Well, we did it! We pulled it off!
Never did I imagine, when Don suggested we do a Poetry Festival in Canandaigua, that it would get so big. But here we are, after a full day of poetry that segued nicely into a whole night of music and I couldn't be happier with the outcome!
A tremendous thank you to all the poets and musicians who came out to read and all of you who came out to listen or stayed to listen. I have never heard of large events such as this going off without so much as a glitch, but this one did. Not once did I have to resort to a Plan B ... everyone was there, on time, ready to go ... it was beyond my expectations, which makes me all the more grateful.
My one regret was that I didn't get to photograph everyone ... I felt a bit like a jumping bean most of the day flitting back up to the stage every fifteen minutes to announce the next poet. Maybe next year we should have everyone introduce themselves ... it's a thought I had ... what do you think? I think it would it make it flow better.
Scott and Don have heard nothing but good comments from the community & businesses in the area. There's even talk of moving the poetry festival up next year so we are less likely to run into the chilly evening we encountered last Saturday. Of course we don't want to run into steaming hot weather either, so it's a balance we'll have to work out. There's also talk of having a poetry stage at the Art Festival in Canandaigua to give people a preview.
Thanks so much to Don & Scott for all their hard work on the festival and to all the businesses and vendors who supported this event. Thanks to the city of Canandaigua for hosting this event. And thanks again to all the readers & musicians who put their time and energy into making this festival a smashing success!
I truly enjoyed getting to see this veritable smorgasbord of talent and passion. It was wonderful to be able to see and hear those of you I don't see very much, as well as those of you I see quite often. I feel like one of my main goals for the festival was to get poets together who don't always get to hear each other's work and I think that goal was accomplished beautifully.
Here's to next year!
