 (all money from ticket sales go to The Red Thread Movement)

Advanced tickets @ The Company House (404-3050)

Press Release

(Halifax, NS) – A benefit concert featuring many of Nova Scotia’s emerging women musicians is taking place as part of the International GoGirls Music Fest on November 18th at The Company House. The concert, presented by Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women and Song will feature the talents of Tiffani Latham, Connie Sauliner, Mel Farrimond, Breagh Potter, Amy Lee Blanchard, Christine Campbell, Kate Surette, Rosie Folks, and Perpetual Detour. Those fortunate enough to get tickets for the show – only $15.00 and available at The Company House – will also receive a FREE GoGirls Music Fest CD.

GoGirls Music Fest is a series of benefit showcase events held across the world stemming from the international organization supporting women in music called GoGirls Music. Each year this network of chapters chose a different international charity to support, and for 2011 the Nova Scotia GoGirls chapter is proud to stand with cities like Houston, Los Angeles, and Tokyo to host the Halifax concert benefiting the Red Thread Movement.

The Red Thread Movement is a student initiative that unites voices against the human rights violation of sex trafficking to combat sexual slavery in Nepal. GoGirls is a unique organization that focuses on advancing the careers of independent female artists. The GoGirls Music Fest promotes independent women in music. “This partnership with GoGirls Music Fest, The Company House, and Harmony Bazaar is so important in making this benefit concert possible. We’re very proud to host the Nova Scotia event as part of a worldwide series benefitting the incredible work of the Red Thread Movement against sex trafficking. It will be an amazing night of music,” says GoGirls Nova Scotia organizer and Harmony Bazaar Artistic Director Errin Williams Spidle. For advance tickets call the Company House at 404-3050.

Who is going to Contact East? Me...YAY!!!

2011-09-25T18:41:00.004-03:00

The Atlantic Presenters Association, this coming week in Summerside, invites a big ole chunk of the people in Atlantic Canada (and some from the Eastern Seaboard of the US) who book musicians, singer-songwriters, bands, dancers, and theatrical performers.

This year I have a kick arse room booked with a Jacuzzi tub and a king size bed. Beats the heck out of the hotel room I had last year where I experienced a first for me .... a spider plant in my hotel room.... very strange!

I am looking forward to watching Kat Danser http://www.katdanser.com/ and Kim Stockwood
http://kimstockwood.com/, and checking out other talented people to see who might be great to have on stage at Harmony Bazaar 2012.

Wish me luck,

Errin

Another Successful Year!

2011-08-03T15:41:00.001-03:00

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

Rain Rain Go Away!!

2011-07-30T08:40:00.003-03:00

The weather forecasters said "rain" and its raining BUT it isn't raining as heavy as it was an hour ago so I am hoping the deal I made will stick and it all the wet stuff will be done by 12 noon for our first on stage event.

We have made plans so that if it does rain we are good to go. So don't even look out the window or listen to the weather ... let me do that for you. You just head down to the Legion for breakfast and then to The United Church for the vocal workshop with Teresa Doyle.

Later
Errin

Place to stay when you come visit us :)

2011-07-22T14:40:00.000-03:00

What a beautiful sunny day YAY!!!

Next week is Harmony Bazaar and for those coming down to Lockeport or thinking about coming to the festival I want to share with you local places to stay. We also have the ability to hook you up with some camping in town (or for those from Lockeport "on town" as it is an island). Just call us at the office 656-3272 for those details.

For more traditional motel / hotel / cottage / B&B / camping options see below:
Barracks Cove Kitchenettes
Location - 41 Islands Park Rd.
Website - www.barrackscove.com
Phone # - 875-1532 Toll Free 1-866-875-1532

Boulder Cove Cottages
Location - 321 Boulder Cove Rd, Churchover, Shelburne NS
Website - www.bouldercove.com
Phone # - 875-1542 Toll Free 1-866-732-7867

Cape Cod Colony
Location - 234 Water Street, Shelburne NS
Website - www.capecodmotel.ns.ca
Phone # - (902)875-3411 Toll Free 1-877-322-8122

Cooper’s Inn
Location - 36 Dock Street at Mason Lane, Shelburne NS
Website - www.coopersinn.com
Phone # - (902)875-4656 Toll Free 1-800-688-2011

Lockeport Cottages & Campground
Location - 3318 Lydgate, Shelburne County
Website - www.lockeportcottages.ns.ca
Phone # - (902)656-2876 Toll Free 1-866-656-2876

Louis Beach Campground
Location - 1668 West Middle Sable Rd, Lockeport NS
Website - www.selectinns.ca/camping_39311.php
Phone # - (902)656-3129

MacKenzie’s Motel and Cottages
Location - 260 Water Street, Shelburne NS
Website - www.mackenzies.ca
Phone # - (902)875-2842 Toll Free 1-866-875-0740

The Millstones Bed & Breakfast
Location - 2 Falls Lane, Shelburne NS
Website - www.millstonesbedandbreakfast.com
Phone # - (902)875-4525 Toll Free 1-866-240-9110

Ocean Mist
Location - 1 Gull Rock Road, Lockeport
Website - www.oceanmistcottages.com
Phone # - (902)656-3200

Roseway Rive Cottages
Location - Ohio Road, Shelburne NS, Look for the signs
Website - www.rosewayrivercottages.com
Phone # - (902)875-3812

Sable River Cottages
Location - East Sable River Road, Sable River NS
Website - www.cottagerentals.info
Phone # - (902)656-3071

Sandy Lane Vacation Rentals (cottage / vacation home rentals) – Throughout
Shelburne County
Location - Main Office 135 Water Street, Shelburne NS
Website - www.sandylanevacations.com
Phone # - (902)875-2729 Toll Free 1-800-646-1577

Seaside Cottages - Lockeport
Location - Ginger Hill Road, Lockeport NS
Website - www.seasidecottages.ns.ca
Phone # - (902)656-2089 Toll Free 1-866-656-2089

The Islands Provincial Park
Location - 183 Barracks Road, Islands Park Road, Shelburne NS
Website - www.novascotiaparks.ca/parks/theislands.asp
Phone # - (902)875-4304

Thomas Raddall Provincial Park
Location - 529 Raddall Road Park, East Port L'Herbert
Website - www.novascotiaparks.ca/parks/thraddall.asp
Phone # - (902)683-2664

Water Street Lighthouse B&B
Location - 263 Water Street, Shelburne NS
Website - www.shelburnelighthouse.com
Phone # - (902)875-2331 Toll Free 1-888-875-2331

White Point Beach Resort
Location - 75 White Point Beach Rd, #2 White Point, NS. Queens County
Website - www.whitepoint.com
Phone # - (902)354-2711 Toll Free 1-800-565-5068

Wildwood Motel
Location - Minto Street, Shelburne NS
Website - www.wildwoodmotel.ca
Phone # - (902)875-2964 Toll Free 1-800-565-5001

2011-06-24T17:58:00.001-03:00

Lockeport, Nova Scotia
July 29-31, 2011

Vacations and Holidays and Sunshine (fingers crossed) are just around the corner!
Harmony Bazaar is just over a month away and myself and the committee are working very hard to make sure 2011 is our best festival yet.

The most frequent questions we are getting at the office are, “how do I get tickets?”, and “What is the schedule?” Please see below for those answers and if you have any more questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Peace and see you soon!!
Errin

Early Bird and Ticketing Information:

Early Bird Passes are on sale only until July 2nd. The price is 45.00 for the full weekend of music and you receive a special promotion of a 2011 Harmony Bazaar CD with music from each performer. You can get your pass at the link below

http://www.harmonybazaar.com/tickets/tickets.html

After July 2nd:

Festival Pass 65.00
Day Passes:
Friday 20.00
Saturday 45.00
Sunday 20.00

Youth Tickets (12-18)
Day Pass 5.00

Children (under 12)
Free with a ticket holding adult

Schedule:

Friday, July 29

5pm
Festival Gate Open

5-9pm
Sandy Lane Vacations presents Harmony in Art Exhibit @ Lockeport Recreation Centre
Featured artists: AJ LeBlanc, Julie Balish, Teresa Doyle, & Laurie Swim

5-7pm
“Music is in Our Genes” Book Launch & Reception @ Holy Cross Anglican Church & Hall

6-11pm
Molson Coors Beer Garden

7pm Festival Welcome – Wanda Joudrey Finigan
Allendale Electronics “Rising Stars” Stage @ Main Stage
Irish Mythen (host), Christine Campbell, Rosie Folks, & Tiffani Latham

8pm
Erin Costelo
Teresa Doyle
Melanie Doane

Saturday, July 30

8-11am
Legion Breakfast @ Legion Branch 80, Beech Street

10am
Vocal Workshop with Teresa Doyle @ Seacaps Pavilion

11am
Festival Gate Open

11-9pm
Sandy Lane Vacations presents Harmony in Art Exhibit @ Lockeport Recreation Centre
Featured artists: AJ LeBlanc, Julie Balish, Teresa Doyle, & Laurie Swim

12pm
Open Mic—Julie Balish (host) @ Main Stage

Saturday Afternoon Songwriter Showcases:
1pm
Lockeport PharmaChoice “What the Folk is That?” @ Main Stage
Irish Mythen (host), Cathy Cook, Connie Saulnier, & Kate Surette

