Harpa 2019 is drawing to a close and with that comes the big jumble of emotions – so much joy and discovery and laughter…and cookies!  And just a touch of sadness – another lovely vacation trip with new and old friends is in the books.  Memories to share and cherish, plans to mature for the next time and the gap of quiet once we have departed each other.

Harpa may not be what you think it is. It is likely so much more!  Yes, it is a vacation with friends and harps.  Yes, we tour and visit and chill.  We perform to help raise money for local charities, but mostly we perform because we love to!

But Harpa is also a spirit, a way of being, a way of life.  Harpaniks (as we affectionately refer to ourselves) seem to use our harps to frame our view.  We spend time looking at the world from many perspectives.  From behind the harp we see where we can touch the world, to delight an audience, to help a charity, to draw a smile or a tear.  From beside our harps we introduce people to our instruments and our amazing music.  With our harps we meet new people- at concerts but also at the local stromach (session) or in a fish and chips shop.  And from under our harps as we carry them from the airport, to and from venues, and everywhere in between, we see the kindnesses of strangers (sometimes after they gawp at us!) who have helped us get through airports and train stations, into and out of taxis and elevators.  And through all of this, in between times we share with each other – playing tunes, rehearsing, showing off.

All because we aren’t just people who play an instrument.  We love it!

Harpa is more than a vacation – it’s a way of seeing and being.  And we have looked and we have seen!  Of course, there is so much more to look at!

We are privileged to have helped others and by extension have made our lives a little better. We are grateful for the opportunity and we just had fun doing it!

And in our down time, we made art together, ate a lot and laughed a lot, from titters at lame jokes to the guffaws of funny stories and separate yet shared experiences.

Through it all we missed our founder, but she’ll be healed up and ready to go for the next time.  And we’re already thinking about what next time is going to look like.  Watch this space for updates.  And visit our Facebook page for more photos and videos.

Harpa is a concept and a state of mind – travel, friends, new things, old ties, and the music that binds us all… I cannot wait for the next one!  Want to join us? Leave me a message to learn more.