Jackson Free Press

An uber early flight, a last minute gate switcheroo, and a quick transfer between the second and third plane commenced my journey to Sundance 2010. A few years ago, back when Delta would connect flights going west in Dallas, rather than the round-abouting through Atlanta, I meet Peggy Hemus, a filmmaker from Houston, Texas. We've kept in touch over the years. On Monday night, Peggy provided me with a quick guide on what's been going on at the festival, which started last Thursday.

"It's really, really cold!" said Peggy. That's about all I heard, everything after that was overshadowed by my fear of how cold is 'really, really cold'? Sundance is always cold. Could it get any colder? My resourceful husband Mark pulled up some weather reports which made me turn blue.

Even though I was born in a small Canadian fishing town on the Atlantic and spent most of my life in snow country, I'm not a cold weather gal. Since the move to Mississippi, I have sworn off parkas, boots and headgear, with the sole exception of my four-season collection of berets.

My dislike of winter has a lot to do with my childhood. When I lived in Niagara Falls, which was a big snow dump in the 70s, my parents bundled me up in snow bibs and an over-sized grizzle bear coat. I had so many layers under that hideous coat that my arms were propped out. I couldn't bend over, and I became the perfect target for snowballs from my brother. Of course, I grew up before the "thinsulates" were invented.

After Peggy's cold weather rant, I reviewed my closet and came up short. I discussed my dilemma with my friend Ann, who put me in touch with our mutual friend Elizabeth, who is the buyer for Buffalo Peaks. Elizabeth and her team pulled together some fabulous and reasonably priced items. I am now outfitted with a petal pink base layer to match my raspberry-go-red parka that I bought a decade ago for my first Sundance experience. I also have a white undercoat which is incredibly warm. On top of that, Elizabeth has equipped me with this great brown polar fleece jacket. I can wear the brown fleece under the parka and over the petal pink base layer and the white undercoat. I haven't checked yet if my arms will stick out, but I promise you this. I will be warm at Sundance 2010!