2pm
Shelburne County Arts Council “Alternatively Speaking” @ Main Stage
Ria Mae (host), Alyssa LeBlanc, Amy Blanchard, & Breagh Potter

2-11pm
Molson Coors Beer Garden

3pm
Shelburne County Women in Business “I’m with the Band” @ Main Stage
King’s Eden & Stone Mary

4pm
Town’s End Strings & Things “Legends” Stage" @ Main Stage (featuring the music Patsy Cline)
Melanie Doane (host), Erin Costelo, & Lisa Buchanan

5-7pm
Clearwater presents Harmony in Art Exhibit Gala @ Lockeport Recreation Centre
Featured artists: AJ LeBlanc, Julie Balish, Teresa Doyle, & Laurie Swim
Admission Free & 20.00 for wine pairings
Limited Tickets - available at The Town Market, HB Office, & Merchandise Booth (on festival grounds)

7pm
Perpetual Detour
Lynne Hanson
Ria Mae
Coco Love Alcorn
Michelle Wright

11pm
Late Night Dance Stone Mary @ Lockeport Fire Hall
10.00 in advance 12.00 at the door
19 + event

Sunday, July 31

8-11am
Legion Breakfast @ Legion Branch 80, Beech Street

9am
Morning Sun Ceremony @ Lockeport’s Crescent Beach
Cathy Cook & Wanda Joudrey Finigan

11am
Festival Gate Open

12pm
Children’s Entertainment with Teresa Doyle @ Main Stage (To be enjoyed by the young and the young at heart)

1pm
Harlow’s Construction Irish’s Invitational @ Main Stage
Irish Mythen (host) & 2011 Harmony Bazaar performers!

Harmony Bazaar 2011
July 29-31
Featuring
Michelle Wright & Melanie Doane
www.harmonybazaar.com

Michelle Wright to headline Harmony Bazaar - Entertainment - Arts - The Coastguard

2011-05-04T11:23:00.000-03:00

Michelle Wright to headline Harmony Bazaar - Entertainment - Arts - The Coastguard

Performer Profile

2011-05-01T19:16:00.008-03:00

Hey Y'all I had been meaning to talk to you about Amy Lee since about mid-April. It was her Birthday on the 13th but I was tanning and drinking frosty drinks in Cuba. And since I've been back I have been as busy as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest. But...... without further ado....

AMY LEE BLANCHARD (crowd roars)

Amy Lee, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter, has a melodic vibe as pure as the Valley air where she was raised.

With musical roots that stretch deep throughout generations, her voice has captured the imagination and attention of audiences across the region. Amy’s unique sound is refreshing, intriguing, and as welcoming as the grooves on a vintage 45.

With a style all her own and a natural ability to shine, Amy Lee lets her free spirit soar to new heights. She is currently fine tuning original songs for her much anticipated debut album.

Amy Lee first came to Harmony Bazaar way back in 2007 as one part of a duo. The next time she played our festival she was solo and Amy Lee has been one of my favorite artists to present, not only at the festival but in our previous winter concert series "Barefoot in the Kitchen Party" and also in Harmony Bazaar's remembrance of the 20th anniversary of The Montreal Massacre.

This year at Harmony Bazaar Amy Lee will be in the "Alternatively Speaking" songwriters circle. I am looking forward to hearing her song Rollercoaster reworked!!! Have a listen to it the "old way"... the way I fell in love with it!!!

Peace
Errin
ps go to http://www.harmonybazaar.com/ and get your Early Bird Pass!!! xoxo

Harmony Bazaar - We tend to wear black but we are totally a "Green" festival!

2011-03-19T22:23:00.002-03:00

Here is a message from our Waste Management Coordinator Grace Poole

Hey everyone,

We are going green again. We have been greening our festival since 2009. Harmony Bazaar works closely with our staff and service providers to ensure that every item and service is as green as possible. No matter how hard we try to create a zero- waste event, there will always be some items for example, a Styrofoam cup or cellophane wrapper, that will have no other home but the landfill. Please help us spread the message and help us reduce our environmental footprint.

Throughout the festival site, Harmony Bazaar will have multiple FREE water stations, flowing with fresh, clean drinking water. We encourage fans to bring their own reusable water bottles or you can just buy them at the festival. We are discouraging all on-site vendors from selling bottled water.

There will be recycling, composting and garbage bins throughout the festival. Please use the right bins and they are:
Blue- Recycling
Green- Composting
Black- Garbage

We encourage you to ride your bicycle or walk to the festival. Save fuel and burn your own energy. If your going to burn fuel, please car pool with family and friends.

We strongly encourage vendors to use biodegradable service items. What this means is that every cup, plate, fork, spoon, bowl and napkin is 100% compostable. This will greatly reduce garbage being sent to the landfill. Last year our Beer Cups were able to go in the compost bin, and this year we may see the return of the wooden spork.
　
Volunteering offers a host of new experiences, opportunities, challenges and exciting adventures. Here are the Top 10 Reasons for you to volunteer at Harmony Bazaar Festival.

1. Joy of Giving
2. Networking and Career Advancement
3. Fun with Friends and Family
4. A Step out of your Normal Routine
5. Make a Difference that will Reach Around the World
6. Connect with your Community
7. Gain Valuable Service Hours
8. It’s Healthy
9. Free Admission and Great Benefits
10. It Saves Resources for your Cause
　
Grace Poole
Waste Management Coordinator
Harmony Bazaar 2011

Perpetual Detour Video Release

2011-03-13T13:44:00.003-03:00

March 13, 2011

Today 3pm at Menz Bar in Halifax one of Harmony Bazaar's newest members of the "sisterhood" takes the stage to release a video for the song Find the Time. Harmony Bazaar regulars Kate Surette and Rosie Folks will share in this musical celebration.

True to their name Perpetual (ageless themes of love and eternal truths) Detour (a diversion from one's original route);

Perpetual Detour combine insightful lyrics and melodic harmonies with themes of love and longing to bring you a soulful performance that leaves you wanting more. This folk/rock foursome was formed in 2008 and is based in Halifax, NS. They have been compared to the likes of Sarah McLachlan and Jann Arden.

Perpetual Detour are: AJ Leblanc, Meagan Lanchbery, Rachelle Gionet and Jennifer Stewart with each member playing multiple instruments and having a hand in songwriting.

Check out Find the Time and more:

Today at this release 2 Harmony Bazaar Festival Passes will be given away. Good luck!!

Have fun
Errin

CONTEST!!!!!

2011-02-06T17:59:00.003-04:00

Help us come up with a Theme / Title for our Art Exhibit and win double passes to Harmony Bazaar 2011 and Tickets to our exclusive Gala Event

To further our efforts to create a cultural community where the artistic expressions of women have a venue, Harmony Bazaar 2011 will include an exhibition of female visual artists. We want to include our community of Harmony Bazaar supporters in shaping this new and very anticipated event to occur during the week leading up to and the weekend of the festival.

Art Exhibit: July 24th to August 1st
Theme: That is up to you

Post your entry as a comment below or on our Facebook page. Have Fun!! Be Creative!!

Deadline: February 28, 2011

Annual General Meeting Time YAY!!!

2011-01-28T13:57:00.003-04:00

So.... once again it is time for us all to get together to discuss and plan for the upcoming Harmony Bazaar Festival. Our annual general meeting is a great place to become familiar with how we organize our super fun summer weekend of music and art and figure out how you can participate.

We will go over what happened during the 2010 festival and with the "A Place for Dory Mates" concert series. You can sign up to join a planning committee or to volunteer on site at the festival. We will have yummy food (I think I will make chocolate chip cookies) and the Chairs of each subcommittee of the Board of Directors will discuss their plans for the 2011 Festival. I will be presenting a little slide show offering the to date line up.

If you have never been to a Annual General Meeting (AGM) and have always wanted to... this is the one to go to. If you have been to lots of AGMs and think "dear me not another one" you need to change your tune because our's Rocks!!!

Sunday, January 30th
2pm
Lockeport Recreation Department

See you there
Errin

Mac Attack - Two MacIntoshes One Stage

2011-01-20T14:00:00.006-04:00

January 27th 8pm at the Recreation Centre in Lockeport will bring two talented song writing cousins together.

Natalie Lynn, who has been with Harmony Bazaar for years is a talented young woman who has developed a loyal following for her alternative pop songs. Her music is modern but with that kind of old soul writing that allows those of us who are a tad bit older to connect with her lyrics.

B-mac or Brian MacIntosh, originally from Lockeport now residing in Yarmouth, is an energetic and talented hip hop performer. His music ranges from topics like being homesick to finding a friendly friend for a friendly encounter (wink wink). It is apparent that he has the respect of his fellow performers as there is much collaboration within his music.

This will be the first time the two will share a stage and the first time Harmony Bazaar will present Hip Hop as a genre. Those familiar with me presenting a folky night out may be in for a bit of a treat. As there will probably be some strong lyrics and maybe some sexual themes I would encourage parents of younger teens to come with them or give them a "maybe next time hon... lets play Wii tonight".

Really..... knowing what teens listen to on a daily basis on their mp3 players... there won't be much they aren't already pumping into their ears.

Remember... expression occurs based on our lived experience reflected through our current culture. It really sucks to repress that!!!

