“What we don’t ever do is invite people back immediately. We’ve had people come back in repeat years, we’ve certainly had repeat performers, but we never invited everybody at the end of a festival, and just said, ‘Look. We’ve got to have you back right away,’ but we did with Paul. You’re on the docket for 2010 and we’ll see you there. I think in his head, he was coming,” said Brunt.
However, in May 2009 Quarrington was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in January at his home in Toronto.
“Last summer, some of us knew of the situation Paul was in. We invited Paul before we knew any of that. Paul was one of Canada’s great writers and also a great musician … We didn’t know if he was going to make it or not. But knowing Paul, he said ‘No, no. Don’t make a fuss. I’m going to come,’” said Brunt.
At Saturday’s talent-filled evening of music and literary readings, Quarrington was there in memory for many friends of his and admirers of his work.
Brunt said a tribute to Quarrington was necessary to complete the festival for his friend and for everyone attending.
The tribute light-hearted and heartfelt, something cooked up by Brunt and emcee Shelagh Rogers, who were both friends of Quarrington.
Rogers read from Quarrington’s memoir “Cigar Box Banjo: Notes on Music and Life” where excerpts can be found about his time in Woody Point and the people he met there.
Brunt, who shared a fishing experience with Quarrington last summer at Western Brook on a wild and windy day, said a love of fishing was something the two had in common.
Brunt propped up a fly rod against the back wall of the Woody Point Heritage Theatre as a totem for the rest of the evening.
“There were some pretty good friends of Paul in the audience. We had to acknowledge him and we all miss him and he was so great to have around,” said Brunt.
Brunt remembers Quarrington delivering one of the most moving performances he said he’s ever experienced last summer.
“He did a reading on the Saturday night, a piece called ‘The Conversion’ which was a short story set to music which I think anyone who was in the theatre that night will tell you was one of the most profound and moving things, not just in the history of the festival, but the most profound and moving things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Brunt.
“At the end of it, he sang this funny little song he wrote. Paul’s a great songwriter and he wrote a song about The Friendly Giant called ‘Friendly’ which is on the last record he did. At the end of it he had everybody whistling the friendly giant theme song,” said Brunt.
“Shelagh and I cooked something up where we didn’t want it to be maudlin because that would not be in keeping with Paul. He didn’t want that … (At the end) we all played “The Friendly Giant” and we all whistled the bit at the end. It was nice. It was just right,” said Brunt.
