Tag Archives: Festivals

Fiesta Weekend, Feb. 7-12, 2020

11 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Peru

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This was the weekend of the annual fiesta in our neighborhood. The Virgin of Lourdes is the patroness of our area. A tiny chapel sits up on the hillside, and the larger chapel is at the end of our block. Every year a local resident sponsors the festival and organizes a weekend of activities.

This year the actual feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes is Feb. 11, but the event is held on a weekend to accommodate those who come from elsewhere. The weekend has become a homecoming for Chorrillanos (people who live on Chorrillos Beach), wherever they are.

There are religious observances, a novena the week preceding the festival, and various Masses dedicated to the Virgin celebrated in front of the chapel, followed by a procession with the statue through the neighborhood.

Events are designed to draw in neighbors and members of the larger Barranca community. Friday night was bingo under a canopy outside the chapel. The mountain of prizes took many games, lasting from about 7:30 pm until almost 11. I won a coffee maker! (Jonathan left after the first few games.) Other players won sets of glasses, dishes, and first class amenity kits courtesy of our friend who works at Iberia Airlines. One of the young men won a pink handbag with a kitty cat face on the front that was good for a lot of laughs from the crowd.

Saturday morning began with a walk from the chapel at our end of the beach to the top of the hill at the opposite end of the beach where a very tall statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooks the bay. It took a while for the group to gather, but this is the beach in summertime. The walk was lovely and many walkers commented on how long it had been since they had been up to see the view.

There were sports events including soccer and volleyball tournaments, though most people headed for the beach, especially visitors who live elsewhere and return to Barranca for a beach reunion, who wanted to make the most of their weekend. Our neighbor Miguel opened his beer and snacks kiosk, a most welcome addition to our end of the beach. The causa bites by Romina were delicious.

Activity picked up in the evening, when Mass was followed by the procession, then the chocolatada. As the name suggests, hot chocolate and sweet bread are distributed. This is a real favorite with children, and for many adults brings back memories of childhood when chocolate was a very special occasion treat.

The stage that had been sitting idle for the afternoon was now bustling with people setting up waaay too many amps, each about the size of a refrigerator, with cables and music stands. The next hour was entertainment by the local youth choir and orchestra. Though they deserved their moment in the spotlight, it might have been better for the young performers to appear at sunset, rather than later. The overall plan was to keep everyone awake until the fireworks at midnight and for that we needed some adult music. Sometime after 10 pm, music for dancing started up, and the neighborhood began to swing. By 12:30 or 1 am when the fireworks went off, only neighbors were left dancing, until sometime after 3 am when the music ended. We didn’t make it past the early evening, but we’re assured that there was dancing all night both at the stage, and up at the Hotel Chavin, where some neighbors danced and sang karaoke until very late.

The fireworks used for the fiesta are a “castillo” or castle, a tower of bamboo strapped with about forty different spinning or exploding elements. Once the castle is rigged on the sandy beach, it is set off piece by piece with a grand finale of twirling, fizzing, hissing pieces that makes an impressive display.

Saturday night went out with a bang, and Sunday came all too soon. We got a leisurely start, taking our walk along the beach when it was still largely empty, just the vendors and umbrella rental folks getting in position.

The Feast of the Virgin has often seemed like the hottest day of the summer, and this year was no exception. Though it has been overcast lately, the sun was bright and by mid-day there were flocks of people on the beach. At the same time, Sunday traditionally includes a demonstration of caballos de paso, and around 1 pm people migrated toward the chapel where the demonstration was to take place. Caballo de paso have a particular gait, or way of stepping, that is very smooth. A century ago, one version of the folkdance of the coast, “La Marinera,” has the lady dancing with the caballo de paso. Part of the fiesta has always been a demonstration of horsemanship, dancers doing the Marinera, and the dance of the lady and the horse. This year was no exception. Our neighbor Maria Luisa did the honors dancing with the caballo.

https://www.facebook.com/maria.lauezzari/videos/10157257638414072/

The greatest novelty of the riders this year was the presence of a woman among the group.

Once the dancing and horsemanship was complete, people returned to the beach, stopping at the kermes, food stalls that are usually part of the Sunday events. There was a long line for tacu tacu, the local specialty of rice and beans that often accompanies seafood.