Peace
Errin

Christine Campbell of Stone Mary to play at Harmony Bazaar 2011

2011-01-10T20:08:00.003-04:00

At Music Week 2009 I saw Stone Mary at The Red Night and was like "Holy Crap this band is fantastic... I wonder if the lead singer does solo stuff"... Music Week 2010 showed me that she does. At the Codapop / Spincount Showcase I got to hear and meet Christine Campbell. Lets put it this way she can sure shread a guitar. She will make quite an impression at Harmony Bazaar this summer and I am super excited to have on the bill.

Enjoy!!! :)

Errin

Happy Holidays

2010-12-23T21:06:00.014-04:00

I don't know about any of you but I am beat! Not only am I totally in the midst of sifting through an excellent crop of submissions for Harmony Bazaar, negotiating with headliners, and figuring out who fits best into the schedule so you all can enjoy great music... but work, family, Christmas, and a brand new puppy have me pooped.

For my Christmas present to you I will share some of my favorite Holiday tips for the working / volunteering / "no is not in my vocabulary" kind of a mom:

1. Buy the vast majority of the holiday treats. Just make one kind yourself. I suggest any holiday treat where the recipe involves something in a ball shape. These are usually easily made and you get to say "balls" at church when you bring them to your child's Sunday School Pageant.

Here is my recipe for Cherry Surprise Balls. I have been making them since I was about 11 years old and am quite famous for them if I do say so myself... :)

Cherry Surprise Balls
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

mix together.

Maraschino Cherries
Take some of the coconut / sugar mixture in your hand place a cherry in the middle and make it into a ball by totally mauling it and rolling it around (safety tip: please for the love of God wash your hands before you start this).

Graham Cracker Crumbs
roll the dough ball with the hidden cherry in graham cracker crumbs.

Cover in an air tight container and refrigerate!!
They are yummy and if you are a diabetic please check your sugars

2. Convince your family that you are a horrible cook and that they all need to cook the big meals over the holidays. Suggest that you host a cold breakfast at your home on Christmas morning. I once had everyone over to my place for turkey on Easter and didn't realize that the bottom element of the oven wasn't working so the whole bottom half of the turkey was RAW... guess what I have NEVER been asked to cook for the whole family again YAHOO!!!!

3. Encourage with either love or money teenagers to wrap all of your holiday gifts. I use Monopoly nights and trips to Frenchy's to entice much help from the teens who frequent my household.

4. Stay just a bit tipsy most of the time (Safety Tip!!! Not when working or when responsible for small children or driving...OK.... I mean it!!!)

Here is my favorite holiday something something...

Spanish Coffee

1/2 oz coffee liqueur
1/2 oz rum
coffee
1 1/2 oz whipped cream

Build the ingredients in a coffee mug. Top with whipped cream, and garnish with a cherry.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, Kickin' Kwanzaa, or for my Jehovah Witness friends and family have a great couple of days off... and remember to say a prayer for me I need it lol :)

Peace to all
Errin

A Day to Remember and Reflect

2010-12-05T20:22:00.009-04:00

21 years ago, on December 6, 1989 at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Marc Lepine killed 14 women and injured 10 other women and four men. Lepine was armed with a Mini 14 rifle and a hunting knife. He separated the men from the women and opened fire on the women in one classroom and then actively "hunted" through the halls looking for women to kill.

I have been involved for most of my adult life in memorial ceremonies and events marking December 6th. I have heard speakers discuss Lepine coming from a broken home and that he was a "lover of war movies", once again attempting to justify violence against women as acts committed by individuals who have some sort of occurrence in their life we can pin point to their "insanity". Marc Lepine was extreme in his beliefs and anger towards women yet violence against women is far to common to lend itself to only being committed by those out of touch with reality.

Take time today to reflect on your own life. What media you watch and listen to? Does it objectify women or is there so much violence towards women represented that it desensitizes you to rape, assaults, and murder? Do you know women who are experiencing violence and have said nothing? Are you in a position to help the 13 transition houses currently operating in Nova Scotia? And will you?

Two Concerts for Irish and a Rhythm Guitar Workshop

2010-11-17T21:10:00.010-04:00

For Immediate Release

Popular Harmony Bazaar performer to play two nights in Shelburne

The “A Place for Dory Mates Concert” series (the newest addition to Harmony Bazaar’s activities to bring culture and entertainment to Shelburne County) will see festival favourite Irish Mythen perform at The Sea Dog Saloon Friday the 26th, and Saturday the 27th. “Once we put tickets on sale they started to go so quickly we thought we might need to add an additional night for Irish”, offered concert organizer Errin Williams Spidle, “and we decided to add a Friday night show for those not able to attend on Saturday”.

Irish Mythen has been entertaining Harmony Bazaar festival goers since 2007. Due to her popularity she has secured her own stage at Harmony Bazaar, “Irish’s Invitational”. She is a diverse and talented singer, songwriter, musician, teacher, and performer. She has just finished a successful cross Canada tour with her newest album, “Open Here”.

With the addition of a second night, Harmony Bazaar wants to encourage our growing Nova Scotia Community College population to come out and get to know others in the area with special Friday night ticket prices for NSCC students and exclusive prizes.

There are only a few Saturday night tickets left. Tickets for both nights are 15.00 each and on sale at The Town Market Ltd in Lockeport or by calling 902 656 3272 and leaving a message.

Harmony Bazaar secures funding to support youth cultural programming

“Open for Interpretation” is a youth based artistic skills development and exhibition program to be offered by Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song Society. Workshops will take place in Lockeport at the Harmony Bazaar office and is open to youth from throughout the county.

The Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture, and Heritage is partially funding the six workshops to be presented by professional artists, a weekly “drop in” at the Harmony Bazaar office, and focused meetings for youth to organize a concert / arts exhibit where they will present to the community their completed projects.

Irish Mythen, Harmony Bazaar favourite, will facilitate the first workshop while she is down in our area performing at the A Place for Dory Mates concert series. Irish, who is an expert guitar player will instruct acoustic rhythm guitar and facilitate a jam session. Youth signing up are asked to have at least one year of guitar instruction. Future workshop topics will include photography, drawing, short story fiction writing, voice, and song writing. The fee for the guitar workshop is 10.00 (5.00 if you bring a friend) and to register youth are asked to call 656-3272 and leave a message.

Patsy Cline wins the Fan Choice

2010-11-01T20:18:00.007-03:00

Harmony Bazaar fans voted for the songbook of Patsy Cline

The Town's End Strings & Things Legend Stage will see the works of Patsy Cline covered by 2011 HB artists.

After a successful response to our 2010 inaugural Legends Stage featuring Janis Joplin, Harmony Bazaar fans have been asking me "who's next?" Fans voted on site at the festival and on-line (voting ended October 31st). Now the only questions are which our of super talented line up will participate on this stage, and will we hear "Crazy", "Walkin' After Midnight", or "I Fall to Pieces". I may make it a contractual obligation to have "Walkin' After Midnight" presented since it is my favorite!!!

I will send out more details as I get them.

Enjoy

Errin

Witches - Wise and Wanted

2010-10-29T13:20:00.007-03:00

“and god help you if you are an ugly girl course too pretty is also your doom cause everyone harbors a secret hatred for the prettiest girl in the room and god help you if you are a phoenix and you dare to rise up from the ash a thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy while you are just flying back” - Ani DiFranco

Hallowe’en with all of its talk about goblins, monsters, demons, and witches is a great time to reflect on the witch trials of so long ago and those continuing today.

Many women labelled as "witches" were healers and the power that this afforded them often made them the target when there were difficulties in the group (drought, famine, or fire). Powerful women in these male dominated groups were demonized and learned to be feared.

Women were very vulnerable and it would only take them stepping out of the “norm” to have doubt cast on them. This was not only in their choice of vocation or personality it could also be their appearance. If you were ugly then you were marked by the devil and too pretty then you were a seductress. Women often would give testimony on other women to complete for the scare resource that was safety and protection from men.

Current witch trials occur in South Africa. The Burning Times is a 20 year old movie yet a powerful account of the historical backlash against women and women healers. Estimate death counts range from 60,000 documented and up to 9 00 000 undocumented.

Errin

Hey I run a non-profit... and like Facebook SWEET!!!

2010-10-24T14:12:00.017-03:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/blackbaudinc#p/u/13/X4efsgVmnug

One of my "likes" on Facebook is "Social Media for Nonprofits". It is an American based FB group and they offer all kinds of tips and suggestions for nonprofits to make use of social media to get their message out to the masses.

Today, I logged on to Facebook, as I tend to do... maybe too regularly, and saw a post from this "liked" FB group offering "Best of Blackbaud’s 2010 Conference for Nonprofits".

WoW WoW WoW!!! So far I have only watched the keynote address and I am totally hooked. Beth Kanter and Alison Fine, authors of The Networked Nonprofit, gave me a big ole kick in the rumperdoodle as to what I could be and want to be doing with all of this "stuff" on the Internet.

As much as parents complain (in my day job I work with teens) Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and MSN are not going away. The other day I suggested to a 17 year old that she delete her Facebook account (due to excessive drama) she looked at me with an expression that could only be described as horrified wonderment.

To engage the audience I want I understand where I must go... head first off the diving board in to the pool of social media tools. But I don't have to do it without testing the waters first.

Like any other person sticking their toe in these waters (especially after attending any music industry related social media workshop) I have a Facebook, Twitter, Bebo (??? not even sure what this one does), Blogspot, ReverbNation, MySpace, Eventful, LinkedIn, and frig knows maybe more. Many of the on-line spaces to which I belong I do not understand their utility. And even more so since I am not an artist, I run a venue / festival which is actually a non-profit business.

