Rich bounty

Prince Edward County is truly a special place. While true all the time, it is particularly so this time of year. The tomatoes are ripening, the cucumbers plentiful and even the corn, despite a long dry patch, is proving its resilience in every tasty, sweet kernel.

But summer in the County is also when some pretty great arts events bloom.

Festival Players is having a superb season. The writing is strong. The performances have been remarkable and the staging—in intimate and uniquely County settings including Mt. Tabor, Osterhout Hall at Fields on West Lake, and amid the vines at Rosehall Run Winery—have enriched each production, adding ambiance and dimension to the storytelling.

Festival Players seems, in its sixth season, through its selection of plays and talent, to have found a sure-footed confidence in its voice and its appeal to this audience. While in earlier seasons the Festival seemed at times on uncertain ground—veering unpredictably from the thick and heavy to the saccharine and fluffy, albeit with some good work in between—this season has hit the all the right notes, with each production. This despite offering three very different stories.

Michel Tremblay’s For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again was a moving, intimate and very funny recreation of a series of conversations between mother and son. In the Wake was a sharply innovative and skillfully presented work that had a profound effect on the fortunate audiences who managed to catch one of just seven performances. Harvest, running until August 25, is a light hearted, yet highly entertaining look at the difficulty in letting go of the physical things that remind us of our connection to family, history and identity.

The confident stride demonstrated by Festival Players this season was borne out by the simple yet elegant productions. This confidence enabled the talent of the performers and the magic of the words to rise above the theatrical apparatus. I look forward with eager anticipation to see what Festival Players has planned for next year. Until then you still have a couple of weeks to catch Harvest at Rosehall Run before it closes on August 25.

Just when you begin to realize this community enjoys artistic riches beyond its size, we turn to welcome great jazz performers to County stages.

The world’s finest flugel horn player Guido Basso and award winning trombonist Russ Little kick things off tonight at the Waring House. On Thursday Emilie Claire Barlow makes her first appearance at this festival. New York City legend Louis Hayes brings renowned sax player Vincent Herring and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt to Picton on Friday to reincarnate the musical triumph of Cannonball Adderley. On Saturday, some of Canada’s best players gather for a tribute to pianist George Shearing. Then on Sunday night The Boss Brass reunite for one very special show.

Since Rob McConnell passed away, too soon, in 2010, his band has remained silent—each performer pursuing individual musical paths. For three decades The Boss Brass created a distinctive sound that bridged traditions, styles and music lovers of all kinds. The Boss Brass would earn three Grammys and five Juno Awards along the way of their illustrious career.

The original members of The Boss Brass felt, along with Rob McConnell’s family, that the time was right to come together once more—to honour McConnell’s memory and immerse themselves again in this wonderful music. We are remarkably blessed they have chosen to do so in Prince Edward County.

Scattered among these feature performances are dozens of wonderful musical events at a variety of venues across the County. You can wake up with jazz at the Wellington Farmers Market on Saturday morning and carry on listening to great music into the wee hours of the County night. The next morning you can get up early for a jazz mass at St. Mary Magdalene in Picton. Great music will be all around us for the next five days. It is a breathtaking lineup that has been brought to our doorstep.

Consider setting aside your normal routine for a few days. See a play. Take in a concert. An astonishing array of talent has come to the County to entertain us. We dare not miss this exceptional time in Prince Edward County.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca