one of my favourite things about this country is the wonderful cbc. one of my favourite things while driving from my current home in edmonton, alberta back to my sweet little hometown of waskada, manitoba is listening to the cbc radio.
well... cbc happens to be running a contest, called the 'great canadian song quest'. http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest/index.html
in this contest, you nominate a place in canada that you think a song should be written about. then, as far as i can tell, there is some voting that occurs... and following the voting, if your place is one of the winners, you get to select a canadian artist to compose and record the song about your place.
my place is waskada. a beautiful small town nestled in the southwest corner of the great and highly underrated province of manitoba. a 'blink and you'll miss it' kind of place. 200 people strong... this little town is the place where i was born, where i grew up, and where i became the person i am today.
waskada is wide open spaces. waskada is great big skies and fields as far as the eye can see. waskada is a place where you can be still and where you can see every star in the sky.
waskada is a community, a place where everyone knows everyone else, where everyone looks out for each other. it's a place where everyone knows your business... but that's ok. it is a tiny little main street. it's a farming town. it's a place where talking about the weather isn't just small talk, it's important talk. it's a place where the whole town comes together for the important events... for graduations, for baby showers and wedding showers, for the curling bonspiels, for the hockey games at the old rink, for ball games down at the park... this town is the definition of community and the perfect example to show how interconnected and dependent on each other people really are. and how the bonds between us matter.
it's a place where family ties are strong and history is deep. it's a place where, as a child, and as a teenager, you grow up with a small, tight-knit group of friends (because there's usually less than 10 people in your age group). and you keep those friends close to your heart, even after you might move away and on to other adventures.
it's a place where people do move on. the kids graduate, and they go to brandon, or winnipeg, or to a new province to find work or to continue their education. it's not easy to stay in waskada. but for those who have left, like me, they hold this place in their memories, in their hearts, and it becomes a part of who they are and the way they look at the world.
it is an amazing little town. i will always be grateful that this little place was my starting point.
i love canada. i especially love the prairies. i really love my hometown of waskada. and i want a song about it!
to close: one of my favourite neil young lyrics, from his prairie wind album.
"Bury me out on the prairie
Where the buffalo used to roam
Where the Canada geese once filled the sky
And then I won't be far from home"
1 comment:
ahhh ... i have been visiting waskada for over 30 years and that drive west along the goodlands / waskada road is like driving home every time! we can see that speck on the horizon and can hardly wait to get there!! the one thing we notice immediately is that EVERYONE waves and we eagerly return the gesture ... you are automatically part of where you are ~ on the road to waskada! every winter sees this incredible community hosting the ladies 'spiel ... which corresponds with the senior men's hockey tourney. well, let me tell you there is no place i'd rather be than in the waskada rink dancing up a storm to the greatest live music around til the wee hours of the morning ... waskada is definitely like the true 'little home on the prairie' with the biggest heart ever and truly ought to have a song written about it ... i'll be voting for you waskada ... every time that i can!
LOVE you,
prairiegirl xo
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