Kanter and Fine offer that I went about it in the wrong way... I signed up and thought "ok... what they hell is this and how can it help me" opposed to sitting down and thinking what do I want to accomplish and then finding the social media outlet(s) to assist me in fulfilling whatever my goals are.

So.... as I watched this keynote address I actually logged on to my amazon.ca account (wait now there is another cyber account for me) and ordered the book. I rarely order off line but I couldn't help myself... what they were selling I was wanting to buy... The belief that more people will learn just how special Harmony Bazaar is and find away to become part of this organization that is not only my volunteer gig but also my hobby and my passion.

Take a watch. Now I know it is almost an hour long but trust me it is worth it. Due to the Internet you can watch / listen to it while you are multitasking and performing many work or home related tasks. I made chocolate chip cookies while I watched the video.

Please post your comments about the video.
Peace
Errin

Voting Ends October 31, 2010

2010-10-19T20:56:00.002-03:00

Town's End Strings & Things
Legends Stage @ Harmony Bazaar
Fan Choice Voting Ends October 31st

Harmony Bazaar 2010 hosted its first Legends Stage sponsored by Town's End Stings & Things (fantastic music store in Bridgewater stop in and say "Hi" to Beth & Burt) and it was a great success. HB fans voted to have Janis Joplin's songbook covered by our performers. Coco, Irish, and Molly did this female singer songwriter legend justice with powerful vocals and sweet harmonies.

We are looking for our 2011 Legend and we need your help. Please vote for Patsy Cline, Rita MacNeil, or Joni Mitchell. We collected votes during the festival and will add them to online ones. So please vote and I will announce the results in early November.

Thanks for your help
Peace
Errin
xoxo

Halifax to Antigonish and back home (Thats A Lot of Driving)

2010-09-29T14:56:00.002-03:00

I admit that I am still a bit tired from the weekend; maybe my age setting in or maybe it is this rotten cold that has been going around and sadly found me :(

So last week we had our first GoGirls Nova Scotia Meetup! It went very well. MaryAnn and the CoHo gang were once again great to work with. I saw MaryAnn over at the board learning some sound (This is a goal of mine)!!! Rosie Folks did a great job hosting the night having great performers hit the open mic part of the night. Kate Surette is old news to Harmony Bazaar fans and a great friend of mine so of course she played for us. A band new to me is Perpetual Detour. This is an all female band who took it acoustic just for the night and we were grateful.. they did a great job! I really enjoyed the set and hope to hear more from them. Still sad that I had nobody to go dancing with. The state of youth these day... I wonder! lol

Friday, I headed up to Antigonish to see old friends at Contact East. This is a conference created by The Atlantic Presenters Association (venue and festival presenters). Great music, theater, dance, and comedy! Favorite picks from the weekend were for sure Erin Costello & Elisapie Issac. Hoping to have both these gals at Harmony Bazaar if not this year as soon as I can.

Check them out:

http://www.myspace.com/erincostelomusic

http://www.elisapie.com/index.php?langue=en&page=musique

So even though the weekend for which I blogg is one week past. I am going to get me some Chai Tea and an afternoon nap!

Peace
Errin

GoGirls Nova Scotia Meetup Tomorrow Night @ The Company House

2010-09-22T12:56:00.001-03:00

For Immediate Release
September 23, 2010 at The Company House in Halifax, Nova Scotia GoGirls Nova Scotia will host its first “Meetup”

GoGirls Music (the oldest and largest online community of indie female musicians), Harmony Bazaar (a Nova Scotia festival featuring female singer song writers), and The Company House ( THE venue for women in Halifax) team up to create the perfect storm of music, networking, and fun which is GoGirls Nova Scotia.

GoGirlsMusic.com is a unique organization that focuses on advancing the careers of independent female artists. Founded in 1996, the organization works tirelessly to help artists through education, networking, and events like the GoGirlsMusicFest, Invasion of the GoGirls during SXSW, GoGirls @ Folk Alliance and more. Artists who become involved have the opportunity to perform, have their work reviewed, and get involved with a hardworking group of women who "get things done" in the music scene. GoGirls Music has encouraged the development of local chapters to create networking opportunities for female musicians and women working in the music industry. Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song Society developed a Nova Scotia chapter of this organization.

“I realized that the goals of GoGirls Music were similar to ours at Harmony Bazaar so I contacted Madalyn Sklar (founder of GoGirlsmusic.com) and we decided to start a Nova Scotia chapter”, stated Errin Williams Spidle, artistic director of Harmony Bazaar, “The Company House was an easy choice to host the Meetups as this venue regularly presents fantastic female musicians and MaryAnn Daye, CoHo owner, was in total support”.

Meetups are to be held every few months and will provide opportunity to network, meet industry folk, and play in an open mic.

The night will start with an information session about GoGirls Music and then an open mic hosted by NSCC Music Program student Rosie Folks. Meetup concludes at 9pm with the start of regular Company House programming with Petunia on stage (cover required).

Contact: Errin Williams Spidle 902-874-1009 or gogirlsnovascotia@gmail.com

The Hupman Brothers - September 18th

2010-09-08T14:42:00.003-03:00

For Immediate Release
Lockeport, Nova Scotia

Harmony Bazaar presents its first “A Place for Dory Mates” concert series.

September 18, 2010 at Seacaps Memorial Park in Lockeport, Nova Scotia The Hupman Brothers will be the first to be featured in Harmony Bazaar’s new “A Place for Dory Mates” concert series.
In the age of sail, large schooners would leave Lockeport headed to the Grand Banks in search of cod. It would be pretty hard to fish off the side of one of these vessels so small dories were lowered to the water. Two men would be in the small boat and they would use trawl to fish cod for 10-12 hours at a shift. So the fella you shared the dory with you had to really like... so friends would often want to work together or those working together would become friends. Therefore your “Dory Mate” became another name for a best friend, mainly used by men. “A place for Dory Mates is a tribute to those who risked their lives supporting us and growing our community”, states artistic director Errin Williams Spidle, “We can get together, enjoy some of the finest artists the east coast has to offer, and maybe share some stories and gossip”.

Tickets are 15.00 in advance and available at the Harmony Bazaar office, The Town Market Ltd., or by calling 902-656-3272.

Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song, well known for its summer festival featuring female singer songwriters, has branched out to bring a greater variety of culture activities to the small rural town of Lockeport, Nova Scotia. Each month a new artist will be featured.

Check out www.harmonybazaar.com for more details.

For more information about this concert series contact: errin@ns.sympatico.ca

http://www.hupmanbrothers.com/Hupman_Brothers/NEWS/NEWS.html

Summer's over back at it!

2010-09-01T20:52:00.015-03:00

September is a Busy Month for Harmony Bazaar

The Harmony Bazaar committee comes up with new ideas to encourage women to participate in the music industry and to bring culture to Lockeport it would seem at the speed of light or at least Hurricane Earl as it passes by Florida September is no exception!

18 September at 9pm The Hupman Brothers, a local favorite will headline our first "A Place for Dory Mates" Concert Series. As the weather is still nice and warm we are taking this concert outside to the Pavilion at Seacaps Memorial Park. The door and bar opens at 7pm with the guys taking the stage at 9pm. Lots of time to come on over have a sip and chat it up beer garden style before the music starts. Tickets are 15.00 in advance (The Town Market or Harmony Bazaar office).

Love these guys... at a community dance in Sable River a few years back there was a huge freakin snow storm. We thought for sure the band would not show up. The Hupman Borthers did! There were about 25 of us there and we drank enough for about 80. By then end we were just screaming requests from the dance floor. They were VERY patient with us lol!!!

23 September at 7pm GoGirls Nova Scotia Meetup Location: The Company House in Halifax! Harmony Bazaar, GoGirls Music, and The Company House have teamed up to create events and opportunities for female musicians to network, play, and learn together. The first Meetup starts at 7pm at The Company House with a little info from me about GoGirls Music, an open mic (all female musicians and bands with at least one female member are welcome to come sign up). Then Shelley Meisner (Shelburne County jazz diva) will entertain us before Petunia takes the stage at 9pm. This will be a great opportunity to meet other women involved in the music industry and totally have fun!!!!

24-25 September Contact East in Antigonish The Atlantic Presenters Association's annual conference and music festival takes place and I couldn't be happier to go. I fell in love with this event last year as one that helps me to meet the people who help me make Harmony Bazaar better, and we all love that right? And I also get to hang out with Sue, Sue, Heidi, and so many other special people.

September is also a month of grant writing for me. So many wonderful organizations out there supporting arts and culture organizations. We at Harmony Bazaar are so thankful for every opportunity we have been given to offer top notch female performers to audiences. Also I will find out about a recent grant that will allow us to offer arts and music instruction to local youth at minimal cost. I will keep you posted!!!!

So enjoy the last days of summer and remember plans are brewing for 2011.

Peace
XO
Errin

Fantastic Weekend of Fantastic Music

2010-07-29T20:59:00.009-03:00

Harmony Bazaar 2010 was a great success!

Since last weekend I have had almost everyone who has come up to me saying "wow Errin what a great festival". In an interview today I was asked to pick some highlights and I have had a hard time doing that. Even now as I sit quietly at home and have reflected I am like how do you pick one or two great moments out of three days of great moments.

