A Midsummer’s Dream
Gage Park 1000 Main Street East
Another highlight for me this summer (and of the year!) was attending the third annual Midsummer’s Dream in Gage Park. I’m super proud of this event and organizer Mark Gowland – when I attended the first one, I knew it was an event that would only continue to grow. Year three proved to be the biggest one yet. There’s nothing like it!
Take a look through my previous coverage of the fest but, in a nutshell, MSD is a peace festival, colour fest, and food drive, partly inspired by the Indian celebration Holi. This year, food was collected to donate to Living Rock. This year’s festival also raised funds for the McMaster Children’s Hospital, with the addition of the Temple of Creativity. If you made a donation, you were given art supplies to create away!
The previous two years, we lucked out with sunny weather right from the get-go, but this year it was a little touch-and-go, with a cloudy morning and periodic sprinkles of rain. But by a couple of hours into the fest, the sun broke, much to everyone’s relief.
Except for a few more raindrops toward the evening, I really believe it was everyone’s positive energy that kept the rain at bay. A little rain wouldn’t have stopped the most adventurous of colour-throwers, but it was much better with clear skies. The colour throws are an incredible sight!
MSD attracts all ages, pets, you name it. When I spoke with Mark on CFMU to promote the event, he spoke of the inclusiveness of MSD as a priority. Once again there were fantastic local vendors, food trucks, and live music throughout the day. Shout out to Eric Johnston who kept the energy going strong as the entertaining and positive host for the day.
Another element this year to diversify the music even more was the addition of DJs. It was awesome to see a colourful, dusty dance party erupt right in front of the iconic bandshell in the Park. The energy was incredible; I always feel so uplifted at this event. It really is something so unique and special.
Of course, I couldn’t leave without some food. Would you believe I had never tasted the “Peachy Blonde” from beloved food truck Jonny Blonde yet? Whoa, so good. And remember the episode of Eat St. they filmed last September? I just learned that their episode will air on the Food Network on October 18th. We’ll see if my cameo makes the cut!
If you haven’t yet experienced MSD – you simply must next year! Follow A Midsummer’s Dream for inspirational content in the meantime and mark your calendars for August 15, 2015.
Check out a short clip I put together from the day.
– Kristin