Music throbs among several clubs on Sunday afternoons in the summer. Their parties run from about 3-10 pm, and the music booms over and over until evening and this Sunday was no exception. When we get tired of the noise we sit in the back yard enjoying the sun and the diminished hubbub.

The fiesta continued on Monday, because the actual feast day is Jan. 11, Tuesday. There was another mass, more hot chocolate, and a traditional serenade, with more planned for midnight. On Tuesday, the farewell mass was followed by a procession under the hot sun, before the statue of the Virgin returns to her chapel high on the hillside until next year.

Friends and family who have arrived from as far away as the US and Europe will generally stay for a while, enjoying their time catching up with those they haven’t seen in the past year. This is the height of summer vacation, and many of our neighbors who live in Lima are here for the month. Those who work try to stay an extra day when they can, and come out on the weekends. The result is a neighborhood of friendly faces, another reason we like it here during the summer.

Old and Gold, Brunswick Heads

10 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by in Australia, Brisbane

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We happened to arrive in time for the annual community garage sale in nearby Brunswick Heads. The Old and Gold Festival sounded like our kind of event, with lots of rummaging around and maybe a treasure or two as a result.

The people-watching was fabulous, unparalleled by anywhere we’ve been in Australia. This tiny town, just up from the surfing and hipster central of Byron Bay, filled to the brim with all kinds of people, all colors, styles, and interests. I was drawn to listen in on the conversation of a group of four women. All had long, long wavy hair, wore long dresses, ankle boots, and carried huge, HUGE, patterned cloth bags, they were a striking group. Some looked like they were about to tip over, or collapse onto the bundle like a bean bag chair and sit down for a rest. These bags stashed their vintage clothing finds. “I’m just picking up bits and pieces, for shoots, y’know,” said one particularly willowy specimen peering over her sunglasses at the others. Her friends nodded knowingly, and they went on to compare notes on where and what they’d found.

Babies, dogs, dreads, were everywhere. Some people looked stylish, a white jumpsuit with a wide leather belt or flowing skirts with layered vests. At the other extreme some people wore so many layers of multicolored shirts and ponchos they were like walking rainbows. Men wore shirts of Guatemalan cloth, or a bow tie, or a ratty tshirt. Younger women wore long dresses with boots, while a white haired woman wore turquoise hat, scarf and shirt. There was red with green, purple with canary yellow, plaids with stripes, and colors everywhere. There wasn’t even time to acknowledge the super short shorts, and this being Australia, the extensive tattoos on arms and legs of most men and women under the age of 50.

We had a coffee watching the passersby and fell into conversation with a family who live in the area. We talked about travel, favorite places locally, and politics, at which point we dragged ourselves away to think happier thoughts.

We passed my favorite vendor’s stand that incorporated a boat play area.

In the end, Jonathan found some particularly interesting sausage, blue cheese and a delicious fresh baguette, while I scored a pair of Mexican silver earrings at a bargain price. The Old and Gold Festival was a morning well spent.

Interim–October in Santa Barbara

03 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in California, Lyra

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We left Peru with great fanfare, but didn’t get all the way to New Zealand in one hop, we stopped for a month in Santa Barbara, CA. It was a month of relaxation, walks on the beach, exploring the area, and wine-tasting–this is California, after all.

We visited the Avocado Festival in Carpenteria, and the Harbor Festival opening the season for California spiny lobster in Santa Barbara, and ate a few spiny lobster. We tasted wine in Los Olivos, Solvang, and Ojai. Ojai is a town with family history, as Jonathan attended at least part of 8th grade there during his peripatetic childhood following his artist parents around the western US and Mexico.

As if this were not enough fun, we had visits with friends and family, taking advantage of being on the west coast. It was wonderful.  We had a chance to visit Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) and see Amanda’s experiment that is the basis for her M.A. thesis. At lunch, Amanda and Jonathan made fun of my taking selfies with a regular camera. Why not?

We stayed in a lovely Airbnb, a bungalow remodeled into an open plan living/dining/kitchen area with seating areas outside on both sides of the house providing shaded seating at all times of day. We shared a bit of the yard, and the outdoor shower, with a neighbor in the apartment on one side, but that did not prove to be a problem in large part because of the delightful tenant, Jackie, and her temporary guests Lucas, Henna, and Montana (3 months). A cute baby is always nice to have as a neighbor.

