Funny thing. None of us can remember how or where we met Louise; it just seems as if she was always around. But no, there it is in the festival program: she came on as accommodations coordinator for the 15th annual festival in 1991. In 1992 and 1993 she handled the crafts tent. Then, after a lot of friendly persuasion, she took over as site manager for the 18th festival, in 1994. That was the year the patio lanterns made their first appearance.
We had no lights for the pathway in front of the beer garden. We also had no money. So Louise drove home and brought us her patio lanterns - plus whatever sets she could borrow. That was also the first year she worked with Fabian Hartery, who was doing the electrical, stringing wire as Louise was stringing snow fence. Which gave rise to the all-time most-asked festival question: "Where's the staple gun?" Only - Louise yelled it with a lot more authority.
In 1995 and 1996 she joined the board of directors and continued as site manager. Our stash of patio lanterns grew considerably. Of course, we still had no money, but Louise blew her personal budget to light up our nights. And she brought her own staple gun.
After the 20th festival she calmly announced her resignation, and at the 21st she came floating into the beer garden with a look of glee - not just because she was free of responsibility, but because we had even more patio lanterns. "My legacy," she called them.
Other aspects of Louise's life - her care for the hungry and homeless, her love of the business she inherited from her dad (Kearney and Daughter in the Avalon Mall), her admiration for her brother's work as a jeweler, and her many other passions - are well known, and were most recently captured in the Lives Lived column of the Globe and Mail. But we knew her first and foremost as a festival booster.
At the wake her family had many photos of Louise. My favourite showed her on the festival stage on a Sunday night, with musicians and other organizers, belting out The Ode to Newfoundland.
The card on our floral arrangement read "With sympathy and happy memories." We had a lot of good laughs, the occasional good cry, a few differences of opinion and many toasts. Here's to ya.