I hate decisions like this.
The Folk Festival is my dilemma.
For the past 56 years, the Springs Folk Festival has been a vibrant part of this small community known as Springs. This Fall time Festival depicts life as it once was, a life full of hard work and struggles, but yet with a simplicity that so seldom can be found today. Celebrating a lifestyle that individuals and families took pride in as they built their town and invested in its future, the Folk Festival showcases the time-honored crafts and skills that it took to survive in the rocky hills of Western Pennsylvania.
I love going to the Festival. Why?
-The smell of crisp Autumn leaves underfoot on the woodland trail.
-The smell of bread baked in an outdoor oven mingled with the spicy scent of apple butter.
-Hot Navy Bean Soup.
-The whirr of a motor cranking out an incredible amount of homemade ice-cream.
-Bluegrass banjos, fiddles, and mandolins filling the air with the sounds of American heritage.
-People in costume befitting their craft of choice.
-Wandering through crowded buildings, perusing the needlework, artwork, jewelry, calligraphy...
-Eating smoked sausages and home-fried potatoes
-Being a part of the play that tells a few of the stories from 100-150 years ago
Being a part of the play...
The dilemma.
For the past three years, my youngsters and I have played the parts of Katie, Salome, Moses, Hans, Elizabeth, Arminta, Susanna, Rhoda, and a gossipy woman going to the store. It started with my children being asked to help, and as I rehearsed the post office scene, reading the part of Arminta, the part just became mine. I grew to admire this strong woman; a family woman with a head for business and a no-nonsense attitude. She picked gallons, and I mean hundreds of gallons, of huckleberries up on Mt. Davis in some harsh conditions. Arminta worked hard for her family and although I only know her through the pages of The Casselman Chronicle, I feel in a little way that I know her by having had the privilege of playing her part. 
From that beginning three years ago, I have helped rewrite some of the scenes, adding new ones, including a favorite school scene. I enjoyed digging into the history and the stories of the people who lived here before me. I have some more ideas that I'd like to put in, but this year, it just isn't going to happen.
School started, along with volleyball and dance lessons for the girls. Work has been busy. I feel stretched much too thin to take on a few nights of practices this month. I decided that I needed to say "No" to the play this year. Even as I type this, I am fighting tears. I feel like a part of me has been left behind, a little lost.
I know that this is the right decision for my family this year. I know from reading about the history of my town, my community, that family is a priority. We are strong because of the foundations that have been laid, the roots that have taken hold. Family. Faith.
So, this year, I am stepping back a little. I may still find a way to be involved, but not as intensive. I will miss it, but I am going to hang on to the hope that next year will be different.
Slower.
Simpler.
If I have learned anything from doing the play, it is that priorities are important. And for this year, even if it means sacrificing something I dearly love, to keep my sanity, then I will do it. Next year, God willing, the cast and crew of Chestnut Roots will be back. Refreshed and ready to go.
Love,
Dianne aka Arminta aka Elizabeth aka Gossipy Woman.
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