A day “adventure” in the hills of Saskatchewan’s great South Country

The weekend was coming and plans were made for a day outing.

My partner and I had been interested in the Campagne Farm Fest, a folk music festival on a farm near Willow Bunch. Saskatchewan’s Connie Kaldor of Wood River fame was a big draw, as were the 11 other musicians listed on the website.

Neither of us could find a schedule of events. The spot on the website for the schedule was empty. An email, two days before the event, was never answered.

My partner was hesitant to go without a schedule. We were driving down on the Saturday, planning to leave in time to get home before dark. We don’t like driving in the dark on unfamiliar roads.

With all those groups, I told my partner, there just had to be an afternoon of music. “Let’s look at it as an adventure like we used to do.” Besides we like supporting rural festivals.

She agreed. We arrived a little after noon when things were supposed to start. Yours Truly paid our admission fee and we found a spot to park. I glanced at the printed program we got when paying.

Two acts were scheduled for the afternoon. Darn! We decided to make the best of it listening to the sound checks, walking over to the market where CDs, pottery, jewelry and a herbal condiment called ghee were on sale. We ran into a friend from Moose Jaw who cautioned us at least half the music would be French. We had expected that. My partner and I agreed to stay until the two entertainers at 2:20 and 3 p.m. were done.

The Campagne farm, located on a high hill, overlooks Montague Lake, near the St. Victor Petroglyphs. The view of the lake and the coulee towards it are gorgeous.

Yours Truly walked partly down the freshly mowed walkway to the coulee making good use of my camera.

Clusters of tents and single tents had popped up all over the sprawling farm site. Rec vehicles squeezed in between grain bins and old buildings.

A few folks walked around. Most, it seemed, were having a mid-day siesta in the heat.

It is a great way for a camper to spend time relaxing on a real farm and experience the fresh air, songbirds, the night time howling of coyotes and musical fun. Good for this family to share their place with others. We waited in the air conditioning of our vehicle. Just before 2 p.m. a dark cloud formed to the northwest. We were informed these clouds always go around the farm, not leaving a drop of rain.

Time got to 2:30. No entertainer yet and no announcement. At three there was still no sign of any. We left.

In our work backgrounds deadlines were sacrosanct. You missed them at your own peril, something we still cling to.

On the way back, Yours Truly offered to buy us an ice cream at that neat retro diner, CruzIn at Assiniboia.

My partner laughed. “You have no money. You spent it all on a music fest with no music.”

She did buy us an early supper at CruzIn. Neither of us is knocking the festival. We’re sure everybody else there had a great time.

We learned a lesson. If an event organizer can’t be bothered in advance to provide a schedule, we will not bother to attend.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net