Under the pineapple guava (feijoa) tree with Kneave and Linda.

Our home was surrounded by perfect contemporary landscaping, terraces of succulents down the small hillside lot made the area seem larger. The tiers and pots of plants were interspersed with just the right number of citrus trees, one of each: grapefruit, oranges, Meyer lemons, lemons, and limes, along with an avocado and a persimmon tree. The persimmons were just ripening, dotting their tree with small bright orange fruit. Jonathan made multi-citrus marmalade, a gorgeous orange-gold color and tasty into the bargain. There were days when we could easily have sat on the terrace all day. In no time, it was time to leave for the airport again.

Life in Campania: Vacation Paradise, Daily Grind?

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by in Salerno

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Hurricanes have flattened more than one vacation paradise recently. There are many left, and we are just finishing our stay in Salerno, Italy, adjacent to, if not in, vacation paradise (as in Amalfi, Sorrento, Capri).

Castello di Arecchi

Our current home ground, the province of Campania, was the breadbasket of ancient Rome, and occupied both long before and after the Romans. Pompeii is the most famous archaeological site here, and there are countless others. Not just the other Vesuvians (Herculaneum, Stabia, Oplontis, Bosco Reale), but Samnite and Lucanian sites, Etruscans, and Greeks, too. Later came the Lombards, the Angevins, Aragonese and the Hapsburgs building castles and fortresses. Archaeologically, this area is fabulous.

  • As a vacation paradise, there’s a lot to recommend this area.Gardens and orchards. Lemon, pomegranate, quince, apple trees are all dropping fruit all over the place–olive trees, too. The markets have an excellent variety of fruits and vegetables including multiple varieties of tomatoes and eggplants. You can be a vegetarian without even noticing. All that mozzarella de bufala, so little time!
  • Food costs are lower than anywhere else we have been in Europe.
  • Food festivals. We visited Cusano Mutri for its annual mushroom festival, the Sagra di Funghi. We bought porcini and chanterelles, ate mushroom and cheese sandwiches, had coffee in the tiny plaza at the top of the town. (There were no tour buses.)
  • Archaeology is everywhere. There are ruined towers every 500 yards or so along the coast. Some of these have been transformed into houses and hotels. Others are ruins ready to be visited. The Castello di Arecchi outside Salerno is one of the largest and best-restored.
  • In Florence, I saw a woman with a nice haircut and asked her whether she was local. When she said no, I asked where she was from and when she told me Salerno, I insisted she write down the name of her hairdresser for me.. 2 1/2 months later, when we were nearby, I visited her hairdresser, who was flattered that I made the effort to track her down. It was fun and I got a good haircut.
  • We had wonderful hosts, and met some lovely people, both Italians and other visitors.

No one really lives in Paradise, we just vacation there. Everyday life has its struggles whether you live in Bali or Boston, and how would we live with nothing to grouse about? We may only be here for a month, but a few things had to get done that vacationers ignore until the party’s over. That’s where Italy is a challenge.

  • Repairing anything is complicated, in Italy as in the US. My Samsung phone broke and I took it to a repair place that said the reset I needed could only be done at the other Samsung repair place. I went to the second repair place, left my phone to be fixed and came back the next day to find that they were still unable to fix it.
  • To get an appointment with an English-speaking eye doctor, I had to call her non-English-speaking receptionist. Fortunately, I can muddle along in basic Italian and receptionists can muddle along in English.

General grousing about Italy:

  • I have rarely been in such heavy traffic caused by…..nothing. On our first try we missed the ferry to Capri because no cars moved for 40 minutes. When I explained our problem at the ferry office, the agent was sympathetic. “Yes, terrible traffic.” “Do you know why?” I asked. Rolled eyes, a shrug. “No. It just happens.”
  • People drive badly. Most people drive too fast for the conditions, straddle lane lines, pass too close, tailgate, park haphazardly. If you plan to drive, be warned. There are a lot of cars, and too little space for them.
  • Traffic cameras send you a ticket three months after you’ve left town–we’ve only gotten one so far. Every person you speak to says they have gotten innumerable tickets. (Shrug. No one has any suggestions for avoiding them.)
  • Crowds are part of life. I feel crowded on the bus, the subway, walking down the street, shopping, and at the beach. There may be tiny hill towns begging for population, but Greater Naples is bursting at the seams. Eight story apartment buildings surround single story houses from the last century. It looks like the big buildings just shouldered their way in and squatted down.

