hillside in review

This past weekend we made our annual trek to the Guelph Lake Conservation Area for my favourite weekend of the summer -- Hillside Festival!!! Two and a half glorious days of great music, amazing food, beautiful scenery and the best company. Hillside is one of the best music festivals in the country and this weekend is like my tiny bit of therapy and I so look forward to it. This year we were joined by my cousin Kaili and her husband LB and my lovely friend Kelly. Full photo album can be found here. Highlights include:

• The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir: playing together for the first time in 13 years and finally getting to see them live (I wasn't of age when they played the Townehouse)





• the always great Danny Michel





• getting Kelly all to myself for a whole weekend






• the African Peanut Stew from "Meals That Heal"


• eating pakoras the size of my head and roasted corn every day




• the always dreamy Jason Collett




• walking onto the island to the tunes of Old Man Luedecke


• a full weekend of Team Family (a.k.a Kaili and LB)





• Sunday afternoon candy binge old-school style


• strolling around the island with Marc




• the Hayden show on Sunday night -- click here for a video I took of him doing my most favourite Hayden song "Dynamite Walls."
• 
  Sunday morning gospel workshop that is always the highlight of the weekend for me


• finally getting to see a taping of "The Vinyl Cafe" with Stuart McLean and having Ron Sexsmith show up unannounced ( I think it airs this weekend)


• a big fat giant closing set by Broken Social Scene


• the new Hillside hiking trail onto the island


• watching a guy who spent the weekend in workboots and a speedo with his Blackberry clipped onto the side of them


• taking a great nap in the shade next to the lake


• buying a hoodie with a moose on it


• buying a shirt with a bird on it
• 
  staying in this amazing penthouse suite at our B&B. If you ever need a place to stay in Guelph call Janet at the Norfolk Guest House and you will not be sorry

Lowlights include:

• having that awful sideways painful kind of rain ruin our Rain Plan 2008 in a giant, giant way




• the sickness resulting from our Sunday candy binge
  
• Hawksley Workman starting his set with a great cover of The Jackson Five's "Want You Back" only to follow it up with at least 7 more covers and a few of his worst songs. Shame on you Hawksley -- you are much better than that. I've seen it first hand.


• realizing that mornings off Guelph Island don't start with a gospel workshop

Alll in all, I'm always sad when Hillside is over. It was a great weekend and I wish Hillside was a whole year long.