The Ottawa Folk Festival was smaller than others I’ve been to, with a lot of names and voices that were new to me. The highlight for me was the stomping performance by Hoots & Hellmouth, at the dance tent (what a great concept!); also liked Jim Bryson and The Weakerthans at the main stage. A sampling of others: cheeky vocalists from Quebec: Galant, tu perds ton temps –

with unseen percussionist Jean-François Berthiaume, who pitched in on a number with Scottish trio-minus-one LAU

and the highly energetic Welsh guitarissimo Gareth Pearson

The food offerings were not great, an odd assortment that included two Thai and two curry joints. Naturally I opted for a veg curry at the one that was giving away a tube of toothpaste with each order.

The festival offered a lot of practical fun for musicians, aspiring and otherwise, with plenty of jam sessions and workshops. The musical petting zoo let you try out all kinds of instruments, and get a little guidance on how to play them.

Sunday looked kind of like this from early morning:

with severe thunderstorms in the forecast, so we skipped a last muddy day in the park. We did not let a little rain stop us checking out the Ottawa farmers’ market at Lansdowne Park, though, which was very wet indeed. My strongest sympathies were with the plucky baker from Art Is In Bakery, which has no shop front but sells through specialist retailers and markets.

The fruit and veg stalls got off a bit more lightly

with freshly washed produce on offer, like German Stripe tomatoes, local grapes and multicoloured cauliflower.

Corn, of course, and carrots and cheese:

After six weeks of straight sunshine, last Saturday’s rainfall was a pleasure to the gardeners, not so much to those of us being dripped upon at the North Saanich Farm Market, where Slow Food had, for a second year, been invited to set up an information booth.

The experience was eerily similar to last year, since we managed to catch a rainy Saturday then as well. Be that as it may, the market is a small but lively one with a committed following, who simply brought umbrellas along and reaped the local bounty.

Rainy weather makes for a popular coffee concession, and the baking to go with it.

Luscious local fruit at the community table:

The market offers great local music every week (without a sound system on rainy days). This week it was The Sirens.

Information from Sea Change, working for marine conservation.

Every market should have its husbands. This one took care of tent drainage.