Hope is the Thing
Dedicated to the memory of Sara Valeriote Detweiler (1963-2020), who believed in the power of dreams and community
And sent with love to Jan Sherman, Heather Johnston, Marion Willms and all of Hillside’s volunteers, donors, sponsors, funders, and partners who together present great art with love and passion.
We thought we’d be together in person for the 2021 festival, didn’t we? We’re not sure what we were thinking, but Hope, as Emily Dickinson wrote, “is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul -/ And sings the tune without the words – / And never stops – at all –“. Hope might feel small, just a tiny thing with feathers, but for us and for all the people who have brought us to this quietly promising place—our healthcare heroes, frontline workers, government leaders, funders, epidemiologists, and public health staff—hope is a generous, unstoppable force that feeds planning and motivation and determination.
Now we are hoping we can be together in 2022, but in the meantime we are offering you new and exciting work by artists who continued to create during the pandemic. Because we are in Step 3 of Ontario’s Roadmap to Reopen, we are offering livestreamed performances and some pop-up concerts in addition to a feast of video performances from imaginative musicians, singers, artisans, writers, chefs, scientists, drummers, and dancers. We are so grateful to you for your love of art and community, and we hope you like what we are offering this weekend.
Together we can keep singing the tune without the words and never stop hoping—at all.
Keep your loved ones safe and close.
Happy Hillside!
From everyone at Hillside