With the site improvements to Seacaps Memorial Park and the amazing volunteer set up crew getting the festival ready to go was, should I say it out loud, "easy". I know I totally jinxed the next event I do! But it was and to have so many guys come on board and volunteer this year makes my feminist heart super duper happy. Thanks guys!

Now the music! Friday night brought to stage Christina Martin hosting a song writers circle for emerging artists (Molly Thomason, Kate Surette, and Natalie Lynn), Norma MacDonald, Coco Love Alcorn, and Irish Mythen. Awesome Awesome Awesome!!!! On the Harmony Bazaar 2010 page I have posted YouTube clips.

Saturday morning brought the vocal workshop with Teresa Doyle. I participated in this one and wow! With our voices Teresa took us to far away places yet closer to each at the same time. What a fantastic facilitator she is!!!

Coordinating an event means often you are off somewhere putting out a fire, answering questions, providing direction and at times you miss seeing all the performers. I sadly missed most of Saturday day stage. This totally sucked! As I ran through the grounds I caught a song here and a story there. From what the audience told me that it all was great.

I did catch the Legends Stage. Coco, Irish, and Molly covered the music of a festival fan voted female singer songwriter legend. For 2010 the choice was Janis Joplin. All the women "brought it" but my favorite was Irish's rendition of "Women is Losers". POWERFUL!!!! FANTASTIC!!! LOVED IT!!!!

Hot Mess super funny! I am stealing their moves cause I feel the need for a "dance off". Wait I totally had my dance off at our dance later that night with BacTrack. I totally Busted a Move!!

For the evening local legend Lynne Crowell wowed me again with her beautifully written songs and great storytelling. Teresa Doyle offered us her sweet jazz, Christina Martin... WAIT.... News Flash.... Christina Martin got engaged to Dayle Murray on the beach in Lockeport during the festival... TOO CUTE!! Quartette came to the stage and provided us the sweet harmonies we were expecting along with story telling, humour, and an obvious friendship between these amazing women.

Sunday morning with the Morning Sun Ceremony. I heard this one was a good if not better than last year. I was at an industry thingy so I missed it! Sad for me!

Sunday afternoon brought RAIN RAIN RAIN, and corn on the cob, and an amazing afternoon of women and girls jamming under the pavilion in Irish's Invitational.

If you didn't get to come this year that is too bad BUT... you can always come next year. The dates are July 29 - 31, 2011 and I am already starting to plot and plan!!

Peace

Errin

PS: Coco's baby in her belly loved the Welcome Tea. So much yummy food and tiny little sandwiches.. I did too!

Check Barb Cooper's Blog for another take on the weekend

http://barbinlockeport.blogspot.com/

"You Had Me at Wine"

2010-07-19T20:29:00.001-03:00

Harmony Bazaar is proud to welcome its newest sponsor; Muir Murray Estate Winery to our already fantastic group of dedicated supporters.

Muir Murray Estate Winery wines available at Harmony Bazaar

Valley Mist -Seyval

Reminiscent of Riesling
Off-dry, with refreshing acidity to balance the wine. Aromas of stone fruit, slate, and citrus zest give way to citrus and mineral flavours in the palate. Surprisingly well-rounded body.

Cape Split – Leon Millot

Memories of the Mediterranean
Tasting the Cape Split, one is lead back to the wines of southern Italy. Leading with anise and black cherry, dark chocolate and cedar notes quickly follow. The body of this brilliant garnet coloured wine is characterised by firm tannins and mouth-watering acidity. A great wine to drink now, but would absolutely reward two or three years in the cellar.

Summer Song - Marechal Foch Rosé

Fabulously food-friendly
A great change of pace with a dry rosé. While this is a great wine for enjoying the last warm rays of autumn on the patio, it is ideally suited to go with food. Roast chicken, a black olive tapanade, or perfect with a holiday turkey or ham. Strawberries and lemonade burst onto the nose; once in the mouth I'm instantly brought back to Devon and its jams and clotted cream.

The Winery

Nestled in the beautiful Annapolis Valley near the
town of Wolfville is Nova Scotia’s newest Estate
Winery.

When Dr. Jonathan Murray and his wife Lesley
first came to Nova Scotia, in 2003, they wanted to
get into the grape growing industry. He asked around
and joined the Grape Growers Association of
Nova Scotia.

Knowing nothing about growing grapes he found
that everyone has their own way of doing things;
from the choice of grape to the method of pruning
to the trellis system. He was utterly confused so he
thought that there was a place for neophyte growers
to learn the business. He founded the Annapolis
Valley Institute for Education of Wine.

In the Institution, seminars are held to educate which
land is suitable for grape growing (as we have seen
in recent years the slope does not need to be south
facing); which grapes to choose to grow; how to
look after them; how to make the wine and how to
appreciate it. These are informal hands-on courses
designed to encourage the general interest in the burgeoning
wine industry of Nova Scotia and maintain
or improve the present high quality of the wines.

Muir Murray Estate Winery, located on 20 acres of
vineyards, is only 3 km from downtown Wolfville.
Guided tours run daily at 10:00 am-2:00 pm
and 4:00 pm.

Tours and tastings are free.

Cheers
Errin

Not Just Music....

2010-07-13T15:12:00.000-03:00

More than just music at Harmony Bazaar!

Thanks to Shelia (media & publicity coordinator) for writing this

(Lockeport, NS) – Whether you’re a kid that loves to laugh, an aspiring singer looking to learn some techniques, a local that just wants to dance, or a visitor hoping to take home a Nova Scotian made craft, you’ll find it all and more at this year’s Harmony Bazaar Festival taking place in Lockeport from July 23 to 25.

Kicking off the festival - and open to everyone - is the Welcome Tea hosted by Ragged Island Historical Society from 4-6 p.m. at the Anglican Church Hall. Following the tea the beer garden opens and a night of Nova Scotia’s best female singer/songwriters take to the stage.

Saturday begins at 10 a.m. with a Vocal Workshop for any and every aspiring singer. “I have a few techniques that I teach that can make anyone a good singer, says workshop leader and PEI songstress Teresa Doyle. Taking place at the United Church in Lockeport the workshop is free and is great for those well known to the stage and those who just love to sing at karaoke, church, or in the shower.

For those that want to take their singing to the next level or are interested in networking with some of Nova Scotia’s top music industry professionals, head over to the United Church at 11:30 to learn more about the music industry and set up one on one meetings with the professionals.

Throughout the day, for those that love the crafts and arts of talented Nova Scotians, the Artisan Craft Fair is well worth a visit. Open to the public and taking place at the fire hall crafts, gifts and art can be bought from 10-3. Also throughout the day musical showcases and concerts will be taking place featuring some of the best local – Shelly MacIntosh, Jade Bennett, Judi Cleveland, and Shelly Meisner to name a few – and Nova Scotian talent; Irish Mythen, Coco Love Alcorn, Norma MacDonald among many others.

At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday kids of all ages can’t miss their chance to laugh out loud while taking part in Hot Mess’ – a comedy sketch troupe who has recently preformed at the Osprey Arts Centre with local Lianne Perry – Comedy Workshop. Being held at the playground at Seacaps Memorial Park, kids of all ages are encouraged to join in on the fun to play comedy improve games and develop comedy sketches. If laughing is really your thing Hot Mess will be on site performing funny sketches throughout the day, with a finale show at 6:30.

As soon as the laughter starts to fade, the musical sounds of many talented artists will being. The Saturday evening mainstage will feature Canadian music legend Sylvia Tyson’s group Quartette, preceded by Lynne Crowell, Teresa Doyle, and Christina Martin. For those late night dancers and music lovers, local band Bactrac will play into the night at the fire hall.

Early on Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. those that love sun are encouraged to take part in the free Morning Sun Ceremony; a multi-faith ceremony, with a mixture of gospel and Mi’kmaq on Lockeport’s beautiful Crescent beach.

Can't wait till next week.... see you there
Errin

Harmony Bazaar 2010

2010-07-05T19:29:00.000-03:00

MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, July 5, 2010

Sylvia Tyson and Cindy Church’s group, Quartette, headlines the Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women and Song.

Harmony Bazaar Music Festival celebrates five years with a schedule filled with acclaimed female artists in concert, workshops, and community events

(Lockeport, NS) - Taking place from Friday, July 23 to Sunday July, 25 in the beautiful seaside town of Lockeport, Nova Scotia this year's Harmony Bazaar music festival features a line-up of acclaimed female musicians featuring Sylvia Tyson and Cindy Church's Quartette. The event promoting women in music will feature main stage concerts, workshops, showcases, and community events.

"Our mission is to provide a venue to showcase women's artistic talents," says producer Errin Williams-Spidle and member of the Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women and Song Society. "The development of women telling their stories through song and music is the key principle behind Harmony Bazaar."

The festival schedule is full of performances and also offers the aspiring artist a variety of workshops and educational opportunities including a vocal workshop and an industry meet and greet. An artisan marketplace, a Legion breakfast, and a corn boil and BBQ are just some of the events being held in the community, providing festival goers with the opportunity to eat, meet, and celebrate with the Lockeport community.

The festival opens Friday afternoon with a welcome tea for all, followed by the Rising Stars stage hosted by 2009 ECMA award-winning pop artist Christina Martin, and will feature the young talents of Natalie Lynn, Kate Surette, and Molly Thomason. Friday evening's main stage performers include Halifax singer-songwriter Norma MacDonald, the jazz and contemporary folk sensation Coco Love Alcorn with folk-blues singer-songwriter Irish Mythen will end the night with the release of her new CD, Open Here.

