Greenbridge Celtic Folkfest

In case you thought me too grouchy.....I'm happy to spread the word about a positive event - Greenbridge!

Perhaps you've already been to a concert with Natalie MacMaster and/or her husband, Donnell Leahy. She's from the very musical MacMaster family of Cape Breton, He's no slouch either. Many years ago we saw him perform here in Ottawa, as part of his family's musical act - The Leahy Family.  They're  from just outside of Peterborough. Together MacMaster and Leahy are a force to be reckoned with.

They are the masterminds behind Greenbridge, a new outdoor summer music festival, which we attended in August.  It's held on a magnificent property in Keene, just east of Peterborough. This was just its second year. Click here to go to their website.

                     The festival is mostly fiddle music but there were a variety of musical acts.

One of the most memorable performances I've ever seen was from a Boogie Woogie piano player named Jason D. Williams. Words can't adequately describe his act. You'll have to google him to watch him play... with his feet, upside down - he's a real character.

The last act of the evening was Natalie and Donnell. Just watching them would have been enough. I didn't expect their kids to come out at that point. They had already performed in the afternoon and now it was already 10 pm. But out they came. MacMaster and Leahy are now the parents of seven children. Five of those kids performed at Greenbridge. They step dance, play fiddle, sing and some of them also play piano! The phrase "talented family" doesn't even begin to describe them.

The day after the festival we got talking about security on the festival site, as in, where was it? It's true that we spoke to a firefighter,  but he was mostly letting little kids see the fire truck. There weren't police officers and security people to be seen because it just wasn't that kind of event. Yes, there were two bars on site but it never got rowdy. This was a summer music festival with a difference. It was extremely relaxed and friendly, starting with the volunteers who met us on the way to the parking lot.

If you want to attend a summer music festival with a laid back atmosphere, in a lovely setting, with good food options and outstanding musicians, head to Greenbridge at the end of next August. You won't be disappointed.

Michael Moore

If you're not a Michel Moore fan, you'll want to skip this post. I love the guy and look forward to seeing his latest movie, which premieres at TIFF tonight. Sure hope that this will make a difference in November. Here's the message he sent out today. FAHRENHEIT 11/9...a note from Michael Moore In my lifetime, I've had maybe only a dozen days like the one I've woken up to this morning. It's the day that a new film of mine will have its World Premiere, and that is what will happen tonight for FAHRENHEIT 11/9 at the Opening Night kick-off of the Toronto International Film Festival, North America's premiere film event. I am just hours away from that moment when the lights will dim, the curtain will rise and my work, with all its revelations and warnings and dangerous ideas -- well, dangerous politically to a President who has no intention of ever leaving office unless the Secret Service physically drags him out of there -- will be shared with the world. This siren call of a movie is my contribution to ignite the fire underneath a despairing, dispirited public who must -- MUST -- do its job and end the madness at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I have spent the better part of this year constructing a film that will not only explain how the @#&% we ended up with Trump, but also help show us the way out. I must warn you -- I do not pull ANY punches in the film. No one is spared - not even me. It is already being talked about as one of the most anticipated films of the fall, and just yesterday, this wonderful piece was published in The Hollywood Reporter! This film is THE moment of truth we've all needed for sometime, and I truly believe its release nationwide on Sept. 21st will be the real beginning of the end for Donald J. Trump (and perhaps, more importantly, the eventual end of the rotten, corrupt system that gave us Trump in the first place). I also believe we have, as we approach November 6th, a massive tsunami of women, young people and people of color (i.e., TWO-THIRDS of the American public) who maybe -- just maybe -- will drown the whole stinkin' lot of them in a record number of ballots for a midterm election. But this will not happen on its own -- and any early celebrations of victory like those that happened in 2016, are sure to keep the Republicans in power for years to come. Donald J. Trump did not just fall from the sky. His rise to the presidency was not an aberration and should not have come as a shock. It was the logical end result of a long, downward spiral in America that culminated in one of our most loathsome citizens conquering our most powerful office. One of our most deceptive minds, commanding the bully pulpit. One of our most fraudulent hucksters, armed with the powers of the presidency to protect him. Ever since that fateful morning at 2:29 AM on 11/9/16 when the Associated Press officially called the election for our nation’s new leader, we have been trying to save what's left of our democracy. This is not a film telling you what a jerk Donald Trump is or what an buffoon Donald Trump is or what a liar Donald Trump is. You already know all that. Everybody already knows all that (except for your conservative brother-in-law whose mind you’ll never be able to change). I wouldn’t waste your time or my time making that kind of film. And with all due respect to your conservative brother-in-law, we don’t need him. We’re the majority in this country, he’s the minority, he knows it and that’s why he’s so mad! Instead, my team and I have been on a mission to tell a much, much more important story. It’s a story about hope... and what comes after it. It’s a story about deception and betrayal. It’s a story about what happens to people when they’ve hit rock bottom. It’s the story about who we are as a people and what it means to be an American in the era of Donald J. Trump. Finally, it’s a story about where we might be heading as a society. My crew and I have moved heaven and earth to make sure we deliver this film to you in time to have an impact on this year's midterm elections. I’m excited to announce to you that “Fahrenheit 11/9” will open in more movie theaters than any of my previous films -- over 1,500 theaters across America! (It will also be opening in dozens of countries around the world.) We open nationwide on September 21st, 45 days before the most important election in American history (and with voter registration still open nationwide!). I’m writing you today because I need your help. I’ve made a film that was meant to be seen on a big screen, in a dark theater, filled with a hundred strangers. My hope is that you will experience the magic of cinema the way it was meant to be experienced, in a movie theater. It's the best way to truly feel the big story I'm telling you. Any bit of anger, despair, or frustration you’ve felt over the past few years must be channeled into action this fall! I am on my way to Toronto. I don't have to make a run for the border a la "The Handmaid's Tale" -- yet. For tonight, I'll just be showing a movie. Then on Monday night in Flint, I will hold the US premiere of FAHRENHEIT 11/9. After that, everyone will have the chance to see it. We are the majority -- never forget that. But we need to rise up. That’s the only way out of this mess. All my best, Michael Moore Mike@michaelmoore.com P. S. I'll bring you into the world premiere tonight via Facebook Live just before 11pm ET.