As mentioned in the last post, many communities are trying to develop a tourism industry in their towns. English Harbour has their Arts Centre, Trinity has their summer pageant, Fogo Island has the Fogo Island Hotel, Twillingate has their Dinner Theatre and Burlington has The Gathering, a music and food festival. We had heard about The Gathering years ago while we lived in Ontario. I had Burlington on my list of places to visit while here so we bought tickets for this festival and registered to park our camper in town and off we went. The theme of the festival is 'Ome Sweet 'Ome. Shaun Majumder and the community of Burlington has built this festival over a number of years. It was quite an experience! A very enjoyable weekend, indeed.
Burlington has a population of approximately 350. It has a lighthouse close to the water in which tourists can stay overnight and along the main street it has the town hall/community centre, the fire department, a one-pump gas station and an unmarked general store. Since starting their community initiatives, they have built a viable greenhouse and the Gathering grounds with a stage.
The people of Burlington were very friendly and accommodating. If you had ever watched the show "Majumder Manor", you would have already met some of the people of Burlington. This year Shaun's sister Rani headed the organizing of The Gathering along with many others. Donna was there organizing the many volunteers from Burlington and the neighbouring towns of Middle Arm and Smith's Harbour. Rudy "Counting the pennies" Norman was there introducing acts, greeting people and other duties. It was tremendous to see them all come together and show the world great hospitality. On Thursday evening, Middle Arm hosted a Jiggs Dinner and the Comedy Show.
Burlington
is too small and too “off the beaten track” to have an official
campground or RV park. That was one of
the challenges the organizers had to overcome.
Although there is a campground about 20 minutes drive away, they knew
that people would want to be close to the centre of the action. Homeowners were asked to allow RVs to set up
on their property and plug into their electrical outlets and water
sources. In return, they received some
compensation from the Town or the organizers.
Some residents whose homes were in the prime area were not in town (or
maybe left to avoid the crowds?) allowed RVs to park in their driveways and use
their utilities. Another area was set up
as “Tent City”.
The first night. The next night we moved across the street to a driveway where we could be hooked up to electricity.
Across the street. We stayed in the driveway of a kind resident. There were four other RVs in the same driveway.
Tent City across the Bay next to the cemetery
A local bus
company provided shuttle buses between Middle Arm, Tent City and Burlington.
As you might
expect, an influx of 100 vehicles or more and many people could overwhelm
the area and the limited facilities of a small town, but everyone worked
together and built on the experience of hosting this event for the previous 4
years to make sure that things ran as smoothly as possible.
We arrived
just in time to park our van and trailer, then get on the bus to take us to
Middle Arm for the Jigg’s Supper. The
hall held about 300 people and we finally got to experience a Jigg’s Supper. See a previous post concerning a Jiggs Dinner.
The Jiggs Dinner we had at The Gathering
After
dinner, instead of waiting for the buses to take us to the location of the
comedy show, we started to walk there.
The road got steeper and steeper and we decided to try and hitch a
ride. We were picked up by the first car
that passed, which turned out to be driven by the school principal who was on
her way there to turn on the Wi-Fi for the organizers to use. It was a lucky break for us, since we were
able to get in line before the main group arrived and once the doors opened,
were able to sit in the second row. As
it turned out, the front row, which was reserved, held members of the
performers’ families and the current premier, Dwight Ball, who sat right in
front of us.
The show was
quite funny, with Shaun Majumder as emcee and featuring Mark Critch, Matt Wright and Ron
James. Near the beginning, Shaun asked
the crowd who was in Newfoundland for the first time. Bev raised her hand and since we were
seated near the front, Shaun singled her out and asked where she was from. When she said that we had been in
Newfoundland for nearly 3 months and were not exactly new to the province, he
took a few verbal shots at her, to the delight of the crowd.
Ron James Mark Critch Matt Wright
Premier Dwight Ball and his doppelganger (Mark Critch)
The
comedians mocked and spoofed the premier, as well as Donald Trump. There was to be another
show after the one we attended and we pitied the tent campers, for by the time
it would have ended, it was raining hard.
The next day
featured a Chef’s Hike and a Brook Picnic which we did not take part in. They both involved a short hike to either a
secluded beach or alongside a brook where a famous Newfoundland chef cooked up
a fine meal over an open fire. A couple
of musicians also attended and entertained the participants with their guitars.
Beginning in
the afternoons, various young emerging talented singers and guitar and fiddle
players took the stage. Later in the
evenings and up to about 11 p.m., more famous bands and groups performed. Some of these groups were Fergus and Jim, The
Once, The Dardenelles, Sherman Downey, Kim Harris, The Navigators, Bay Loretta (or should I say, Hey Rosetta).
Bev and Al's favourite group: The Once
Another top pick was young musician: Christian House. We loved his guitar playing
Again on the
second night, the skies opened up after the performances were over, but we were
snug in our camper by that time. We did feel sorry for the tent campers but we still slept soundly.
Finally, on
the third day, the weather co-operated and the skies cleared and the air
warmed. Combined with the featured
bands, it made for a good wrap-up to the festival.
A beautiful evening sky even though it was cloudy
Red Sky at night, sailor's delight
Lighthouse has one bedroom in it that can be rented out. Overlooks the Gathering grounds. A great view of the stage!
Shaun and
the other residents of Burlington and area are to be commended for organizing
this event year after year. The intent
is to breathe some more life into these somewhat isolated communities and
encourage them to develop a tourism industry that lasts all summer and perhaps
longer.
We would like to revisit Burlington to see what it is really like without all the streets lined with vehicles and many, many driveways filled with RVs. We will have to see if we can make it there before we head off to our year in Nova Scotia. Maybe we can stay at the lighthouse!
More photos of the festival:
Hummock View Greens (greenhouse): One of the community initiatives
Rudy introducing the next act.
The sky was always a threat but it only rained at night
Old sled on the rocks at the Bay
Old derelict wharf. This was our view from the driveway we were parked for two nights.
A classic!
The lighthouse in front of the Gathering grounds.
The "Jelly Bean Row" of Toilets. Even the portable toilets are colourful!
A boat on the pond
The pond at Burlington
A sample of Gourmet food made by Chefs from around Newfoundland
A & P enjoying a Newfoundland dessert and the music.
The Gathering grounds. Under the white canopy is where the Chefs are cooking.
Another look at the Gathering grounds. The stage is immediately to the right.
An abandoned shed
The drone taking pictures of the event.
The campfire on the Gathering grounds.
Shaun introducing....
... Miss Newfoundland 2016
The miniature house on the bay symbolizes the light in the community and reminds
the people of Newfoundland that small towns don't need to resettle but can
show their strength in building a viable community. Each night Shaun and a few assistants went out by boat to light the candles in the house.
Each morning we were greeted by the sound of a rooster crowing although it liked crowing any time of the day.
Photo of Smith's Harbour just down the road from Burlington
Opening of Smith's Harbour
Sheds on the banks of the harbour
What an easy life!
Along the road from Burlington to Smith's Harbour
Bridge at the end of Middle Arm which is on the other side of Burlington
Wild flowers
Nature is artistic!
A small waterfall we found in Middle Arm
In and.....
...Out.
Drumming to the beat
Boat filled with plants (This was beside the stage)
Miss Newfoundland 2016, now were getting the real scoop of life on the Rock.
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