Saturday's activities begin with a Legion breakfast, a vocal workshop with renowned PEI artist, Teresa Doyle, an artisans' marketplace, and an industry meet and greet. By noon the stage will play host to various local musicians during the Open Mic event. The afternoon is filled with concerts featuring a Sheroes Showcase, a HomeGrown Stage with host Norma MacDonald, and Growing Up Salty showcase. Ending the afternoon Irish Mythen will host the Legends stage featuring the talents of Molly Thomason and Coco Love Alcorn. The evening's main stage performers include Canadian music legend Sylvia Tyson's group Quartette, preceded by Lynne Crowell, Teresa Doyle, and Christina Martin. The music continues late into the night was a dance hosted by local group, BacTrac.

A multicultural event titled Morning Sun Ceremony takes place at Lockeport's Crescent Beach, on Sunday. The event features gospel and Aboriginal music with performances by Cathy Cook, Wanda Joudrey-Finnigan, and Pat Watson. Sunday will also include a Legion Breakfast, a BBQ and corn boil, and one-on-one meetings with industry professionals. To conclude the festival Irish Mythen will bring together many of the festival artists for "Irish's Invitational" concert.

"We strive to increase women's participation in creating music and in having music as a viable career option," adds Williams-Spidle. "The development of a cultural sector in our local area is essential to the feasibility of women engaging in music and songwriting as a career."

Three-day festival passes are $65 (including tax) and are on sale now.

Passes can be purchased at the Harmony Bazaar office, The Town Market Limited and Atlantic Waves in Lockeport, The Whirligig and Gosbee's Sporting Goods in Shelburne, Barrington Bargain Centre in Barrington Passage, Town's End Strings & Things in Bridgewater, A1 Pizza in Liverpool and online at www.harmonybazaar.com.

For the complete musical line up and conference details, visit: www.harmonybazaar.com

For photos, interview opportunities and media accreditation, contact:
Sheila Bird
fmn_10@hotmail.com
www.harmonybazaar.com

Artist websites:
Alyssa LeBlanc http://www.myspace.com/alyssadawnleblanc
Cathy Cook
Christina Martin http://www.christinamartin.net/
Coco Love Alcorn http://www.cocolovealcorn.com
Connie Saulnier http://www.reverbnation.com/fan/fan_shows/556954?page=1#/conniesaulnier
Gina Symonds http://www.myspace.com/ginasymonds
Hot Mess http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11947017&id=584440424&fbid=10150188714795425#!/group.php?gid=306394861537&ref=ts
Irish Mythen http://www.irishmythen.com
Jade Bennett http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Holdup/68845040289
Judi Cleveland
Julie Balish and Tiffani Latham http://juliebalish.wordpress.com/
Kaitlyn Williamson
Kate Surette http://www.myspace.com/katesurette
Lynne Crowell http://www.lynnecrowell.com/
Merrie Howe
Molly Thomason http://www.mollythomason.ca/Molly_Thomason/Home/Home.html
Natalie Lynn http://www.myspace.com/thismissnatalielynn
Norma MacDonald http://www.normamacdonald.com/
Pat Watson http://www.patwatsonsings.com/
Quartette http://www.quartette.com/
Shelley Meisner http://www.reverbnation.com/shelleymeisner
Shelly MacIntosh
Teresa Doyle http://www.teresadoyle.com/
Tiffani Latham http://juliebalish.wordpress.com/
Wanda Joudry-Finnigan

getting caught in the rain....

2010-06-17T12:15:00.000-03:00

Today is a rainy yucky day! Lockeport being Lockeport with its fair share of fog, rain, and winds makes outdoor activities sketchy at best. Last year at Harmony Bazaar we had to make some quick last minute decisions to keep gear, performers, and the audience nice and dry. The move to the Fire Hall was a great decision and worked out nicely.

Listen... I hate getting wet... so therefore I will make sure that you and me are as dry as can be during the festival. We have plans in place for fog, drizzle, light rain (with and without wind), rain, and torrential down pour (with or without thunder and lightening).

Years ago I went to a festival at Foxboro Stadium and it RAINED, RAINED, RAINED... and I was not happy! People who have attended the outdoor concerts in Halifax offered that when rain came down in sheets there was no plan for keeping them dry. A quote from one woman who attended stated "not only were there not enough toilets, but you had to stand for 8 hours in the rain".. not at Harmony Bazaar.. we have seats for everyone and bathrooms too (not like one bathroom for each person but a pretty good bowl to butt ratio)!

So warmth + bathrooms + chairs + great music = a great time. Can you tell that a bunch of women run this show! Still trying to get someone to do foot rubs but as of yet no luck!!

Peace
Errin

2010-06-08T20:42:00.000-03:00

Where to stay? Ask Tanya (902-656-3272)

Before I get into where to stay I will let you know about the pictures for this blog. First is a shot of Lockeport showing that it is an island. It would shock you to know all the trouble I personally have gotten into in the clump of trees at the bottom of the picture (I am shaking my head right now). The second is my little girl playing on Lockeport Crescent Beach (didn't want to steal pics of some random kid), and the third is a pic of our harbour (just down from my mom and dad's house).

Lockeport is pretty small and generally just pretty! We have lots of powder sand beaches with decent wave action, picturesque wharfs, lighthouses and islands, and a kick arse playground for the little ones. So it just screams come and stay the weekend.

Tanya is our handy dandy office gal working the phones to find you a place to stay. We have a campground for RVs and tents minutes from town and some unserviced camp sites walking distance from the festival grounds. There are also cottages, B&Bs, rental houses close at hand and motels/hotels a little over 20 minutes from town.

Call Tanya and she will help you find accommodation. If you want to contact some on your own here are links to places close to Lockeport

Lockeport Cottage and Campground

Ocean Mist Cottages

Sable River View Cottages

Sandy Lane Vacation Rentals

Seaside Cottages

Seeblick Cottage

Seventeen South - 902-656-2512

Other places to stay just over 20 minutes are:

Discover Shelburne County

The Lockeport Loop

Destination South West Nova

Doers and Dreamers

Roseway River Cottages

Water Street Lighthouse B & B

MacKenzie’s Cottages, Motel, & Suites

The Cooper’s Inn

Also check out places in Liverpool and Shelburne. I hope this helps you find a place to lay your head.

Peace
Errin

Teresa Doyle

2010-05-11T12:25:00.000-03:00

Growing Up Salty showcase host, Jazz soloist, and Vocal Workshop leader; Teresa is bringing her whole bag of tricks to Harmony Bazaar 2010.

Teresa wowed me at our December 4th, 2009 United By Song concert held at The Company House in Halifax. After her set I knew she would be a great addition to the 2010 Harmony Bazaar line up.

Teresa is an award winning performer with two ECMAs, two Juno nominations, and the 2007 Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton award for music. Her recordings are in a word "eclectic", ranging from swing to jazz to traditional Celtic to even children's music.

We are truly blessed this year to have Teresa facilitate a vocal workshop. She teaches voice and facilitates workshops on vocal yoga receiving much praise from her learners. This workshop is on July 24 of Harmony Bazaar and is free to those holding a festival pass or a Saturday day pass. Please call 902-656-3272 to register.

Teresa will be on stage Saturday, July 24th hosting the "Growing Up Salty" stage. This showcase features women who find inspiration from the traditions, people, and beauty present in coastal communities. Later the same day, Teresa will be on stage delighting festival goers with a jazz offering.

Check out Teresa's website at
http://www.teresadoyle.com/index.htm

I hope to see you this summer at Harmony Bazaar. Festival and Day Passes available.
www.harmonybazaar.com or 902-656-3272

Peace
Errin

Youngest Harmony Bazaar performer Tiffani Latham

2010-04-03T13:41:00.000-03:00

Tiffani has been kicking around Harmony Bazaar for a few years. I think she must have been in grade primary when we started the festival but WOW has she ever grown up with us.

Tiffani is 11 years old and has played on our youth stage for the past two years, participated in our song writing retreat for young women, and with our recent Barefoot in the Kitchen Party series at The Osprey Arts Centre, January 2010. At The Osprey she had us all in tears with her original song (link below). Gotta love the fearlessness of youth... I am so proud of her!

She is a total cutie too. After the January concert I got a message on Facebook from her. As I never delete anything (I need a show like "Hoarders" but "eHoarders" for those of us who cannot part with FB notifications or anything) the following is the message she sent me.

"omg im so stupid...

Tiffani Latham January 31 at 9:32pm

on the night of the bare foot in the kitchen party, when you gave me the money, i opened it up in the car, and the cash and reciept was there ( but i didnt know it was a reciept) and i was like, HEY SHE GAVE ME 50 BUCKS!! then i sent it too my checking acount and they sent the reciept back and i was like, why did they do that? and mom took a closer look and she said it was because it was a reciept. i feel so stupid now! lmbo! i thought it was a cheque lmbo"

I just saw Tiffani at her elementary school on Thursday and I told her that I was going to write about her and I got a hug. She is the sweetest little girl EVER!!! I could just put her in my pocket and steal her and I think she would actually fit in my pocket.

