Festival 500 Eve

The final group of EnChor-ites will arrive today, but a few of us have been here a day or two already. Yesterday was sunny and warm, but today (Tuesday) clouds moved in and we were treated to a couple of hours of tropical rain at noon. Tomorrow, the day the festival begins, is forecast to be sunny and warm. Please keep your fingers crossed for us.

You can sense the excitement building as the opening day nears. Posters advertising the festival are everywhere. Competition will be stiff, however. Both the "National Egg Producers" and "Cirque du Soleil" are in town as well.












It turns out that Festival 500 has a huge impact on the local economy, adding some $6 million to the province's GDP and 7,000 person evenings of accommodation--more than the entire annual cruise ship season. Over 10,000 performers have appeared since the Festival began in 1997, representing countries from Albania to Venezuela (but not Zimbabwe?).

EnChor will begin the opening day performing the "Haida Welcome Song" at the opening ceremonies. We rehearse briefly from 4:40-5:00 pm then cap the day with an appearance at the Opening Gala Concert--one of a select group invited to do so. We plan to wow them with our "Canadian Suite", a selection of folk songs arranged by Diane that takes us across the country from British Columbia (Royal Hudson) to Newfoundland (Fogarty's Cove), with stops en route in the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

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Location:St. John's