Saturday, July 16, 2011 - FotR Day 1
It's hard to believe it's been a full week since I set out, although my laundry situation bears it out in full. I quickly realised I should have packed more t shirts and fewer long sleeved shirts. The latter have not been needed at all, although I may see if I can get away with wearing one today and stretch out the t0shirts a bit more. The trouble is that I warm up quick when I'm active, and have been trying to avoid riding in towns.
And so, this morning, I also did some laundry during my morning shower, and have it hanging to dry here in camp.
This was my Yellowknife exploration morning, walking into Old Town to check it out. Wandering around, seeing the galleries, and the variety of the town, I can definitely see some of the appeal and charm. I also saw a touch of some of the social issues and human issues, but walked away with more of the beauty.
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| Scale model of a mosquito outside the visitor centre |
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| House in Old Town |
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| Art installation in Old Town |
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| A detail of the art installation in Old Town |
Looking for lunch, I wandered into a cafe that had a duo playing live and the music was great, but I was looking for slightly different fare, so I wandered on, eventually finding myself outside Bullock's.
I'd heard of Bullock's before, and read really mixed reviews online, so I was reluctant to go in. But, hunger and curiousity won out and I was glad for this. I found it really welcoming and unique, with a lot of character and a genuine, open, and friendly welcome.
Sitting at the "bar" section, I got to see everything being prepared, being drawn into the discussion, with the cook, waitress, and other patrons, showing again the power of opening yourself to the experience.
While here, I met a young lady named April, who helped me to connect with a lot of other people in Yellowknife, and to really get into the Folk on the Rocks experience.
On the way to catch the bus to the Folk on the Rocks location I stopped into the Ashoona Gallery and had a great conversation with Bob there about the work he's doing with youth, and also within the Innu art community.
I missed the opening of Folk on the Rocks, but managed to catch Maria in the Shower, Cadence Weapon, a bit of a jam sessions coordinated by storyteller Michael Kusugak, with a visual arts interpretation going on behind the musical performers. I would have enjoyed a bit more interplay between the harmonica and throat singers, but it was still a very memorable performance.
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| Maria in the Shower in the Beer Garden |
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| Cadence Weapon's DJ |
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| Cadence Weapon |
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| Cadence Weapon |
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| Michael Kusugak narrating a story |
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| Jam |
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| Finished art piece |
I was really impressed by all of the bands I saw, including Rae Spoon's techno-folk-rock, OKA's Australian Indigenous dance, Bernard Adamus' Quebecois bluesy jazzy folky style, and Luke Doucet's blues-rock (think a Canadian Chris Isaac with more country influence).
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| Rae Spoon |
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| Owen Pallett |
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| OKA |
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| Bernard Adamus |
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| Luke Doucet and the White Falcon |
I got a chance to get up and dance a bunch, but also to get to know some more people here, with April introducing me to Peter and his daughter Nico, and Peter actually gave me a ride back to camp in the camperised old bus that they had once driven down to Mexico. It was a short distance, but the temperature had dropped, and the mosquitos were coming out. Just to add to the adventure, I still had to scale 2 10-foot tall fences, which I had somehow thought might not be closed to foot traffic, despite it being well after the posted hour the gates close. Yet another one to add to the learning experiences.
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| Late night after FotR |
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