The hall was abuzz—a sense of anticipation filled St. John’s Church Hall. Bob and Fiona had done a fine job getting the sound all sorted, so we were able to open the doors at 6:50. We had to put up the “Sold Out” sign at 7:00! The room was hot, with a sense that summer was lurking just around the corner, but the sense of excitement seemed to trump any discomfort (with a bit help from the open doors).
Things began at 7:30 with Tark giving a brief outline of the Deep Cove Folk Song Writing Project emphasizing how we were looking for “songs of place.” He mentioned we’d had 34 submissions which was screened down to a “short” list of 17 on the basis of completeness and fulfilling the contest mandate.
These 17 songs were sent to our esteemed judges: Cathy Miller, Dave Wilkie and Valdy who, over the course of several weeks, made their selections for the award winners. Valdy indicated that he had listened to the songs and made his initial judgements while he was on his “world tour of Nova Scotia.” The three judges convened at the Wilkie’s in Dean Park after Valdy returned and they made their final determinations: three prize winners and four Honourable Mentions. All commented on the fine quality of the submissions and how difficult they’d found having to choose.
The judges, all in attendance, were introduced to the audience. Each received a framed certificate of appreciation and an honourarium.
Following this, the Honourable Mentions were announced. They, too, were all in attendance. Each was given a framed certificate and a cheque for $100. In no specific order, the Honourable Mentions were:
- Wendy McBride for “The Norris Beach Mermaids”
- Daniel Cook for “Salish Sea”
- Don Chambers for “Butterfield Waltz”
- Robert Anderson for “Ode to Hartland Landfill”
The first of the prize winners was Bryon Thompson who, with his partner Freda, performed Bryon’s third prize winning “Malahat Moon”. He was given a certificate plus a cheque for $500.
Next up was Casey Edge who received second place for his song “Island Home in the Salish Sea”. Casey was joined by singer Sunny Shams who did a great job singing Casey’s fine song. The award was a certificate plus $500.
The grand prize-winning song was written by the team of Dale Baglo, Barry Bowman, and Duncan Meiklejohn. This song, “Deep Love, Deep Cove”, was performed by an ensemble of Duncan Meiklejohn (guitar and lead vocal), Dale Baglo (bass), Jon Baglo (keyboard and harmony vocal), Mark Ferris (fiddle). Barry Bowman, the lyricist, introduced the song. It was very well-received by the audience. The first prize winner was awarded a certificate as well as $1000.
After commenting on the amazing quality of the songs, Tark, the MC, then thanked the ArtSea Community Arts Council for their generous support of this project. He also thanked everyone who submitted songs: “Not easy to put your stuff out there,” he said. Tark also thanked all of the volunteers who helped put the ceremony together.
As I write this, it seems that this should have been enough to put the cap on a great evening—but there was more to come, much more.
After a brief introduction, folk icon Valdy bounded up on stage and launched into a great rendition of “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream” with great participation from the audience. Everyone seemed to know the words. Then Valdy did one of his own songs that was very much in the spirit of his first number. Both were met by thunderous applause and great appreciation that Valdy had been willing to do this surprise performance—what an unexpected treat!
And as if this wasn’t enough, yet another surprise lay in store. On a visit to town, the well-known author, poet and songster from Alberta, Sid Marty graced our stage. Sid had just won a prestigious a poetry award and read one of the poems from that collection. Then, with the help of local stalwarts Dave Wilkie and Denise Withnell, Sid did a haunting version of his song “Down Along the Livingstone.”
Such a delightful hour!!! We’d been treated to some of the finest music you could ever want to hear—a truly amazing evening. The hall vibrated with excitement and energy when the break was announced and many folks streamed outside to grab a bit of the evening coolness. Free cookies added to festive feel of the night.
Shortly the lights blinked to signal that yet another very special performance was about to take place. Folks returned to their seats to be delighted by a wonderful set put on the Vancouver based singer-songwriter Brian Robertson and champion fiddler (and accompanist) Michael Burnyeat. The two of them did some stunning arrangements of Brian’s well-known songs of place dealing with the Pacific coast—such as the story of an heroic women saving a ship from foundering on the west coast shore. In between, Michael did some great sets of fiddle tunes ranging from traditional material to one written by Kermit the Frog… They ended with Brian’s classic “When the tide goes out, the table is set” which many of our audience knew and sang along with.
After the performance Brian indicated how much he’d enjoyed the evening, especially since his songs of place fit in so well with the theme of the first set.
When I stood at the door as people were leaving at the end of the show, I was struck by the loud and energetic chatter. It was clear that they’d enjoyed an amazing evening of regional and Canadian music—something very special. The smiles and “thanks yous” from folks on their way out was a clear indication that the evening had been a resounding success. Deep Cove Folk’s goals of showcasing the vitality and art of live, acoustic music and supporting our local community had clearly been realized on this warm May evening.