The circles of friends are the people who play, sing, dance and party at the annual Pembroke, ON Fiddle Fest. Starting with 14 campsites’ worth of visitors in 1975, the festival’s attendance grew to a whopping 1,550 RV units a few years back. In what has unsurprisingly come to be called “Fiddle Park” music fans and competitors flock to the site all Labour Day preceeding week, creating a festive, round-the-clock celebration of old friends’ reunion and non-stop music.
Packed up and ready to go to the 42nd annual Pembroke 2017 Fiddle Fest! We have almost as much stuff as we take south for the whole winter! It was our first year of renting a trailer so you never know what you might need.
Here it is a brand new Mini Lite by Rockwood – a 20 footer all equipped. Some special friends joined us this year too.
Chuck and Cindy Wlodyka from Cleveland, OH who ‘just happened’ to be passing through on their way to Ottawa. Chuck and Cindy organize the “fat Tuesday” pool deck parties in Fort Myers we so much enjoy all winter long. They love music, partying, friends and family. It is our good friends the Clarkes who come here regularly and first invited us some 6 years ago.
Left to right, Nora, Marie, Betty, Pamela, Ross and Glenn Clarke
OK, it is not our most favorite type of music – fiddles, guitars, mandolins, string bass, banjos, the odd piano and accordion. But we have grown to like it more and more. By the way, the differences between a fiddle and a violin are subtle. Fiddles tend to be slightly smaller, have steel strings as opposed to gut and a slightly flatter bridge to permit playing multiple notes at once easier.
Chuck singing That’s Amore with the Bechamps
In the Gaspesies tent
Dave and the Piano Man with friends
While it was cold this year, Friday and Saturday were gorgeous and we got out for a great walk in the park by the Ottawa River. Pembroke has done a great job of preserving its waterfront for public access for years to come.
Thank you friends for another great year! And thanks Debbie and Maggie Bechamp for the great song about Betty Clarke first written and performed in Fiddle Park in 2011: Whippoorwill Betty Song (with our old Roadtrek 190 in the background).
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