by Jessica Nyznik
Rain and lightning meant an early end to the Hootenanny on Hunter Saturday night - and no performance by Canadian rock icons Sloan - but the outdoor event managed to beat the weather long enough for a lot of music fans.
Stumbling upon the Hootenanny on Hunter was a bit like déjà vu for a Campbellcroft couple Saturday.
Monique Coll-Cox and Rob Cox tried to park on Hunter St. last year when they came to the city for dinner, but the street was closed. So they wandered into the Hootenanny, ate dinner and danced in the street to live music.
Then this year, the same thing happened again when they tried to turn into Hunter St. to go for dinner.
But this time, Coll-Cox got her groove on first.
She handed off her purse to her husband and danced with no inhibitions to Jack Rabbit Slims, a Quentin Tarantino film soundtrack cover band. “My motto is dance like nobody is watching, so I do that,” Coll-Cox said.
While Cox and his wife just happened upon the Hootenanny for the second year, two Toronto residents made plans around it.
Barbara Marten and Betty Anne Butcher also discovered the event last year.
They were having a girls’ weekend at Marten’s cottage on Chemong Lake when they came across the festival.
And they had so much fun, they saved the date for their 2016 getaway.
“We enjoyed it last year so (we thought) let’s plan our girls weekend for Hootenanny weekend,” said Butcher.
The twosome arrived in time for Kate Suhr, who got through the majority of her set in dry weather.
“And then it started to pour,” said Butcher.
They waited out the rain at the mall, returning when the sun came out.
Though Toronto is filled with street festivals in the summer, Butcher said the Hootenanny has a different feel.
“It just feels a lot more welcoming. It’s more homey and safe,” she said.
Peterborough resident Lilli Fleming had plans to bring her daughters Charlotte, 5, and Gemma, 7, to the Hootenanny earlier Saturday, but the rain scared them off.
Heavy rain created a few snags for the event, with vendors packing it in early when it became too much and two bands were cancelled.
But as soon as the sun came out, the street slowly came to life and restaurant patios filled up for dinnertime.
That’s when Fleming and her girls made their way over from the west end.
“We love coming to the Hootenanny,” said Fleming, adding it’s the good food and music that brings them back.
While food vendor the Flying Chestnut had their attention for dinner, all music is dancing music for the Flemings.
“We love to dance with the kids,” she said.
NOTES: A new storm front later Saturday put the music on hold until the decision was made to shut down the stage. Rock band Sloan did not perform. The weather also led to an early end to the Musicfest show at Del Crary Park featuring Classic Albums Live’s Fleetwood Mac Rumours ... Sloan used Twitter to reveal that drummer Andrew Scott wasn't going to play Saturday night because of an injury, and would have been replaced by Taylor Knox for the show.
--taken from: The Peterborough Examiner
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