The first clip is of Tiffani's debut as a song writer. The maturity that is shown in the wording of this makes it something a much older woman would be proud to present. Remember she is only 11.
ps this is the first time she has ever been knowingly taped and I think she is pretty nervous. Thanks Julie for doing the taping for me!

http://juliebalish.wordpress.com/

The second is one that Tiffani offered to us last year at Harmony Bazaar and surprise surprise it is a cover of a Taylor Swift song. What was surprising was the cove she did next of Irish Mythen's "55 Years". Actually it is the best version I have ever heard (jk Irish)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b725eyl4nVE

Tiffani will be playing on Saturday, July 24th of the festival this year. She will be performing on the "Sheros" stage. She and three other young women will cover the music of the female songwriter's who have influenced them.

XOXO
Errin

Irish Mythen, Harmony Bazaar, Janis Joplin, and Lobster... What could be better than that?

2010-03-29T11:01:00.000-03:00

Irish is as part of Harmony Bazaar as dancing children, teenage girls with electric guitars, and Jackie Race's strawberry shortcakes are!

Irish's first year with our festival was in 2007. Don't worry she will tell you the story of it .. she tells it every time I put her on stage. She was performing on the day stage and there was a wedding going on in Lockeport across the road from the festival. As Lockeport is a town of 700 and we of course know the couple who were getting married we didn't want anything to interrupt the ceremony. When I saw the bride pull up to the church I cut Irish off during her set.. ok like mid set! Irish stopped playing but loves to tell the story "her way". Irish is an excellent story teller so she makes me sound like a "tool" and I think at this point she embellishes the story beyond the actual facts.

I have a few Harmony Bazaar stories about Irish too and if she keeps telling that one I will pull out one of mine and she knows which one. That being said I am thinking that this will be the last time the wedding story will be told.

As I said, Irish is part of our festival. She "gets" us at Harmony Bazaar and understands that the festival goes far beyond the three days it is presented each summer; last week-end of July each summer and early bird tickets are on sale now ;) Irish has been involved in our fundraising activities for other women focused organizations, winter concert series, music industry activities, and educational opportunities for young women. And, in general, she is a pretty super person!

This year Irish will be headlining our Friday night line up with a CD release of "Open Here", on Saturday in the "Legends" showcase (Irish , Coco Love Alcorn, and Molly Thomason will talk about the influence of and cover the music of Janis Joplin), and on Sunday Irish will lead an afternoon of music with NEW to Harmony Bazaar: Irish's Invitational. Along with the Invitational the Lockeport Girls' Basketball teams will be hosting a big lobster boil ... so it will be great music and great eating... Fantastic! I love lobster but not the bodies they're gross I give them to my Dad to eat ...

So have a listen and watch. I chose one of my new favorites of Irish's, "The Carney". This was taped at Th'Yarc during our Barefoot in the Kitchen Party series in January 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvLB0ocyvT8

Oh wait and here is like almost every one's favorite of Irish's "55 Years"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSvqmqvbKyQ

Peace

Errin

2010-03-19T15:57:00.001-03:00

Kate Surette at Harmony Bazaar 2010

2010-03-17T15:15:00.000-03:00

Kate Surette

This week I want to highlight one of our up and coming Harmony Bazaar performers; Kate Surette.

The picture you see of Kate shows the difference a year and a half can make. On the left is the first day of classes for 2008 Nova Scotia Community College students starting the Human Services program at Burridge Campus. I was one of their faculty members and I took this pic of Kate. By the way she hates this pic of her ... it was on the wall of the classroom for the entire school year. Ha Ha! The other is Kate now just 18 months after that fateful day.

One of the classes I taught was personal awareness and growth (PAG). In this class I worked with the students to help them to recognize their uniqueness and to develop an appreciation of their true self ... to get to know themselves on a more deep and personal level. Sorry Louise and Austin (Kate's parents). Had I known her secret love of sleeveless shirts and vests I would have told her to remain repressed and hide. Just Kidding!

So Thea, my former co-worker at the college, said "hey Errin you know who might be good to have at Harmony Bazaar ... Kate Surette... she is in your class". I said "alright" and said to Kate,"I hear you write, do you want to bring in your guitar and play for me maybe I'll put you on stage". She said "yes" and I believe brought it in the next day. I decided I would put her in the lineup for the festival. The rest they say is herstory!

Since this time Kate has left school to work on music and get a day job to feed herself. We think this is a great idea now, but it took us all awhile not to kick Kate in the butt daily.

Kate is exploring different genres and enjoys making music and videos with her roommate Rosie Folks. Kate plays regularly at The Company House Open Mic, at various Halifax fundraisers, The Barefoot in the Kitchen Party series, Harmony Bazaar, and this summer at The Osprey and Pride Week. Kate will also be involved in songwriting workshops with high school students.

Kate will be on stage at Harmony Bazaar on Friday, July 24 within a songwriters circle hosted by Christina Martin.

Oh by the way I forgot to mention that Kate is my pretend personal assistant, who will fetch for me what I ask her to. For example, at the ECMAs I wanted to change my shirt before our reception and after Kate fetched my shirt from my hotel which was down the street I realized that I needed a different bra so Kate fetched that for me too. I wish I could afford a real personal assistant and would totally hire Kate for the gig!

Since she does what she is told, at times, I told her I wanted her to tape "Hard Friends" for me to use on this post as it is one of my favorites! She did this for me although she thinks the song is a bit cocky... I told her cocky is AWESOME and to once again embrace all that she is!

Enjoy "Hard Friends" by Kate Surette (ps I am not the teacher she is talking about)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-sMy3chMWE

Hey before you go join the Harmony Bazaar mailing list ... those who join by the end of March will be eligible to win a CD prize package. You can do this by placing your email address in the box on the upper right hand side of this page.

xoxo Errin

2010 Harmony Bazaar Artists get Highlighted

2010-03-15T18:39:00.000-03:00

First Up: Quartette

Hello Blog readers:

When I have blogged before I thought “I am so sure no one reads this” but then people have come up and said “hey read the blog” so I think I will have to do this more often.

Really a place where I can say what I want uninterrupted…. it is like I am in Heaven!!! So I think I will tell you a bit more about each of the performers to play at 2010 Harmony Bazaar.

First I want to tell you about our Harmony Bazaar festival headliner Quartette.

Obviously since is it “Quartette” and it is Harmony Bazaar there are four women making up this group who have been nationally acclaimed for their rich harmonies and incredible stage presence. And it is no wonder with veterans like Sylvia Tyson, Caitlyn Hanford, Gwen Swick, and Nova Scotia’s own Cindy Church.

Sylvia Tyson started performing professionally in 1959 as one-half of the internationally acclaimed folk duo, Ian and Sylvia. She wrote her first song, "You Were On My Mind", in 1962, and three years later it reached #3 on the Billboard chart for a group called We Five, subsequently hitting the British charts as a hit for Crispian St Peter.

All four women in Quartette enjoy solo careers and as “Quartette” have received several Juno nominations, won a Canadian Country Music Award for best vocal collaboration, performed with major symphony orchestras across Canada, and recorded the CMT-TV special, “A Quartette Christmas.” They have also released two Christmas CDs, “It’s Christmas!” in 1996, and “I See A Star” in 2002, both of which are collections of traditional and original Christmas songs, and their Christmas shows have become a tradition with audiences across the country.

At Harmony Bazaar this summer they will be on stage Saturday, July 24th around 9:30pm.

Later this week I will focus on my girl Kate Surette… She doesn’t know it yet. I will have to text her later on tonight!

Peace and have a listen to Quartette.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8f3jt5wiI

Errin

ECMAs 2010

2010-03-08T12:37:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone out there who probably got lots of sleep and ate well balanced meals over the last few days... wish I was one of you but I'm not.

Because I am so nice I went to the ECMAs for all of you to find great performers for Harmony Bazaar and tell everyone there about us. Mission accomplished!!

Ok so here are the highlights and only the highlights cause there weren't any low lights:

Ok so I get there on Wednesday night and got to see a Music and Film session at the Delta and saw a movie with Matt Anderson where he is playing with a youth orchestra. He is playing "Bold and Beaten"... got to ask him if he minds me using it for a youth project focusing on the hopes and dreams of my local youth. Hope he says "yes". It is a gorgeous song! here is the youtube clip take a listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS9aDpEyrB8

Now on Thursday the work starts. We get to meet with other buyers and music industry peeps and enjoy an afternoon of touring Sydney and enjoying some of the East Coast's talent. Later that night I got to see The Tom Fun Orchestra WOW WOW WOW!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_T-pfPMfMw

Friday oh Friday what can I say about you! More great music and I got to meet really nice people. This guy who shared a table with me during one on one meetings introduced me to this awesome girl duo Folk Uke. If you say it out loud you will know why i didn't think he was too nice at first so I offered the same with a "too" at the end but we worked it out and now we are fine!

Friday night I got to see Mel Keith, The Novacks, The Stanfields and I was so very impressed.

Saturday brought more industry work and then... and then.... and then... the most fun part of the whole weekend The APA and Harmony Bazaar reception. Norma MacDonald, Irish Mythen, and Coco Love Alcorn impressed everyone there and demonstrated the awesomeness that is Harmony Bazaar. Thanks to Sue, Krista, Irish, Coco, Norma, Kate, and Carl who drove the shuttle to take Krista and I to the beer store.

