4 things to do at Summerfolk this weekend that don’t involve music
Festivals are about more than just music. I think we’ve all established that. But just exactly what they add to the live music experience varies from festival to festival. So it’s always exciting to see what else festivals have dreamed up to entertain us during those moments when we’ve taken in all the music we can – or, for that matter, while we’re still listening to the music off in the distance.
Here are four cool things to do at Summerfolk this weekend.
The community village
It’s pretty common for festivals to have artisan’s markets. But what about a markplace of social services, activist organizations and other institutions of note? Last year, Summerfolk piloted what it calls a community village, an exhibition area filled with information tables for local groups — everyone from the Climate Action Network, Grey Bruce Pride and the regional women’s centre to the Community Waterfront Heritage Centre, Home and Community Care Support Services and the Canadian Mental Health Association. You know who used to do this kind of thing? The big travelling festivals like Lollapalooza and Another Roadside Attraction.
The glass mosaic class
What? I can learn how to make a beautiful, stained-glass like work of art while I’m at a festival? Apparently! You can also learn block print making and a bunch of other cool crafts. The Georgian Bay Centre for the Arts offers workshops at Summerfolk provided you register quick, because there aren’t many spots. But hey, what a cool thing to do at a festival!
Eat curry, Caribbean food and so much more
It doesn’t matter which festival you go to or where it is. It will always have great food. And the offerings at Summerfolk rival all the coolest festivals. You’ve got your snow cones, your poutine, your funnel cakes, and all the usual fun festival foods. And then you’ve got Kereen’s Caribbean Kitchen, Sabitri’s Global Cuisine, and the Flying Chesnut Kitchen, purveyor of fine Indian tacos. Don’t get TOO distracted. You might miss good music.
Shop for jewellery
The artisans market at Summerfolk has a huge variety of vendors selling a lot of your typical festival items, like tie-dyed clothes, funky soaps and candles. But this festival seems to have a particularly large selection of vendors selling jewellery. Sourceworks is a unique ceramics shop that does, among other things, jewellery made with ceramic beads. Silverfish Studios crafts jewellery from copper, silver and bronze. Spirited Earth creates wearable gemstone jewellery. And those are just three of the many vendors with “bling” for sale. If bling is your thing. Bring that thing you store your money in.
