I am continually amazed by how something small, planted in the mind of a young person, can leave lasting impressions throughout adult life. As the third annual Field Trip Music & Arts Festival–held at Fort York & Garrison Common–draws near, I’m pleasantly reminded of my first experience at these special historic grounds.
It was the mid-80s. I was eight or nine years old. When I wasn’t going to St. Ursula’s Catholic grade school in Scarborough my life consisted of soccer, tennis, Cub Scouts, and a heavy dose of Michael Jackson records. One particularly warm summer, my Cub Scout group arranged a trip for us to spend a weekend living in the barracks of Historic Fort York. I was excited at the idea of bus rides and bunk beds, and stayed up nights imagining faux battles on the field. My excitement took over our house when my parents got in on the preparations. My mother helped sew my very own Fort York guard outfit while my father built me a replica Brown Bess musket out of wood. Given the group efforts put into planning, uniforms, and accessories, momentum saw to it that my weekend lived up to all my expectations. We spent mornings learning royal guard drills, told ghost stories by flashlight in bunk beds, and learned how soldiers lived during the War of 1812.
Fort York made a lasting impression and I would always recall the historic grounds with a sense of awe and wonder. Fast forward twenty-five odd years and I’d find myself weighing potential locations to host the inaugural Field Trip. It was to be a celebration of the tenth anniversary of Arts & Crafts and we intended to showcase as many label artists as possible in an environment as special as the event itself. Downtown. Green. Ideally with a story of its own that we could showcase. And so, in 2013 at Fort York, it would begin. Our love letter to Toronto held at the site built to defend and protect our city at its founding.
Much of my first childhood visit to the fort would influence Field Trip’s festival philosophies–prioritizing community and discovery, inviting and integrating children’s programming, and putting the fort on display as a headliner on the billing. Perhaps Field Trip is now the catalyst to a child’s first visit, or is cause for a parent’s first return after some time, but in any event it’s a joy to witness the smiles the fort continues to bring.
In choosing Fort York all those years ago an indelible special connection was formed. It’s a thrill to now play a small role in the special connection of the fort with others. That seed of excitement and curiosity was planted in my mind all those years ago at the fort, and I hope Field Trip does the same in the hearts and minds of young people who visit it now.
Original printed pages