Woman gardening beside motorcycle repair shop.

Some of my grousing can be turned on its head.

  • There doesn’t seem to be a lot of zoning concerns in Campania the way there is in Tuscany where preserving views of the landscape is a paramount civic value.  In the Naples region there is a patchwork of apartments, cultivated fields and orchards. You could call it lack of zoning, but I like seeing see lemon trees along the highway and eggplants beside the car repair.
  • History is everywhere. We saw city walls from five different time periods in a two block section of Salerno. You can walk around any ruined structure that isn’t marked Do Not Enter.

I wouldn’t change what I am doing for a different way of life. I appreciate learning what you need to know to actually live in a place, and every different locality has its own charms and aggravations. While I stretch my brain muscles with crosswords, I also stretch myself by living in different environments.

 

 

 

San Mateo, Patron of Salerno

03 Tuesday Oct 2017

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The story of St. Matthew and the martyrs of Salerno is a triumph of faith over history.

St. Gaius statue made of silver.

Silver statue of St. Fortunato

Briefly, St. Matthew the Apostle died a martyr in Ethiopia, where he was buried. Three hundred years later, the story goes, his remains were transported by Breton merchants to Legion, a town located in the westernmost part of Brittany. His remains stayed in the city for forty years. For some reason, the Roman commander in the area, Gavinio, then carried the relics home to Velia, an ancient city in southern Campania, where they were buried in a church in Casal Velino. With the passing of centuries, the city fell into ruin and all memory was lost of the place where the sacred remains were buried. In AD 954, St. Matthew appeared in dream to Pelagia, a devoted woman who lived on the plain of Velia, giving her precise directions to the place of her tomb and asking her to spur his follower, the monk Athanasias, to search for his body. Athanasius discovered the remains of St. Matthew and moved them to a church in nearby Capaccio. He then went to the Norman Duke of Salerno, said he had recovered the apostle’s bones and these should be brought to Salerno and honored as holy relics. The transfer took place in 1081.

Despite all this moving around, many people believe the bones in the Salerno Cathedral are those of St. Matthew and turn out for the annual procession on Sept. 21. In the crypt of the cathedral there is also the log upon which Sts. Gaius, Ante and Fortunato were beheaded. They are called the Salernitane martyrs. In the annual procession, silver images of the martyrs and statues of St. Matthew are taken in procession around the city.

The silver images are very different from the painted plaster statues that I associate with religious processions.

We were impressed not only by the length of the route, but by the size of the crowds who came to see the procession. The streets were packed with people lining the route of the procession of saints. Some of them were probably there to see the fireworks at midnight after the procession, but the crowds were large and enthusiastic.

Jonathan takes the Prize–at Féile an Phráta

18 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Ireland, Paula

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Months before we arrived in Dingle, Jonathan read about a local potato festival and decided that he wanted to participate. He emailed the organizers, sharpened his potato peeling knife, and marked the date. It wasn’t as easy as jumping in the car, because all the publicity for the festival was in Irish. Diligent work with Google translate and the map led us to a pub in Ballydavid (only shown as Baile na nGall on signs). The roads are pretty small, but we emerged into a seaside community centered on a small beach and a pub, Tigh TP. Quite a crowd turned out for the potato festival, and it seems that everyone other than the three of us understood Irish.

We found the organizers, who were delighted that we actually made it there. Jonathan submitted his dish for the cooking competition. He made causa, a potato and fish terrine that is a popular appetizer in Peru.

Causa–Peruvian potato-fish-vegetable terrine

Jonathan’s causa is on the far right.

It took him a few minutes to explain to everyone that potatoes actually come from Peru–there was some skepticism. There was more skepticism that he was from Peru, so he had to tell the story of our retirement travels. After that, we went to find a seat to watch the festivities. There was a tasting of boiled potatoes (no salt, no butter). The judges were heroic in tasting about eight different potatoes submitted by growers from Dingle as far as Tralee. There was a separate panel of judges that tasted the prepared dishes. While we watched the dishes being introduced and tasted, we shared a picnic table with a couple from Dublin who come to Dingle every year. Mary and John were excellent company. The afternoon passed rapidly. The results of the cooking contest were held until the very end. In the mean time was the peeling contest.

