It's festival season !

Last summer, The Big Guy and I met a new couple when we shared a table one evening at a concert at our local winery. We had a lot in common - similar ages, incomes and backgrounds. Through the course of the evening we found we liked many of the same restaurants and enjoyed the same types of music.

Turned out they had only recently moved to the Mid-Atlantic area from Northwestern Canada. They had done a fair amount of exploring in the months they’d been here but were still looking for things to do.

When they asked what activities we enjoyed on the weekends, The Big Guy came up with describing us as “event people.” He went on to explain we enjoyed attending all-day festivals, street fairs and events of various kinds. Often attending several such events in the course of a weekend.

When I thought about it, that was an excellent description of our lifestyle. Both of our cars are constantly equipped with sun hats, folding chairs and a folding “bag table.” There’s a bottle of sunscreen in each car - “just in case.” I mean, you never know when you’ll stumble upon an event you just need to drop into and enjoy.

We rarely leave home on a weekend, even just to run errands, without packing a small cooler with water bottles, ice teas and some sodas. You definitely, never know when you’ll head back home.

This time of year, I keep a tote bag, referred to as my “black bag,” packed with event necessities. Those items include several pocket packs of cleansing wipes, tissues, a bag with a few plastic utensils like knives and forks and zip-lock bags, paper towels, a small sunscreen, an extra pair of sunglasses (I MUST have my shades and don’t take any chances!), a sodoku book for The Big Guy (and pencils) and a paper back for me. You can get a lot of reading done at an all-day music festival. There’s a lot of down time while one band breaks down and another sets up.

Like the cooler, my black bag normally runs with us whenever we leave the house on the weekend. We’ve been known to just stop by a park on a beautiful day and enjoy the sights. (My camera is almost always in my purse, anyway.)

This weekend marks the start of festival season in these parts, so I spent the day getting my black bag together. I am prepared for just about anything this weekend. Are you?

Enjoy your weekend