I am in the Kootenays, specifically Crawford Bay, a small tight community on the east Shore of Kootenay Lake. For those who have never travelled this way, along Hwy #6 to the Needles Ferry and on to Nakusp, then up, up to New Denver, traversing the Monashee and the Selkirk Mountain Ranges and then down to Kaslo on Kootenay Lake, it is a wild and beautiful drive. I drove on from Kaslo to Balfour to catch the ferry that crosses the lake in about 40 minutes, the longest free ferry ride in B.C., and arrived at Kootenay Bay some six hours after our departure from Vernon. The town of Crawford Bay is actually just down the road, about 15 minutes south of the ferry landing.
This is the big weekend for this town and surrounding area as the Starbelly Jam Music Festival, a remarkable annual music festival, kicks off on Friday evening for three days of eclectic, hectic and frenetic music. Styles range from blue grass to hip hop and everything you can imagine in between with 26 different acts performing over the weekend. The event is held in a big grassy sports field in the middle of town with a large stage at one end, with the dancing area right below the stage. People then spread out in a haphazard semi circle with chairs, blankets, shade umbrellas, ice chests, and picnic hampers ready to dance and enjoy.
And everyone dances, young, old, the able and infirm, sometimes for hours. It is a visual delight to watch so many people moving to the music, not caring in the least what they look like, as long as they are dancing to the beat of the music, whatever tempo that may be. There is another smaller stage for secondary groups and workshops that range from meditation and yoga to an African Stringed Shakers workshop featuring drumming techniques. Friday evening rocks on from 5 p.m. to midnight and Saturday is a full day from noon to 1:30 a.m. and then the program begins again Sunday at 10 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. It is truly a marathon of music and dance and fun.
Lots of kids are in evidence dancing with their moms and dads and attending the workshops and children’s shows and participating in the wild parade held on Sunday where everybody follows the clowns and jugglers around the grounds to the music, dressed up in the silliest outfits they can find. It is truly inspiring to see how different generations can laugh and play and dance together, even if it is only for a weekend.
I only attended for a short time, as the sun was too intense and there was very little shade, not good for some old folks like me, although it didn’t seem to stop some other elders who were dancing it up. Cooling down was an option with a mist tent and a revolving hose for everyone to get soaked and lots of cold clear water to fill up water bottles. And there must have been at least 50 vendors selling crafts of all sorts lining the perimeter of the field with another dozen food vendors offering fantastic choices from crepes to Vietnamese vermicelli salad. The whole area was very clean with lots of recycling and trash venues provided, and everyone respectful of keeping it that way, so unusual for a great crowd like that attending the festival.
This was the 14th Starbelly Jam Music Festival, mostly produced by volunteers from the community and another very successful weekend. If you ever get a chance to attend this event don’t miss it — it is a rare and unusual and joyful communal celebration of life. They have a website www.starbellyjam.org for more information.
If you have any comments or questions, please call me at 250-542-7928 or e-mail me at blackmail1@telus.net
Pat Black writes about issues of concern to seniors in the North Okanagan, appearing every other Sunday.
