DUAL HOLIDAY WEEKEND...FUN FOR ALL!

This past weekend was both fun and busy for people on both sides of the border. In Canada, we celebrated 'Canada Day' on Friday, July 1st. Also, in the USA they celebrated 'Independence Day' on Monday, July 4th. It's a time when many families and/or friends get together for picnics in parks, water fun at cottages, and of course, a night of fireworks. In order to honour both countries, I hang both a Canadian and American flag on either side of our garage.

Since I lived 11 years in the USA, and my daughters both married Americans and now hold dual citizenship, I feel a connection to both holidays.
For me, a big part of 'Canada Day' was gardening, making note cards ... so pretty mundane by comparison to what many were doing. However, late afternoon my friend Marg called and invited me out for the evening.
We have a beautiful lake in the middle of our city with a bandstand. Each year from the end of May to the end of August, the city puts on 'MusicFest' which are free concerts in the park by the lake. Every Wednesday and Saturday evening they showcase various gendres of music, both local artists and from across Canada. This year, Musicfest kicked off with Natalie McMaster and her husband Donnell Leahy. For Canada Day, there are activities, cultural events and a very big concert with fireworks in the evening.
My friend, Marg has a VIP membership (which one pays a yearly donation for the privilege) which allows up close parking and a designated area to sit close to the stage. Marg, our friend Laurie, and myself had a 'girls night out'. We had a blast!
The band was local and were fantastic! They were called Keith Burton and the Footloose Band. They did impressions of such people as Shania Twain, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, BTO, Madonna, Faith Hill, Tina Turner and Lady GaGa. Musically, they were amazing and they did their best to look like them, but that lacked a little!
Marg, Laurie and myself knew many of the words to the songs and we sang along and danced and danced....FUN!
At the end of the concert, they had a full 15 - 20 minutes of non-stop fireworks that were spectacular!!!

Afterward, we went out for coffee...yes, just coffee. We talked and talked and talked, so it was really late when I got home.

Sunday, I had my oldest brother, Dennis and my sister-in-law Bette come for the afternoon and dinner. We had spareribs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and Greek salad. For dessert, I made my brother's favourite rhubarb and strawberry pie and served with ice cream.
Monday, I drove to Campbellford, Ontario to check out my show 'Life is Good' at the library. My one woman show will end on July 14th. Although I've only had one sale, the people at the library said there have been really great comments. A few people have come back twice to see it! Now, if only more people would purchase some pieces! Times are tough for many people, including myself, so I just need to hang in and be patient. My heart tells me I'm doing exactly what I should be and to stick with it....until!
I will be putting 5 new pieces at the Kawartha Tourism Centre this week with a summer theme.
Saturday, I'm participating in an art show at the Lakefield Jazz Festival so I'm doing all the last minute stuff to make sure I'm ready. This is my first time, so I'm looking forward to some potential sales and listening to some pretty great jazz!