Coco has the hottest song EVER "Sugar"... you have to listen to it. I made Kate Surette learn it on guitar immediately and play for me just so I could sing it... very self indulgent I know lol!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q898PN-R6OE

After that I was super happy. I then got to see Amelia Curran which I loved and Mike Trask not just a guy with a really cool hat but an artist with great stage presence. Then I ate a chicken wing that nearly caused my lips to catch on fire.

Sunday am ...EARLY... we took off in Julie's car and burned it for home so I would not miss Alicia's (my little boo) first figure skating festival. I was late for the start of the festival but by the grace of God and blowing off some bad Karma I made it before she took to the ice. WHEW!

So back to normal life and good bye to the fantasy that is the Biz!
Peace
Errin

Tickets Available

2010-01-26T12:34:00.000-04:00

Howdy
So I am just coming off of a great week of listening to Harmony Bazaar performers and attending a concert to celebrate the art and music of Christine Crawford. Wow!! So much fun and so much sisterhood. I may actually be sisterhooded (not really a word I am aware of this) out.... not really!!

Early Bird tickets are available now for Harmony Bazaar 2010. On our new handy dandy website (thanks Thea) you can find out all of the details. Tanya and Julie (new office staff) are working on ironing out all of the details so that this summer's festival is the most awesome one yet. They are working hard on accommodations so that people can stay down in Lockeport for the weekend without needing to commute home (commuting need only be for the work week).

So stay tuned for performer updates and get those Early Bird tickets.
Peace
Errin

Ho Ho Ho and Upcoming Events

2009-12-18T09:04:00.000-04:00

Hey all you
Cheery Christmas, Happy Honika, Kickin' Kwanzaa, or a Rockin' Ramadan, or for our atheist or Jehovah Witness friends enjoy a day off from work. As December rolls by at the speed of light I have a few wonderful announcements and I will put them in order since as any of you who know me know that I am super organized ;P

1) Quartette (Sylvia Tyson, Caitlin Hanford, Cindy Church and Gwen Swick) are our festival Headliners for 2010. I am super excited and from what I have heard so are they!!
2) We have hired two staff (Julie and Tanya) to work with Harmony Bazaar. Having these women to work within our HB office (to be opened in January 2010) we will only experience further growth and development of the festival and year round opportunities.
3) We have a concert series happening this winter to introduce Harmony Bazaar performers to more people. January 15th in Shelburne and January 16th in Yarmouth. check out the posters at the top of this blog for more info or email me errin@ns.sympatico.ca for more details.

Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Errin

From Ode Lady Whitehouse

2009-07-28T20:17:00.000-03:00

Al wanted to give you all a bit of a recap of the NU2U Fashion Show (which is great since I missed it... sad for me).

Hi all! The musical fashion show parade and big bake sale was a huge success, the house was packed, we had a blast! The event raised close to $800 for the Roseway Hospital Auxiliary. Even tho' I missed performing at the open mic I got to recite an ode about the show with Cathy Cooke picking beside me. She made me feel like I was doing an Arlo Guthrie tune, very cool. And when we played Melanie Doane's instrumental, Mel's Rock Pile, for the finale, I had a blast keeping time to it with my wooden spoons and Cheryl Nickerson was awesome playing air with that pink fiddle we borrowed from June at the Town office. Her husband, Scott (RIP), would have loved seeing his 99 cent eBay fiddle used for the show. I know it made us all feel good, thanks Juney!! The whole event was extremely empowering, not likely to be forgotten anytime soon. Humble thanks to all involved...Ode'Lady Whitehouse

WOW! That is all I can say! Well... not really so read on.

2009-07-27T15:28:00.001-03:00

Hey Harmony Bazaar Fans

What a great week-end!

Friday night gave us a bit of grief with the rain and threats of thunder and lighting. BUT..... we moved the gals and some guys (yes Ken, Mike and Creighton you too) indoors at the Lockeport Volunteer Fire Department's hall and it was great. Everyone was dry and warm and the music was once again more than anyone could have hoped for. Christine Crawford hosted a fun and powerful song writer's circle with local women Gina Symonds and Kate Surette (by the way Kate your Dad is super funny) and one of my new favorite singers Norma MacDonald. Irish Mythen once again brought the house to their feet with her well crafted and delivered songs and quick wit. Melanie Doane and her super cool band of awesome guys had everyone singing along and I heard many people saying "is there an instrument that woman can't play". Truly I don't think so although I didn't see a tuba on stage.

Saturday kicked off with a fashion show to support our local hospital with committee member and wonder Ode Lady Alice Whitehouse in charge. The Sobeys Open Mic was filled with locals strutting their stuff. As I ran (literally) from the main stage to the workshops to the children's stage I realized that a dress was a poor choice and next year will opt for sneakers. I didn't get to hear everyone but let me tell you about a few I thought were just amazing. Hello WOVEN!!!!!! This all women band knocked me over. They were fantastic! Lianne Perry enthralled the little ones at the playground with her interactive story telling, and Madison Violet's advice for women thinking about touring internationally was funny and very educational. Excellent tip in case female musicians are booked to perform and they are told not to sing or play their instruments, you might just want to "get out of Dodge".

Saturday night was everything we hoped it would be. Christina Martin offered music from her popular Two Hearts CD (which hangs out in the CD player in my car), Madison Violet continued to grow a loyal following on the South Shore (back from our first Harmony Bazaar). Rita MacNeil's performance was as one man in the community of Lockeport offered "the show of his lifetime". Harmony Bazaar only ended yesterday but as I went to Lockeport today to finish up some site stuff I was stopped by almost everyone I met to tell me how much they enjoyed Rita's performance and that they were so "proud" that we brought her to our community. No Problem it truly was a pleasure!

On Sunday I walked across the beach with my family to the Morning Sun Ceremony. Cathy, Wanda, Pat, and Tricia combined gospel and Aboriginal music in a way that made you feel connected to them and all those present (note to all I love to hug!!!)
The youth stage gave the audience a chance to see our local and not so local future festival headliners. Tiffany and Jessica only 10 years old brought "IT" and wowed us all. Molly Thomason is a total old soul and I am a huge fan of hers (I would love to see her again).

It was a great and full week-end of music and memories. Last night I was in asleep by 6:30pm (better than 6am) and back at it this morning. We are already working on Harmony Bazaar 2010 so keep checking us out.

Later
Errin
ps Pics will posted soon!

Sobey's Open Mic

2009-07-07T19:54:00.000-03:00

Here is the press release that will give you all kinds of info about the Open Mic if you are feeling like you want to get up on stage!!!

Peace

Errin

Perform... get gigs... meet other musicians? The Sobey’s Open Mic at Harmony Bazaar 2009 is the place to be!!

The Sobey’s Open Mic, Saturday, July 25, 2009, is part of an already full slate of amazing talent and welcomes all types of artists to the Harmony Bazaar stage. This event at the festival provides the chance for novice singers / songwriters / musicians to perform and promote themselves in front of a live audience. “It is a great atmosphere with a full professional sound rig”, states Sobey’s Open Mic host Julie Balish, “open mics are a great way to try out new material, or to check out your local scene”.

The Sobey’s Open Mic at Harmony Bazaar furthers creates a “positive festival with a creative vibe where music lovers can gather” Julie Balish offers. The Sobey’s Open Mic is a great way to develop and build on performance skills. With such well know performers as Rita MacNeil and Melanie Doane, it will be a very popular event; giving those participating in the Sobey’s Open Mic an audience to “strut their stuff”.

Time permitting; each performer / act who signs up will have 10-12 minutes on stage. To sign up for this event performers are to be on site at Seacaps Memorial Park in Lockeport on Saturday July 25^th from 10:30am until 11:30am; stage time is on a first come first serve bases. The Sobey’s Open Mic will be from 11:30am until 1:00pm.

Original music or cover tunes are more than welcome. This is an acoustic session so please try to keep the instrumentation to a basic level. Full drum kits and using your own amps, effects pedals, etc. make it tough to do a quick changeover hence giving less time for others to play. Similarly, we are not set up for singing along with recorded tracks.

This is a great event so come along and enjoy some fantastic live music.

For more information you can contact Julie Balish at Julie.balish@ns.sympatico.ca or 656-2445.

Beer Garden Update

2009-07-07T19:45:00.000-03:00

Beer Garden at Lockeport Rocks was a huge success. By huge I mean that we sold all of the booze and many people were just a little buzzed!

The bands were great! The AC/DC tribute band was loud just the way a AC/DC tribute band should be... I loved it!! I tell you if Fran can hunt down a Quiet Riot tribute band for next year I think the town will need to give out ear plugs ;P

Thanks to all of the supporters of the fundraiser and we will put the monies raised to good things!! Now I went home and planted some beer bottles with my tomatoes and nothing is growing yet!

Later

Errin

Beer!!! Now that I have your attention! Come to Lockeport Rocks. Harmony Bazaar is hosting the beer garden

2009-06-27T14:13:00.000-03:00

Hey:

Just want to let you know that a bunch of committee members will be serving beer at the June 30th Lockeport Rocks concert. See Faded Blue, Dirty Deeds, and the Hupman Brothers and us!!!! :)

Should be a great show and a fun time. Hope to see you there.

I hope to find out how I can get beer to grow in my garden ;P

Toodles

Errin

Harmony Bazaar 2009

2009-06-16T12:54:00.000-03:00

June 16, 2009

Plans are well underway for this year's festival and conference. I have decided to start blogging for those interested in the festival so they can stay up to date with all of the happenings for July as well as throughout the year. I have never blogged before so bear with me!