Jonathan discovered that he had to use a standard knife given to all contestants, he couldn’t use his nicely sharpened knife. He protested to the judges (L), but they insisted that everyone use the same knife. He was up against one other man in his heat and both of them qualified by completely peeling two potatoes in under one minute. In the end, though the winner was a woman in the first heat. She was able to peel both potatoes with the greatest “post-peel weight”. The best was yet to come, however.

When the results of the cooking contest were announced, Jonathan won second prize! There was mention of the original intention of the Wild Atlantic Way to reveal the connections between the sea and the land. Jonathan’s coming all the way from Peru to Dingle in order to participate in the potato festival and his dish with seafood and potato was widely appreciated, and he will treasure his prize plate.

Sponsors included the local radio station and the national Irish potato board, Bord Bía. Féile an Phráta is held every year and is well worth a visit.

Invercharron Highland Games

17 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by in Scotland

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We were in far southern Scotland for most of the Highland Games season, so we were delighted to be able to get to the final event of the summer, the Invercharron Highland Games. Invercharron is in the Kyle of Sutherland, northwest of Inverness. What a day! The sun shone, there was no wind to blow the kilts up, what more could anyone ask? There was a parade with a pipe band from nearby Tain.9-17-16-invercharron-highland-games-013Following the band was the Chieftain of the Games, a grand marshall of the day. This year’s Chieftain was Val McDermid, a well-known mystery writer based in Edinburgh. She gave a great opening address about the importance of community and the way that Highland Games incorporate everyone, extending hospitality to all. https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1200x675/p01jzlvl.jpgThis is particularly interesting because McDermid is known for having a lesbian detective protagonist. Her invitation to be this year’s Chieftain of the games shows a level of openmindedness and respect for personal achievement that’s admirable in rural Scotland as it would be anywhere. I’ve started reading her books, it’s always a pleasure to find a new series.

http://www.valmcdermid.com/

9-17-16-invercharron-highland-games-066smThere were all kinds of events, running, cycling, piping, highland dance, long jump, hop-skip-jump, high jump, and tug-of-war. There was even a roving magician.

The star event was the heavy sports, the highland equivalent of the decathlon, where a sturdy group of men each participated in eight events, tossing hammers, shot, weights of different amounts (28 and 56 lbs), and then when they were totally exhausted, tossing the caber. They must wear a kilt to compete. Their shoes have long toe spikes to hold them in position for swinging the hammer.

Tossing the 56 lb weight over a bar was amazing. The winner was able to get the weight, similar to a large kettlebell, over a bar 15 feet in the air.

By the time they began to toss the caber, the sun was setting and people were heading for home. The dancing, piping, foot and bicycle race awards were all  handed out. But they kept on going.9-17-16-invercharron-highland-gamesms-079All day long, multiple events were going on at the same time. There might be a tug of war on one side, a bicycle race around the oval, hammer throw in the center, with piping and dancing on platforms on opposite sides of the oval. It was a multi-sensory, multi-media event. At the same time, it was casual. People brought lawn chairs to sit in around the edge of the oval field, wandered around the tents with food, raffles, crafts, and drink. We spoke with lots of pleasant people who invariably wished us a good visit.9-17-16-invercharron-highland-games-002smI’ll close with a selection of tartan we saw. I was told that at some games there is a strong presence of a single clan, a summer homecoming as well as games. Invercharron traditionally closes out the season and doesn’t have a clan affiliation, so there was a range of tartan to see.

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Sheep Races

16 Tuesday Aug 2016

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Every town in Scotland has a summer festival or agricultural show, meaning that on any given weekend you are within an hour’s drive of at least two such events. We had the Dalbeattie Civic Day on Saturday, culmination of a week-long series of events. 8.13.16 Dalbeattie civic day parade-002

The parade started at 1 pm, led by a pipe band.

followed by activities and entertainment in the park, finishing with fireworks at 10:30 pm. I watched them from the back yard, since by 10:30 I was long past celebrating.

