We had a wonderful time playing the Maynooth Celtic Festival this past weekend! Gorgeous country, great hospitality, wonderful folks.
Our Maynooth Home - The Arlington Hostel
The Friday afternoon drive up was plagued with traffic snarls (argh!) until we got outside TO. After that, though…a nice, scenic ride. Had dinner at a nice little pub in Bancroft and got to town around 8 pm. I spent much of the evening just sitting out back of the hostel, listening to the night sounds and looking up at the stars.
I got to do some sight-seeing the next day. All I can say is that this country is absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of Upstate NY or Western PA. Very few people around, wonderfully quiet with the sounds of birds, insects and the breeze for company. Sigur Ros was the soundtrack as I drove around the edge of Algonquin Provincial Park.
It feels very “open” : a lot of space to think & feel. I love it. In another life, I could easily see myself living here. I think it might be a somewhat lonely or bittersweet way, but very alive in many ways.
The Saturday evening concert went really well, followed by a short ceili and then a session back at the hostel till early morning. Met some fine players up there, including Kevin (flute & whistle) & his daughter Deirdre (bodhran) from Ottawa and a lovely banjo player whose name I didn’t get.
Kevin, Andy post-concert @ the Arlington
Dierdre
Interestingly, Kevin knew many of my old friends from the Philadelpia and it was great fun catching up and sharing news. The banjo player – who was in his 70’s and didn’t look a day past 60 – was a logger and builder. He was known in the area as “the forest gardener” due to his deep knowledge of trees. There was such a good vibe coming from him and his music; he seemed generally “happy” in a way that I’d love to be when I reach his age.
Dan & Anne
After the session, Andy & I took a short 1:30 am hike to find a waterfall he’d come across earlier in the day on a bike ride. With the moon as bright as it was and all the stars, we didn’t need any other light and just hung out for a while listening to the water. The spray from the waterfall created a beautiful nimbus around the moonlight as it was broken but the tree tops.
As we drove home Sunday morning, we stopped off at Eagle’s Nest Park in Bancroft to check out the view, and weren’t disappointed at the detour.
Eagle's Nest Park Overlook - Bancroft, ON
I”ll definitely need to go back there.
