A large crowd attended Vavenby’s seventh Becoming Shiloh music festival Aug. 8, 9 and 10. It was held again at Shirley de Vooght’s Serenity Acres. This is a weekend of wonderful music, worship, and fellowship. Camping was free at Serenity.
All of the musicians camped and a lot of the audience did too. A breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausages, and bacon, made by Wilf Rothwell and Bob Rexin, and coffee made by Bob Foulkes, was provided for the performers each morning. The Wandering Moose (the name for The Strawberry Moose when it is on the move) provided a concession for lunches and dinners. A lot of water and pop was sold. Anyone needing first aid could also go to the Wandering Moose.
Vavenby’s group Contender started the event off on Friday evening. The group is made up of Wilf and Colleen Rothwell, their daughters Erin Dawson and Crystall Braaten, and John Gerber. Braaten came home from where she now lives in Alberta to play with Contender.
Russ Rosen’s group was on stage next and ended the evening. It was beginning to cool down so Rosen got people onto their feet, teaching them to dance the Tennessee Wig Walk and to do a square dance. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday and Sunday were extremely hot. Ben Atkinson, from Delta, B.C., one of the people in charge of the sound booth as well as performing, said that it was more difficult to play in the heat, “But the show must go on.” Playing and singing added to the heat so the musicians needed to drink lots of water.
Saturday morning started off with worship and ministry. Performances began at 1 p.m. and went until 9 p.m. Psalm 91 was first on stage, followed by Chris Lemky and his group, This Old Mountain, then Ken and Deb Ermter. The Ermters were joined during their performance by others, such as Gilles Leger from Avola and the group She Says Electric. She Says Electric ended the day with songs sung to a rising moon.
Sunday morning started off with Shiloh’s Chapel. It was a peaceful setting as the flow of the North Thompson River could be heard in the background. Rosen led the music and shared the message. After the message Dawson asked for a special prayer for two young women who she felt she had mentored when they were younger and who were both beginning on a new journey in their lives. One of the women, Vienna Moilliet, left for the Philippines on Wednesday, Aug. 13, to learn to be a midwife and missionary. Moilliet has delivered lots of lambs in her life. In 2 ½ years she’ll be able to deliver human babies.
Becoming Shiloh ended with two more groups. The first was Barclay West playing his guitar. He asked Leger to play his harmonica with him. Barclay said that his music was going to be a worship jam. He added members from other groups as well.
The last group to perform was made up of members of Vavenby Christian Church (VCC), with Curtis Fast filling in on drums. John Gerber led Seth, Isaac, and Vienna Moilliet, and Brandon Toscano. Lisa Wilkinson and Valerie Gerber also performed.
This year groups on the stage would call upon others to perform with them, sometimes a whole group, sometimes various members. Leger and his “mean” harmonica was often asked to play. Chris Lemky, leader of This Old Mountain, mentioned that for a performer to play with another group without any or very little practice he/she has to be a good musician and a good listener.
Approximately 30 people from out of town attended. Natasha Krause came from Vancouver specifically to see Becoming Shiloh. She had met Dawson, one of the organizers, at a conference two years ago and asked her to keep in touch about it.
A lot of children were present. They loved playing, waving flags, dancing and swaying to the music, and feeding the horses that were across the fence handfuls of grass.
Because of the heat a favourite spot for children and adults was the outside tap and bucket placed underneath it. The children would put their heads right into the bucket while the men put theirs under the flow of water from the tap.
One booth on-site sold crafts made in Africa by female artisans in poor villages. The money vendor Suzanne Jones made would send her back to Africa to buy more crafts to sell in Canada. The money she paid the artisans for their work was usually more than they otherwise saw in a year. The booth was called TWiGZ Creations. For more information go to www.twigzcreations.com.
Party held for former store owner
On Saturday, Aug. 2, Val Bellows held a community get-together for Debbie Barrett, the former owner of Vavenby General Store. Approximately 14 adults and seven children attended, all bringing finger foods to share. There was a lot of fun, reminiscing, and laughter throughout the party.
Thirteen year old Cadence Busse did a great job of playing with the younger children and keeping them entertained.
Barrett is living in Cranbrook and works as an office manager for an auto-body shop. She has been there a year. Barrett loves living in Cranbrook – except when she gets lost.
Sandy Kalanchey, a resident of Vavenby for three years, came to the party to meet more people. She and her husband moved here from Calgary so she could live closer to her sister. Kalanchey said, “We absolutely love it here – the quiet, the mountains, the fresh air, and the people.”
