When I was 13 I had my first taste of North Country Fair aka Hippie Daze. I was hooked from the get go. As a fair goer I have always been a volunteer and I could not imagine doing it any other way. It is way to good of a deal getting free camping and a free weekend pass as well. When I met my soon to be ex-husband I stopped going to the fair. It's not that I didn't want to go but the friend I used to go with stopped going and Chuck could just never get time off work. Being insecure in myself I thought I could never go by myself and have a good time so I stopped going all together.
With my relationship with Chuck now defunct and me doing a complete overhaul and rediscovery of self I decided after nine years of absence I needed to go to the fair again. I didn't care if I was alone, I was going to go and was determined I would have a good time. Luckily as things turned out while I would be alone I would still know people at the fair, such as fellow bloggers Hope and James. With Hopes help I was able to complete my volunteer hours here in Edmonton putting up posters for the fair.
On June 18Th Dawson and I hopped the charter bus to North Country Fair. The thing about NCF is you never really feel like a stranger, people just seem to have a different vibe. I immediately met friendly and helpful people. The first a family who even offered for Dawson and I to sleep in their tent so that I would not have to set up my tent till morning. But I am lazy and did not want to set up my stuff in someone Else's tent and than have to move it again the next day, so I declined and set up my own tent. In a way I felt bad these people actually invited me to come spend time with them but even though I am sure I was close enough to them in age I didn't feel like I would fit in, so I never took them up on their offer to join them at their fire.
While setting up my tent I was immediately entertained by the tenters around me. They were playing catch and their witty banter was cracking me up, although I tried not to laugh to loud for fear of seeming like I was eavesdropping. So I set up my tent and Dawson and I went to bed for the evening. The next morning I made the decision that I better introduce myself to the aforementioned tenters since I did not have a fire pit I knew I would need to share theirs and I was determined to meet new people. I love Hope but I did not want to feel like I had to be around her and her family 24/7, that would not be fair to them. So I introduced myself to the first tenter I saw who happened to be Kory, who even offered me coffee. SCORE! I later met Rob, Charley, Cam, and Jolene. What a great group of people they all were and I feel comfortable in saying when the weekend was over I had some new friends. I also had such a good time at the fair, I know I will definitely be back next year.
To go out on a limb and befriend strangers is a huge step for me. I am a shy person by nature and also struggle with social anxiety. So I am rather proud of myself for making this small break through. It's just one more block towards building myself back up to and exceeding who I used to be. I am loving every step of this journey.
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