Civic Day princess
Who’s been watching “Land Girls”?
Austin Powers, really?
Soliciting for charity.
Batman and the batmobile.

On Sunday, there were sheep races in Moffat, highly recommended by a woman we met at a farmer’s market. Moffat’s advantage is that the main street consists of two parallel streets on either side of a narrow garden strip. One side can be cordoned off without paralyzing the town. Sheep race from down one block. Viewers can bet on the sheep and the money goes to a different local charity for each of the six races.

Jugglers
“Sheep” and race-caller
Sheep face art

The event opens with jugglers and people dressed as sheep.

Contestants

Contestants

How can you tell which sheep is which? Each one has a loony saddle tied around its middle, complete with rag doll rider and a big number. The program has the “names” and “breeding” of the entrants.

Distracted part way along the course

Distracted part way along the course

During the first race, one sheep got distracted half way down the course, but being sheep, all the others followed it. They had to be shooed to the end of the route by the brigade of helpers.

When you get a look at the racers, you realize that the sheep absolutely hate this. They try to get back in the pen before the race. A sheepdog gets the group started with the aid of three people shouting and waving their arms. When the despairing sheep realize they can’t get back in the pen, they scurry down to the other end of the course where there is another pen, which they rush into with great enthusiasm. We bet on three races and lost on all counts, but it was a very funny event. Afterward, we debated whether sheep ever die from fright during the races.

8.14.16 Moffat sheep races-016The town of Moffat has great pride when it comes to sheep. They have a bronze sheep rather than a famous man in the center of town.

The Shepherd and the Lass.

The Shepherd and the Lass.

As part of the annual gala, they select representatives for the year, “The Shepherd and the Lass.” We met this year’s couple at the races.

Moffat is a pretty town, too, very accustomed to tourists. The town center is full of hotels, coffee houses, tea rooms, pubs and restaurants. We wondered where the people who live here actually shop. I assume there is a shopping center somewhere out by the highway. It was another great day.

The Stewartry Show

06 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by in Scotland

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We jumped right in to life in southern Scotland. During August, every town and region holds an agricultural show and a town fair. We went to the Stewartry (historically, a region within what is now Dumfries and Galloway) show, and watched animal judging

8.4.16 Stewartry Show-011A woman I spoke to said “Are you here for the congress?” “What congress?,” I asked. “The Galloway Cattle World Congress.” “Er, no, just visiting,” was my lame reply. Later I figured out that these animals are Belted Galloway cattle, one of the subjects of the world congress.

 

There were other huge animals on display.

After touring booths of agricultural machinery, tents of crafts, flowers, carved walking sticks, and lots of food, we ended our day with the puppy judging. Too cute.

After our eager visit to the Stewartry show, we found out the Dumfries show is this weekend, followed by several others. We may have seen enough sheep in a single show to last all month.

The North Norway Music Festival

20 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by in Norway, Paula

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June 18-25 is the annual music festival in Harstad, held during the week of Midsummer Eve (June 21). We went to Harstad for the opening ceremony, which made a rainy day a lot of fun. We heard from Norway’s Minister of Culture, Linda Cathrine Hofstad Helleland, then the crowd was conducted to a nearby plaza accompanied by a humming choir and musicians playing along the route.

In the plaza, music played, people flipped colored cards, an overhead camera recorded the patterns and balloons sailed away while everyone danced.

The women’s drum line marched from the central square to the nearest wharf where they played before another group who spoke from a floating dock. It was fun to watch even if I couldn’t understand the remarks.

We did a bit of shopping, including postcards from the tourist office and mementos for our hats–possibly relevant for later in the summer. A group of women presented locally designed clothing, jewelry, art glass, painting and hand made crafts. These were all very creative and out of the ordinary. I wish I needed—anything! We had coffee and pastry at a pop-up bakery cafe. By then we’d seen the sights and the festival was underway. The many performances: theater, music, dance, discussions, workshops and a program for families are spread across the coming days from 10 am to midnight. It is a well-known event in the region, that is, a cruise ship stopped in Harstad today, we could recognize the passengers by their transparent raincoats. Paula and I can be recognized by our newly acquired mementos pinned to our hats:

6.20.16 Tjeldodden campfire-001smFind out more about the North Norway Music Festival at: http://www.festspillnn.no