There is a time warp happening this summer.
The days are zipping by and the summer is half over and so far, it has been fun.It's festival season!
Our family is getting ready for Artswells at the end of the month and we are recovering from the Smithers Midsummer Music Festival.As I mentioned in a previous column, it was my first trip to Smithers and we had an excellent time.Even with the rain.Talking to some locals, the Smithers festival is a notoriously wet festival and it rains most years. But that does not stop everyone from having a great time.
For our household, the festival started by a car trip of less than six hours but more than four hours driving from Prince George.We took our time and stopped in Burns Lake for the Canada Day celebrations and stretched our legs.Then we stopped in Houston and admired the giant fishing rod.I had no idea there was a giant fishing rod in B.C. but there it was.By the time we got to Smithers, the kids were cranky and we stopped at my cousin's house and picked them up to hightail to the festival at the fairgrounds.
"We'll have dinner at the festival" we said.
It will be fine.
The thing about music festivals is that the food vendors cater to a specific clientele.The food is good but tends towards the hippie variety. We had with us three children under five who were not really interested in a whole grain couscous wrap with garlic scapes and a raspberry aioli. I could have killed someone for a hot dog truck.
As it was, it was the first night of the festival, the vendors were still getting ready and dinner was a bit delayed.We picked a food truck that had hamburgers and wraps that looked like the kids may eat it.The ten dollar wrap we bought for the kids to share was not touched by the children and instead our son was sharing a hamburger with his dad.
As our son took a bite of the hamburger, his eyes started to water and he looked a little panicked.I started to panic and I assumed that he was choking.
Without warning, he projectile vomited all over the picnic table, himself and the ground right in front of this poor vendors cart. We were their first customers.
Try the food here - it's great!
We cleaned up our son and the table while my cousin managed to find a shovel to clean up the puke on the ground.It turns out that our son suffered a bit from a viral flu that we managed to spread to my cousin's family by the time we left.
Ask us to visit and we'll bring all sorts of gifts to your house.
Puke and other bodily fluids notwithstanding, the music festival was fantastic and I would highly recommend it to other families.It is very kid-friendly and the atmosphere is cozy and delightful.The kids stage was always busy and there were lots of other kids that all played very well together.
My husband had a couple of great shows and we were able to see many new-to-us bands.The town itself was ridiculously cute and walkable and they have an excellent second-hand book store.It reminded me of a quiet Jasper with more character.Also, the streets in the town were spotless.Spotless like they had a fleet of Roombas out at night cleaning the roads of all debris.
If you have not been to Smithers before (like me), you should go.If you have not been to Smithers in a while, go again and really look at the streets.
They're so clean, it's eerie.
