Have you ever been to a music festival? What's your favorite? Ours is the Ossipee Music Festival in Hiram, Maine.
It takes place on an old-fashioned fairgrounds beside the Ossipee River in the foothills of the White Mountains. Top-notch musicians play roots and Americana music for four days on four stages.
There's no need to stick to a schedule, because the impromptu jams are everywhere. Banjos in the barns. Fiddles in the fields.
You can dance and sing till well after midnight.
Then get up the next day and do it again.
Beyond the fun of the music, is the fun of being part of a nomad village. People camp in tents, in fancy RVs, in homebuilt rigs.
We've got solar power and an early-to-bed habit, so we set up for free in the "Quiet Camping" section.
A newly converted ambulance camped on one side of us and a group of long-time friends on the other. They've been coming to the festival for 15 years.
This was the biggest festival ever with people eager to reconnect after a couple years of quarantine.
Another favorite thing about the festival is the Ossipee River. A short walk through the woods brings you to the confluence of flowing water where you can put in your floats and let the current carry you a half mile or so to the other side of the fairground.
Pure heaven on a hot summer's day.
With hundreds of people at the festival, I love the miles of trails that bring you to peaceful places where wildlife roam.
I went out watercolor sketching a half-mile from the fairgrounds. Two deer grazed across the water for half an hour while I watched and painted.
Chipmunks scurried on the trees around me.
I painted them in my sketchbook, too, and felt fulfilled.
We made a one-minute highlight reel of the weekend. It's posted over on Instagram @Christineandmarc. Follow us there, if you would, and keep in touch.
Maybe we'll see you next summer at Ossipee.
Until then, keep singing and stay wild!
Christine & Marc