I don’t want to
over-generalize, but I have to put this out there: PEOPLE IN WINNIPEG (Manitoba) CANADA ARE
NICE. They are polite. They are KIND. They THANK THE BUS DRIVER when they get off
the bus for heaven’s sake!
We are in Winnipeg for
the annual Fringe Festival. Fringe
Festivals are events that host performers from around the world. Most shows are one hour long. Most tickets at this festival are ten
bucks. So for a tenner audience members
have the chance to see something amazingly mind-blowing or, once in a while, a
clunker. But hey, it is only an hour of
your time and only ten dollars (Canadian, which is less if you convert it to
American dollars…).
Our show image- David as the popcorn sales man in a precarious situation on the high wire!! |
The Fringe is a huge
event for this town. People say (even
Winnipegers say, so this is not a slam…) that there is not a whole lot to DO
here, so they really get into their Fringe.
And man they DO get into it! When
we were here in 2010 the city BUSES had Fringe ads on them!! This time, the paper bags from the liquor
stores have Fringe promos!!! People
actually take TIME OFF OF WORK – like an ENTIRE WEEK – to go see Fringe shows. It.
Is. Fabulous.
Winnipeg Fringe 2010 - ads on BUSES - seriously, what city DOES THAT? Winnipeg rocks. |
Anyway, David is doing
his one man show here (“A Little Business at the Big Top”, which, if I might
boast a bit, is wonderfully fun and inventive!). Part of doing festivals like this is
marketing your show – Winnipeg Fringe has over 165 shows this year, so part of
the “job” is convincing patrons that YOUR SHOW is the one they should buy
tickets to. This part of the job is
something that David and I are not great at…
You basically have to walk around saying how great your piece is and
hand people postcards that list your show time and venue. Some people are happy to hear about your
show, others not so much…
Here David models our new "sign on a stick" PLUS "hat with postcard". Pullin' out all the stops... :) |
But every once in a
while you run into someone fabulous, like we did today! This is me and GERRY. She saw us walking down the sidewalk with
what I like to call our “sign on a stick” (ours is new, but every other touring
performer has had them for years.
Welcome to the band wagon, Susan and David…). Anyway, Gerry came up to US and started telling us how much she LOVED THE SHOW!!! She had
seen it that afternoon and regaled us of all of the bits she liked and
remembered! It was lovely!!!! She was so appreciative and supportive!! She said she had already told lots of friends
to get tickets to “A Little Business” and as we talked she would stop people
walking by and say things like “THIS SHOW IS GREAT! GO SEE THIS ONE!! Get a ticket for “A Little Business at the
Big Top”!: while pointing to our sign as strangers walked by. We had to reassure them that we hadn’t paid
her to say such nice things!!
But wait, it gets even
better. (CAN it get even better??)
After talking at
length about the show, we started talking about Winnipeg and things to do
here. She recommended the Canadian
Museum of Human Rights ( https://humanrights.ca/
) and a museum that houses the largest collection of Inuit Art (I think this is
the site: http://wag.ca/art/collections/inuit-art
). We had wanted to go to the Human
Rights Museum and hadn’t heard about the art museum, so we were excited by her
recommendations. I explained that
museums where we live (Washington DC) are free, and that we are spoiled by
that, and asked if she knew how much the museums here charge for entry. I just wanted a general idea of how much we
would be spending. She replied that she
thought they were around $15, which I said sounded reasonable.
The amazingly KIND Gerry!! Thank you for making us feel so welcome here |
We kept talking and
after a while, Gerry opened her bag. She
pulled out her wallet. She GAVE US $20
and told us to use it to go to the museum of our choice, she wanted to TREAT
US!!! Isn’t that soooo kind??? We couldn’t believe it! And she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
THANK YOU GERRY!!! |
So THANK YOU Gerry. You certainly reinforced our notion that
people from Winnipeg are amazingly sweet.
Your kindness will not be forgotten.
And as we explore a museum (thanks to YOU) we will smile and remember
your kindness and generosity.
Here is Gerry telling what she thought about the show! Notice her green Kindness Activist button!!
Gerry you made Susan and Davids day and mine!!! Yay for kindness and Gerry!!
ReplyDeleteIsn't she FABULOUS???? :)
Delete