Some Memories of Willie P. Bennett

I keep getting the picture in my mind of a festival (probably the Ottawa Festival For the Folks, summer 1977 or 1978)
where it started pouring rain in the afternoon, and everyone was looking for shelter,
Willie spontaneously (or so it seemed to me) saved the day by starting to perform in some old dinning hall on the grounds,
completely acoustically, no mics or amplifiers,
as all of us huddled inside - it was hard to hear, but still a great experience - experiencing his voice live in front of you was always something special....

or the time that he showed up at the Toronto Folklore Centre (TFC) on Avenue RD. (in an old redbrick house on the west side,right near the bridge of the railroad tracks) right after he had shaved his head for the first time and everyone was inspecting and questioning him, and he just picked up a harmonica and started to play...he used to hang out at the TFC quite often in the middle of the day, sometimes trying out guitars, sometimes just resting (or waking up)...I wasn't on speaking terms with him, just on "hey there" nodding to each other kind of terms.

these are some of the nice memories I have of him