Music Fest, Street Fair draw positive reviews

Memorable Hudson Music Festival moment: Burlesque performer Scarlett James leaves little to the imagination at the Sunday-night closer. (Gazette, Katinka Rubin Michaud

HUDSON — Hudson Musical Festival organizers are patting themselves on the back for a successful fifth anniversary lineup that filled the town with music for five days straight and still has tongues wagging about the closing concert.
Coincidentally, the annual Hudson Street Fair July 30 succeeded in drawing thousands of residents and visitors to the downtown core, exceeding the wildest expectations of the town’s Parks and Recreation department and local merchants.
The biggest complaint in the wake of the street fair appears to be that the town should have closed parts of Main and Cameron to automobile traffic as people spilled off the sidewalk into the street.
Some of the HMF highlights:
The concert with Rob Lutes and Rob MacDonald and the Cécile Doo – Kingué Trio on Sunday afternoon was really good, “a cut above what you would expect and really nice ambiance,” according to local musician Geoff Mitchell.
The Brunet Plus Youth Showcase at the Hudson Village Theatre on Sunday July 31 was an opportunity for local musical talent and it wasn’t wasted as festival goers got to see and hear upcoming musicians.
The Jim Norcross Project promised surprises for the final concert of the 2011 Hudson Music Festival. And they delivered on that promise when, at the end of a rather long first set, Scarlett James strode purposefully onto the stage. It took only a few moments for the audience to realise that Scarlett was not the promised opera singer, but a shapely burlesque stripper.
Her act was timed impeccably to the beat of the music and, in less than 10 minutes, she had stripped down to the barest of bare essentials. “I was amused and entertained that a showgirl had been invited as the grand finale; but one family with four young children ran away from the stage faster than Scarlett James could shed her beautiful outfit,” noted Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette photographer Katinka Rubin Michaud.
In an open letter in this week’s Letters section, the HMF board of directors apologized for disappointing some attendees at the closing gala. “We understand that one of our performances may not have met the expectations of some of our esteemed audiences. So, to anyone we may have disappointed, we sincerely apologize, for it is you that is most important to us.”
“It continues to be our mission to produce concerts for local and international musicians, that residents and visitors to our community — of all ages — can enjoy and appreciate. We take all feedback to heart, and will continue to work hard to deliver another exceptional performance lineup in the 2012 edition, for all to enjoy.”

Summer in Hudson
Katinka Rubin Michaud photos

From above to below, Hudsonites and visitors were treated to broiling hot temperatures and activities ranging from a cardboard boat race at the Hudson Community Pool to the Sunday night Hudson Music Festival closing concert on the Ken Hodgson stage at the Willow Inn, which included Jim Norcross in full cry and an eclectic lineup. Above, left, this couple perfectly typlify the relaxed mood of the five-day Music Festival.