Tuesday, July 15, 2014
My friend and I are “bug widows.” This term was coined by another friend last weekend as we headed off to attend Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia. “Thom and the bug widows” were on the road in search of great music, organic food, inspiration and a day in a park by the lake. And we had an amazing time. I could write a whole article on the Mariposa Folk Festival – Haliburton Winter Folk Camp – Haliburton County Folk Society connections. Many of the Mariposa performers have been to Haliburton and recognized us and have many fond stories to tell of their time in Haliburton. On the same day we went to the festival, our husbands, were off in search of butterflies (and dragonflies the day before). They spend many days and weekends out in the field observing, counting and recording numbers of butterflies and dragonflies. They care about how many they see of each kind of species. And they, and many others in this county, are really good at what they do. They hold the Canadian record for the number of species recorded in a single day for butterflies. So we don’t mind being bug widows. Our husbands love what they do and it makes a difference. And we have our own bug widow adventures. We are especially excited about the upcoming Dusk Dances that will be happening in Head Lake Park on Thursday July 17 – Sunday July 20. We love to volunteer for this event every year and are always excited to see the local piece. This year Heritage Ballet is presenting a piece called Evenfall and it is about the light from the moon that draws out all of the evening moths and the beautiful Luna Moth. I just love how these pieces give our local kids a chance to dance in and connect to nature. Many people don’t have the same kind of admiration for moths as they do for butterflies. And yet they are beautiful and the Luna Moth is a sight to behold. They have these long trailing hindwings and they are the most beautiful lime green colour. They are found in Canada from the Maritime provinces to Saskatchewan and they make their homes among deciduous trees. Luna Moths are active at night in spring and early summer. The bug widows are hoping their husbands will go on a date with them and watch these beautiful young dancers express the enchanting and delicate beauty of the Luna Moth. Dance inspired by bugs - who won’t love that! Dusk Dances starts each evening with a free workshop by the Rails End Gallery from 6:00 – 6:45. The opening band starts at 7 and this year we have Phil McMahon and the Boggy Road Band. The dances start at 7:30 and our wonderful and funny host, Dan Watson, is returning. Admission is by donation. This is a wonderful family friendly event. Hope to see you there.