Monday, June 27, 2005

Good Friday, followed by slow weekend: By Andrew Hoshkiw

Friday night I attended the St. John Baptiste Day mini-festival in Whitehorse. It went really well. Met five more bands and interviewed them all.

Only one was from beyond Whitehorse, a Montreal group called Dobacaracol. Two very cute girls singing and playing drums, backed by a couple of guitars.

It was a good night. Met up with lots of people I've met since being here. And since it was also a Solstice party, it went on quite late.

Saturday and Sunday though have been quite quiet. All I've done is stay at home, eat, write, sleep and walk around a bit.

This place I call home is very unusual for the Yukon. There are hardly any mosquitos, and I find I can even sit outside and write, without being pestered by them. Everywhere else has been bad; Watson Lake, Haines Junction, Dawson City, Atlin. But not here.

They say the site of the next festival, Faro, is especially bad for mosquitos. That one is on this coming weekend. The plan is to leave town right after work on Thursday (Friday's a holiday) and get there before dark. Faro is about 400 km away.

I wrote most of the article for that fest today. All I have to go on is a schedule of the bands, so I wrote what I could about them. Tomorrow I'll call the organizers and get a few more details, then hand the story in on Tuesday.

The two main acts are Canadian bands from the 70s, neither of which had I heard of before this: The Stampeders and Sweeney Todd.

I must say though, if it hasn't already been said, I'm really loving it this time in Whitehorse. If only I had a car and had been more sociable the first time I was here, I might never have left.

There's just so much for me in the way of opportunities here. I never could've had it this good in Rupert - even if I had been writing more there, the editors had dibs on all the good stories.

Speaking of which, I've counted and I've written 10 stories so far this month. With two more coming this week, and a total of 14 published photos, my freelancing has added up to $810 for June. That has me feeling pretty good.

You know, as a designer, I'll always earn more than if I were a reporter. Maybe by being both like this will for now be the best option.

I should really think about it. If the offer from Ryerson does come, maybe I should consider not going, but rather staying, working and earning real experience. Then, rather than spend that ton of money on schooling, save it and, when the time is right, go travelling on a grand adventure around the world...

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