Every year since moving to Elora 11 years ago, our household has come face to face with a decision whenever August rolls around: to Riverfest or not to Riverfest?  When we first arrived here, sans kids, the decision was a no-brainer; a week-long concert taking place within walking distance to our home? Uh, yes please.  But when the littles arrived (love them to pieces) that changed, not so much our ability to partake in the festivities, but rather our willingness to.  Walking down the street when it’s it’s just the two of us adults is easy:  you put on your shoes, you leave the house.  With an infant or toddler, however, the leaving the house process has approximately 76 more steps to it, alongside no less than 12 pieces of luggage.  When they’re but wee babes, again not so bad once you’re there because they mostly sleep; once they reach the age of opinion, though, it’s suddenly too loud, too hot, too late, too boring, too busy, too weird, they’re hungry, they’re tired, they miss their friends, and eventually, they want money.  So, while going to a music festival down the road seems like the simplest choice one of us locals could possibly make, there are things to consider.

All things considered, though we may hem and haw about whether or not we should go, every year we reach the same conclusion and have yet to regret it – we buy our early bird tickets and mark the calendar for a weekend of, if nothing else, local adventure.  While the headliners may not always be my cup of tea, I find it hard to deny that seeing any artist live, in a crowd in a field, surrounding by good vibes, a babbling river, and beautiful art, is one the greatest enjoyments in this life.  And while kids add a layer of complexity and logistics, being awarded the opportunity to smile, laugh, sing and dance the day away with my girls is worth every last bit of patience I may find myself spending.  Do I absolutely love City and Colour?  Maybe not.  Do I know all the lyrics to every Sam Roberts tune?  Not totally.  Could I tell you the name of any other Wheatus track?  Not a chance.  Have I ever heard of Le Couleur prior to seeing them on the main stage?  Never.  But I can tell you that, in the case of the French-Canadian elector-pop, their sound and vibe was enough to get my daughter and I out of our chairs and positioned front and centre to dance with everything we had as they belted out what we would sadly come to learn was their final concert appearance ever.

Regardless of who you want to see, or why you want to go, the beauty of Riverfest, and I’m sure other festival of it’s kin, is that you are always poised to discover something new.  From the music, the food, the people and the community, in my experience people attend these types of events in order to have a positive time, submersing themselves into the things that bring them joy, and blocking out the outside world for at least a couple of days.  My heart was overjoyed this year that some very good friends were able to join us in the festivities and share along in what our friendly little community has managed to put together (a huge round of applause must be given to every single volunteer and organizer who dedicated so much to the event), and when I use the word ‘community’, I cannot underscore the meaning of that word enough.  Throughout the three days in attendance, I shared in dancing, stories and drinks with numerous neighbours, friends and pillars of our quaintly nestled town, which truly reminded of why I love living here so much.  Top off those interactions with what I can only describe as the most precious memory I captured throughout the whole weekend and I’d say that for us to not buy tickets every year going forward for as long as we are here would be nothing short of foolish.

Sitting in a fully relaxed state, the sun slowly setting, working in harmony with the clouds to cast their delicate shadows across a crowd of happy listeners, I watched as my daughters crossed paths with goods friends, and invited some new ones to join in a game that seemed a mix of tag and beach volleyball; each and every kid in the game laughing to a point that didn’t drown out the music, but rather complimented it in a way that could never be replicated.  The image of them joyfully and innocently running through that field is etched into my mind, with no need for any device to try and capture it.  No more words could even try.

With a mix of close friends, strong community, loving family and peaceful strangers, the weekend was a reminder that sometimes it’s best not to get too caught on the details.  It doesn’t ultimately matter who the bands are, if the weather is perfect, or that the tickets have gone up another $10.  Those aren’t the things I remember when I’m looking through my photos, or telling stories like this one.  Happy Riverfest, everyone,  the all-call is out there again for friends or family who wish to join us –  look forward to seeing you again, or meeting you for the very first time in 2026.