My friend Linda and I went to the Folk Festival on Friday evening. Although we both love music, it was the shopping we had in mind. She was looking for a dress. I was on the hunt for dressy tees. We didn’t have tickets, so we were restricted to the Craft Village outside the fence. Presumably, the patrons who pay have a more upscale experience in the Artisan area. Perhaps the hip over the hippy?
I love this shopping experience. It’s the most eclectic collection of goods you have ever seen, in the most beautiful beachside setting you can imagine, all set to music. There are sculptured pipes and didgeridoos, funky clothing, jewellery, pottery and everything in between. One year I bought a tattoo sleeve. I have fooled many a friend when I’ve arrived with an arm festooned with flowers. Last night we were accompanied by the amazing vocals of Tift Merritt followed by the Great Lake Swimmers.
There were three booths that turned our fun evening into genuine joy and heaps of hilarity. The first and ultimate favourite was Scheherazade Banoo. Designer Farnaz creates magnificent tribal head dresses, which we of course had to try on. Thesis defence-wear perhaps?
The second booth that captured our imagination was Dropping Form Designs, they do feather and leather apparel and they too had some unique fashion – hand-painted fascinators with feather accents. One woman who had just bought a head piece from Farnaz, added a leather fascinator and looked fabulous.
The third booth we loved was called Raven’s Rest. Jennifer Conway is a mixed media artist. It was her handmade cards that drove us into hysterics. We were laughing so hard that we were attracting customers for her, or repelling them, not sure. One of her cards suited us to a tee: We are so hilarious. I feel bad for the people who don’t get to listen to our conversations and enjoy our hilariousness. We both bought three cards for ten bucks; it was hard to narrow down which three we wanted.
I bought a pretty lime green and purple sarong, but didn’t find any tops. Linda tried on several dresses, but brought home a prized head dress.