Category: Comics

I hate to end on a negative note, but my last couple drawings are of the potential dangers of Folk Fest. First, the after-effects:

Then, this drawing, which is meant to be part of my friend Tara’s list of Top Ten Folk Fest Hazards. Hopefully she will at some point post these online for all to see. For now, here is my contribution.

This year, Geoff Berner played again. I think I am in love with him. He is so sarcastic and rude! And bitter! What’s not to love? I drew this while he was singing his global warming song and everyone was dancing.

I am also in love with Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. The Reverend and his wife, Washboard Breezy, are two of the most talented and hottest performers I have ever seen. The Reverend is the only man with a giant beard that I have ever found sexy. Breezy lit her washboard on fire!!

This, and the fact that I am hesitant to buy CD’s at Folk Fest (explained in next entry), led me and my friend Tara to get our cleavage signed by the Rev and Breezy.

One of the best things about the Folk Fest is the dancing. It’s also one of the funniest things. I love the dancing because what could be better than dancing in a park with happy people to beautiful music surrounded by mountains and ocean? And then on the other hand, what could be funnier than earnest people who rarely dance totally letting loose?

These are some classic Folk Fest moves:

Free flow by pretty, well-groomed middle-aged blonde women who probably live in Kits or Point Grey or maybe in an East Van heritage house and do lots of yoga and like to connect with their inner sensual selves at Folk Fest:

And all the moves by this guy– he cracks me up because he is so serious!! He skips through the crowd–skips!– with this incongrous earnest expression on his face.

And then, heartwarming and funny– these guys generally wear socks with their shorts and look a little lost but super happy:

I like to think I coined the term “paper blog”– my first try at a paper blog was at Northern Voice 2009. I got out the paper and pen again this past weekend for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

Here I am, hard at work near Stage 2 (thanks Michele Brayton for the photo).

I am using this cute little book from my friend Eve Corbel. It has a lovely magnetic clasp that clicks in a satisfying way, and lined paper. I like drawing on lined paper. The book is from Paper Blanks, the Lyon Florals series, if you must know.

I’ll divide these up into a couple posts. First of all, let me say that I have gone to the VFMF almost every year since 1993– that is actually a lot less than many of my friends. I worked at Sage’s Kitchen the first year, a fundraiser for the now defunct Vancouver Lesbian Connection. After that I volunteered for five years on the Recycling Crew. The Folk Fest has always been such a lesbianic thing for me– and it was again, this year. Connecting with all my dyke friends, being openly affectionate without fear. I did find that the beer garden and the police presence this year kind of put a damper on things, but it still was awesome. All the following sort of poking fun stuff is done with a lot of affection for the old VFMF.

So here is my first “post,” drawn Saturday morning. Things I expect to experience on Folk Fest weekend… I didn’t erase the page edges so that you can tell it really was done on paper. 🙂

I loved illustrating this post by my friend Alexandra Samuel.