Unless we’re talking about Ebola or the Spanish flu, there’s something really awesome about being amongst the first to try something new. Take this little guy for instance.
It’s that feeling of « I know something you don’t know » that pulls us towards new and exciting things. Embrace it and let it take you where it wants to.
I’ve been coming to the FME (Emerging Music Festival) religiously for the past 6 years. But, I do not have the bragging rights that come with having been there since year one. I do not have that stinky worn out t-shirt, or that used, beaten and bruised bracelet lingering in a bottomless drawer. But everything is about to change. I will soon avenge my fear-of-missing-out, hop in a canoe, launch myself down a frozen hill, and finally participate in the genesis of something new.
It’s not every year that you witness the creation of something new. This winter, in the dead dark of January’s breath, Quartiers d’hiver, a brand spanking new winter version of our beloved FME, will keep our fire stoked. Canadian winters are long and tough, especially in northern communities like Rouyn-Noranda (or my hometown of Sudbury, where I type these words from my quinzee overlooking a slag burnt skyline). Festivals like this make it all worth it.
Festivals that truly embrace Canadian winters are few and far between but are essential to our sanity. They recharge our inner Eliminator Power Packs and help us make it through the next few months of frozen hell. No one in their right mind can make it through this crap alone. We need to get together, more than ever, and collectively freeze our asses off.
Our cheeks will get all stiff. The black holes of our big winter boots will swallow our socks. And, someone will inevitably get their tongue stuck to a metal pole along the way. (If this does happen to you, do not panic. There is a better way to remove it. You’re welcome.)
Quartiers d’hiver arrives on our cultural landscape like a sloppy school yard snowball fight. Hold on to your toque and get ready for something new.