Greenbelt Harvest Picnic

I've been looking forward to today for quite a while. It was time for the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic, an annual music/food/art festival held at my favourite place, Christie Lake. (You can learn more here, but you'll have to wait until next year for the next one: http://www.harvestpicnic.ca/). For a music/food/art nerd like me, it was heaven.

But first, we kicked off the day by breaking down that bushel of Roma tomatoes I bought on Thursday. Chopped and into the pots they went (they're bubbling away now as I write this). It was a family endeavour.

Boil boil toil and trouble

Due to our anniversary celebrations last night, we soon departed to make our grocery run for the week. Having unloaded all that, we quickly repacked the car and got out to Christie Lake. The following is a photo essay of the rest of my day (not exactly Rolling Stone quality photojournalism but you'll get the idea all the same).

It started to rain just in time for the first act, local powerhouse Laura Cole (she's from Ancaster).

Dem pipes!

Then onto my second favourite part of the day, Elliott BROOD. It was really starting to rain now but the crowd just kept growing. They finished their set with a song about Dundas called The Valley Town (hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfjq4F5nTWc).

Whoa!

By this point, I was getting pretty hungry. The guys and gals over at The Dirty South food truck came to my rescue. Their loaded pork poutine really hit the spot. (Full disclosure: this truck has been a great supporter of the big event I run in the spring and I am a very loyal fan of theirs.)

Om nom nom!

I stuffed myself quite handsomely as I soaked in the amazing show Boris Brott (the Legend) did with the National Academy Orchestra and his special guests. When he brought out Stephanie Cadman, an Acadian fiddler, I was immediately transported back to late summer nights in my godfather's garage, where his family would entertain us for hours with rousing French-Canadian folk songs. I admit, I got a bit misty.

Soggy but happy

My brush with fame: I crowded the second stage to catch the amazing beatboxer Hachey the MouthPEACE and who did I happen to find standing right beside me? Daniel "freaking" Lanois! I tried to take this picture on the sly... (that's him in the black hat)

OMG, it's Daniel Lanois!!!

Next up was Ron Sexsmith, who I follow on Twitter - he's a notorious punster.

Secret heart

If the festival has a patron saint, it's Sarah Harmer. I've been going to her shows since she started playing dingy store rooms at the back of record shops on Queen West in Toronto. She deserves every bit of success she gets.

I'm a mountain

All I'm going to say about Gord Downie and the Sadies is that they were loud, they rocked and, as I now realize, the auto-correct on my phone changed my Tweet about their set to Gordon Downie and the Sardines (lol). 

They were still plenty loud from back here

Aside from all the amazing talent that was on hand, what makes the Harvest Picnic truly stand out is all the great stuff that surrounds the show. It is probably the most family-friendly festival you could ever attend. There are all sorts of awesome vendors (yes, I spent way too much money) plus fishing, swimming, biking and livestock!

Manorun chickens and pigs

There are tons of kids and every few minutes, an impromptu football match just happens.

GOOOAAAL!

That is unless, of course, the kids are otherwise occupied eating popcorn or just playing GIANT hopscotch.

Biggest hopscotch evar!

As the sun was setting, we hit the beach and Daniel Lanois hit the stage. When you stand there watching the trees sway back and forth on the south shore of the lake and you hear the music start, it grabs you from the heart and suddenly you understand why he chose Christie Lake as a venue. It makes perfect sense.

Sunset - Christie Lake

Without a doubt, Monsieur Lanois stole his own show. We eventually migrated back to the lawn from the beach and my mind was blown. I could have listened to his set all night.

Sadly, we were well past the boy's bed time and though he was a great sport, he was done. We loaded the car to the faraway sounds of Bruce Cockburn. I'm sure Ray LaMontagne would have been great too. Maybe next time!

Thank you Greenbelt and thank you Jean-Paul Gauthier (and Daniel Lanois) for a wonderful day. We'll never forget it!