Thea is the most welcoming person I’ve ever met. She is one of the main organisers at the Wirrina Bluegrass Festival.
I had wanted to challenge myself and also score a free ticket, so I had applied to be an MC at this festival. But I hadn’t done any MC at music festivals before, so Thea called me for a phone interview. After 10 minutes, she said, “Congratulations! You are in!” Usually, after that, people would say, “I look forward to seeing you at the festival soon.”
But not Thea. She asked me where I planned to stay, because it was not a one-day festival. I said,
“I don’t know. Initially, I was going to stay somewhere with a friend of mine, but now she can’t come.”
Thea responded immediately, “If you don’t mind, you are more than welcome to stay with our committee team for camping.”
“Hmm.” I was a bit hesitant. “I had some unpleasant camping experiences before.”
After hearing that, Thea suggested, “Why not give it another try? I can ask my friend to see if he has a spare tent and a comfy mattress for you to sleep on, which may change your view?” Her gentle and calm voice gave me some hope. Ok. I decided to give it a shot. Always say yes to opportunities.
When I arrived at Wirrina, it was around 10am on a Saturday. It looked so quiet that the world seemed not to be awake yet. Looking around, I started to wonder what Thea would look like. She answered my phone and said she was coming. After a few minutes, I heard someone calling me, “You must be Qian.”
I turned around and saw a lady with a dog smiling at me. She was wearing a red jumper and a pair of jeans, looking very casual. Her smile caught my attention straight away, very sweet and beautiful. Seeing that, my whole body felt the warmth inside. She seemed very nice on the phone and seeing her in person confirmed it. What she did next reconfirmed my thinking. She said, “Welcome to Wirrina. Let me introduce you to the people around. Shall we take a walk?”
Then she started to tell everyone we met, “Hi, this is Qian, one of our MCs. It’s her first time to come to this festival and do MC.” I don’t remember how many people I met, a lot, really. I appreciated her thoughtfulness, considering I came here alone and didn’t know anyone. But, I couldn’t remember most of their names. Reason one, there were many people she introduced to me; reason two, my mind was elsewhere.
My heart was unsettled and nervous, because I was worried about my upcoming MC performance. I really didn’t know how I could do this. She picked that up, and asked me:
“Are you nervous about your MC shift?”
“Yes.” I always liked to tell people the truth.
She then comforted me, “Don’t worry. We can go to a session shortly to see what another MC is doing. Then I can bring you to Caz, a very experienced MC, and she can give you a quick coaching session if you like. You will be fine.” Hmm, good plan. Hearing that made me feel better.
Then she asked, “Do you know any musicians here?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Ah,” She continued, “In that case, don’t do many sessions this time then. I will try to give you tomorrow free so you can go to see as many musicians as you like and enjoy this festival first.”
“Really?” I thought. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How kind!
After the festival, I recommended everyone to volunteer at a festival, particularly this one. Because it is a great way to meet and get to know people at a deeper and more personal level. You feel a sense of belonging too. You are part of this big musical family, having fun with music, and also caring about each other in a very loving way. I am so glad I went, met Thea and developed our friendship even further after that. Now I am excited to go back to this festival in two weeks and continue to be one of their MCs.
