I haven't attended the Port Hope Arts Festival for a few years. Maybe nobody has. I am not sure if it even happened in the depths of the pandemic. Today, a dear friend and I spent a few hours there.
It was lovely.
The 10-Minute Play Series caught our attention. There were eight different Canadian-written and sometimes locally-written 10-minute plays in eight different venues. Some were along the river, under the trees or in a pavilion there. Most were along Lent's Lane, one even on the back balcony of a fashion consignment store. We delayed getting lunch when we came across this couple of actors in the middle of their play.
We were hooked.
We had a schedule, but things seemed to work out without consulting it. We looked further down the park and there was this young actor playing "Gert & Prune", a play about "the Great Ganaraska Flood of 1938 washed Gert right out of town. Now she’s bobbing about on a raft in the middle of Lake Ontario… with some very odd company, and equally strange thoughts!" Written by Port Hope's own Sean Carthew.
This is Gert. At one point she took of her wet stocking, wrung it out in the teacup, and drank it.
Gert & Prune.... on their raft in Lake Ontario. You can imagine the conversations between these two.
The Arts Festival included tents with fine art and jewelry, kids' activity area, the usual Saturday Farmers' Market, and tents with interactive activities sponsored by public-minded organizations like the Capitol Theatre, Cultivate Festival and Green Wood Coalition.
The festival attracted all kinds of folks, some very tall.
10-minute plays in the shade reined in more viewers than 10-minute plays in the sun. We just sat on the grassy hillside for this one called "Almost Woodstock".
Here's the overview: "50 years after the fact, Sandra and Charles return to the site of the legendary music festival. This time, their tent may be a bit bigger, but their ‘joints’ sure are a lot creakier…"
Although you'd never get such interesting shadows in the shade. This image would make an amazing painting.
Below are Sandra & Charles as remembered in their youth.
And, here are Sandra & Charles today. Being near these actors' age, we could relate easily to what they were portraying. Sometimes you have regrets in life, but you learn to find the good and go on.
These guys were great! One had a wonderful French-Canadian accent which was perfect for a hockey-themed play.
I'm so glad that I pushed myself to leave the gardens and chores around the house and go to this festival. As one lady from Peterborough said to us, "This is so amazing! I wish we had something like this in Peterborough. Everyone is involved."
Words from Mitch Albom:
“So many people walk around with a meaningless life.
They seem half-asleep,
even when they're busy doing things they think are important.
This is because they're chasing the wrong things.
The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others,
devote yourself to your community around you,
and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”
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