When Aqua announced their 90s Rewind tour my friend, C, and I immediately knew we wanted to go. We were unable to secure presale tickets so we online trying to buy tickets the second they came available. No luck. So we stalked the buy and sell pages and resale sites, desperately hoping to scoop up a pair. We checked all the surrounding area concerts as well.
With a mere two week left before the concert, out chances were looking meek. Then, while scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed one day I say SWOOP airlines was advertising flights to Abbotsford. We knew from our search for tickets that they also had an Abbotsford tour stop. After figuring out the logistics we booked the flights.
SWOOP
From Edmonton(YEG) to Abbotsford(YXX) the flights were approximately $48 CAD return. This price included all taxes. That being said, having only launched 6 months ago, SWOOP is a new discount airline. Included in the $48 is nothing. No snacks. No checked bag. No seat selection. And most importantly no carry-on. You are allowed a small personal item provided it fits under the seat in front of you. We opted to not bring any luggage with us and took our chances on the seat selection.
24 hours before our flight we checked in online and took the seats assigned to us. Total flight time was under 1 1/2 each way. This was the first time I had ever flown with a budget airline and I was impressed that low budget didn’t mean sub-par. The plane (I believe it was the same each way) was clean and in great condition. I have paid much more, for much much worse.
Abbotsford
We spent the afternoon exploring the city of Abbotsford. Mostly we drove around, it was raining, but the charm was evident. The craft breweries and wineries we around every corner. Downtown is full of historic buildings, – they were even filming a Hallmark Christmas movie while we were there – and the markets with fresh vegetables we plentiful. The surrounding mountains would provide an abundance of hiking, provided I was with different company.
AQUA
This was the entire reason for this trip. The Aqua 90s rewind concert. The opening acts were Whigfield and Prozzäk. I only knew one song for Whigfield she sang it like it was 1998 and it was incredible. Prozzäk, who I was almost as excited for as Aqua, was disappointing. Their microphones seemed almost too loud and it was hard to understand them. We actually stepped outside during the performance and you could hear them more clearly from outside the building.
Between each act, they had a Much Music Video Dance. Man did that bring back memories. The throwback music had the whole crowd dancing all night. There wasn’t a single song that we went singing along with.
Finally, the moment we were waiting for. Aqua. Their concert offered everything we were hoping for. A night back in the 90s. We sing and dance to all the hits. From Barbie girl to Candy Man. Towards the end of the show, they started to perform their remixes, which was not something usually I usually enjoy, but the energy of the band and the crowd was something you couldn’t help but enjoy.
Time to go home
Alas, it was time to go home. With only 24 hours in the town of Abbotsford, we didn’t get a lot of time to explore. I did, however, have time to compile a list of things I would like to do on my return. I am already looking at SWOOP for flights and planning the return trip.