The second Annual Word on the Street Festival, Sunday afternoon, Sept. 23, was a success and an even bigger one than last year.
Not only did they have more vendors, more room for everyone, but also had more people. Organizer Colette Acheson estimated more than 3,000 took in the fun throughout the afternoon.
The sound of a clash of medieval arms ricocheted across the grounds as the U of L Medieval Club showed their skills.
Lethbridge improv troupe the Drama Nutz wandered through the audience playing a variety of Whose Line Is It Anyway-style improv games as children run through the crowd with their faces freshly painted.
The main tent featured a variety of authors reading from their latest works.
First Nations humourist Drew Hayden Taylor provided an insightful discussion on native humour, trickster characters and his book –“Motorcycles and Sweetgrass.”
Over at the panel tent there were informative discussions happening about quilting, gardening, writing in general and romance writing.
Clifford the Big Red Dog and Curious George wandered through the crowd entertaining the kids.
At the other end of the grounds, as they had blocked off a couple streets for the festival from Fifth Ave. South to Eighth Street surrounding the downtown branch of the library, there were numerous activities and speakers catering to kids and numerous different booths for arts organizations, French organizations, magazines and more.
Variety was the watchword for the musical entertainment as well, which wafted through the air from the stage’s Stafford Drive location.
Unfortunately I missed Karen Romanchuk and Jolene Draper, but was pleased to catch some First Nations history and folk songs and dancing from Curt Young and Jamie Medicine Crane.
Treeline and Shaela Miller with Tyler Bird on stand up bass, Taylor Ackerman on guitar and Clayton Smith in drums played an upbeat set of honky tonking country music and Miller and Ryan Dyck took turns singing lead vocals through a set of mostly originals.
I missed the Haiku Poetry Death Match as I was caught up in Drew Hayden Taylor’s presentation. But after that, Hippodrome provided the perfect recipe for dancing as they played a set of solid, brass filled set of R and B and disco. Erica Hunt and Shawna Romolliwa did the singing and dancing as there was no Juran Greene for this show.
The Bryant-Watson Duo (Pete Watson and Joel Bryant) performed an excellent set of folk, roots, classic rock and enjoyable originals plus a spirited version of the Allman Brothers’ “Rambling Man” on acoustic guitars.
The Drama Nutz entertained on stage as the Coal Creek Boys got set up and ready to introduce Lethbridge to their new lineup as Ryan Mildenburger and Evan Herbst joined founding members Johnpaul Smith and Dino Scavo on stage with Ryan Dyck playing pedal steel guitar.
Mildenberger fit right in, as well he should as he used to play with Smith and Scavo in pop-punk band Sleeping With Tuesday. His laid back feel and tender dynamics were just the right fit for the band’s music wh
ich began with “Mamma Please,” one of my favourites from their CD “Hard At It in Old Town,”plus a few other familiar tracks form the CD including the band’s namesake “Coal Creek,” and “Genie,” plus several new songs including one which they had never played live before.
Smith grinned he was glad “daddy could play for his kids.”
Local rock band Shocked Standards showed 15-year olds can really rock old school metal. They played a number of classic tracks from black Sabbath, Metallica and event threw in a spirited version of the theme from popular cartoon “Power Rangers.”
