International Jazz Festival

So this is concert week on the blog I think, ha ha.

A few weekends ago Jonathan treated me to a massive treat...
a jazz festival in Toronto...

The 23rd Annual Beaches International Jazz Festival to be exact.

It happened like this...
we were in Toronto 3 days prior for the amazing U2 concert
and before heading back home we went for lunch
at which point I saw posters for the upcoming weekends International Jazz Fest...
Well my sweet-as-pie honey said that I looked at that poster so longingly, ha ha...

and that enough was enough, that the rabbits would be fine with their babysitter
and that he was taking his jazz nut to that festival because I've missed enough jazz in the city....
Awwww, I know I know, ha ha.... 

So we made the 4 hours trek down South once again.

It wasn't at all what I expected and was a hundred times better than anything I could of dreamt.

Let me share some of my favourite shots of the weekend
and show you who we were lucky enough to see...

The super talented Anne Lindsay started us off...

(Jonathan took some high def video that you can see right here)

Than we saw the awesome blues duo Braithwaite & Whiteley

(Check out the hd vid here)

Than the dizzying Yoel Diaz Quartet from Cuba...

(Check out the video we took right here...the keyboard-ist is super talented & super fast)

Than we really enjoyed Raoul & The Big Time

They were another blues band & put on a great show......

 

(Watch some groovy video here to see why we enjoyed them so much)

Than we took in and grooved to the funky funk band called Planet Earth with Ron Little Jon...

(Check out the video Jon took of them, right here, they were really cool)

Than we were amazed by the ultra talented Yiannis Kapoulas...

beautiful music with an Egyptian vibe to it...
(I think his will be one of the next cd's I order.)

(Check out the video from my honey, right here, you'll be amazed).

THAN....

One of THEE BEST shows we've yet to see...

An awesome funk group from New Orleans

Big Sam's Funky Nation

They just so completely rocked the stage and turned the whole scene into a dance party

Jonathan lost his voice, I almost knocked down a metal fence, ha ha...

Dude rocked that trombone, holy smokes!!!

I admit I was quite smitten, ha ha

And they had one of thee best bassist ever.

They engaged the crowd & had top energy through the whole show, like we've never seen before.

Wow.

You gotta check out the video of them, right here.
(Though it doesn't do them justice & unfortunately our camcorder died on us so we couldn't get much).


Well, that was my first ever Jazz Festival...I'll never forget this weekend, not ever...

Toronto is so insanely lucky to have this event every year...
(When we lived in TO for 5 years I wasn't a jazz nut so I didn't eve know this event was taking place!)

we only got to enjoy 2 days out of 10 but it's certainly better than nothing because I think the last

jazz concert I super enjoyed/saw was in PEI 7 years ago!

I usually just crank it out in my studio stereo...

Jazz calms me down & gets into my soul like something velvety soft.

These are some of my favourite shots amongst over 500 photos, ha ha.

Thanks for having a look....and don't forget to boogey to the videos.

XO A Jazz Happy Mandy XO

A Weekend Festival

Last weekend, Friday through to Sunday Jonathan and I enjoyed a little festival that happens every year in our little city that is only a 20 minute walk from our house...

...Fairs & festivals are an odd mixture to me, one of excitement and a lovely buzz of bodies, lights & movement but also I always find an air of eeriness floating about and sometimes there is a hint of desperation, especially when the carny folk start beckoning & taunting you to play their games...

...I wanted to share some of my favourite shots from the weekend...

It was a good time including a concert by David Usher & my favourite part of the whole thing, an outdoor movie showing of "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs", complete with a handsome sweetie beside me, a cozy soft blanket to keep warm and hold hands under & of course a whippy:D....

Hope your summer weekends are finding you amid oodles of fun.  XO M & The Buns.

The Past Civic Long Weekend!

Okay so quite abit late with these photos ha ha...but I just got around to adjusting them etc and I love these shots so I really wanted to share them with you all. I find I am so very very content lately, sitting on my computer, playing around with my photos with music blasting...I feel at home...I feel cozy and than I hit a really great shot and my heart dances...so maybe I defiantly should look into opening a photography shop sooner than later!!! We'll see... Anyhow...During a long weekend this past summer, our little city of North Bay had it's annual summer festival. Jonathan and I always walk down, spend the day hand in hand enjoying the bustle and crowds (and avoiding the petting zoo)...these are my favourite shots from that weekend festival... I do love taking shots of really cute houses...so I snuck a couple on the way there... ...and than we hit the festival area...

I think these are some of my favourite shots of the whole year!...

...and a couple more cute abodes on the walk back home:D...

I think perhaps my achy body and head are already longing for the warmer days of summer past!!! Oh Oh...and we're only at -8 so far soon enough it'll be the -30's! But than we'll have the warm coziness of xmas decorations to help us past that chill:D

Be Well all...Be Well...may memories of perfect and lovely summer days past embrace you with inner smiles, warmth and remind you of the happiness in that exact moment of where you were.....and perhaps of where you currently are:D XO Mandy.