The Eleventh Annual Napa Valley Music & Wine Festival will be held September 24, 25 & 26 at Skyline Park in Napa, California. Ticket information and the schedule of performers can be obtained from the website: <http://www.napafest.com> or call (707) 252-4813. The festival offers outstanding main stage concerts, workshops, song circles and jams, an "open mic" stage, and a superb children's program. This year the festival also features two late-night poetry. Camping on site lets everyone participate in all activities. This is the 11th anniversary for the festival and for the songwriter showcase, which is now called the Napa Valley Music & Wine Festival Songwriter Showcase. This year, silent wine auctions will be held nightly.
Songwriter Showcase: All performing songwriters are invited to submit an entry for the Songwriter Showcase. Send your tape, with two original songs and the $20 entry fee, to: Napa Valley Folk Fellowship, P.O. Box 10227, Napa, CA 94581. Important: The deadline for entries is July 1. Twenty finalists will be invited to participate in the Showcase September 25th, when 5 songwriters will be selected to receive $250 each and perform a full set of their original material the next day. Entrants not selected to showcase, will be given a FREE one-day pass to the festival.
Instructions: Songs may be performed solo or with a group. Make sure your tape has your name, address, and phone number and is set to play. Do not submit in a case and do not include other information. Tapes will not be returned. Complete rules and guidelines can be found on the website or by calling Toby Roodman (408) 358-3505 or email to <tobynita@earthlink.net>. The 20 finalists and 10 honorable mentions will be notified by August 15th..
The Napa Valley Music & Wine Festival is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that promotes education and cultural awareness through traditional forms of acoustic music. Proceeds from the festival are used to underwrite music programs in elementary schools throughout Napa Valley. If you or someone you know are interested in volunteering, call Sandy Johnson, Staff Coordinator, at 707- 642-2349.
The Sea Music Concert Series for 1999 takes place aboard the 1886 square-rigger Balclutha. Dates and performers will be Dan Milner and Bob Conroy (both Irish sea song specialists) on September 11, Forebitter on October 16, Alasdair Fraser on November 20, and Cindy Kallet on December 18. All concerts are on a Saturday and start at 8 PM. You can attend all 4 concerts for $40, or pay $10 for Dan/Bob and Cindy and $15 for Forebitter and Alasdair. Reduced-price tickets are available for members of the National Maritime Museum Association. For more information call 415-561-6662, X 18.
The 22nd Annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival happens at Jerich Beach Park in Vancouver on July 16-18. Featured this year are the traditional music of Persia; new Scottish music; voices of the First Nations; 1,000 years of Chinese music; hot sounds from Brazil, South Africa, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Equatorial Guinea; and a Taiko drumming extravaganza. The website URL is <http://www.thefestival.bc.ca>, and you can get a brochure by calling 1-800-883-3655 or 1-604-602-9798.
The Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering will be held July 30 through August 1 at the Nofziger Farm in Albany, OR. This year’s list of performers and workshop leaders includes Bryan Bowers, Mike Herr, Bill Bryant, Les Gustafson-Zook, and Meryle Korn. There is a "Harper’s Bazaar," where recordings, autoharps and related equipment can be had. Cost of the Gathering is $35 per person for the whole weekend! Camping fees are $5 per vehicle per night, and a list of local motels is also available. Meals catered by the Nofziger family will be available for a nominal fee. For additional information, contact Cathy Britell at <cbritell@worldnett.att.net> or John Arthur at <jread@proaxis.com>, 541-745-7568, or you can visit their website at <http://members.aol.com/autoharps/wvag.html>.
KGXXV will be at the Lewis and Clark Campground in Washington on August 13-15, 1999. It’s just off I5, between Portland Oregon and Olympia, Washington. Susan Howell has the details, and can be reached at <andersen@macmail.chem.washington.edu>.
One event scheduled for the Commencement Bay Maritime Fest, held in Tacoma, WA, on September 18 and 19, will be a two-part Shanty Sing-off! The two parts are a songwriting one and "a rowdy, no-holds barred shanty-bellowing contest." Contest is open to residents of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana; if you fit this category you can enter shanties, forebitters, sea-songs, and parodies thereof for the paltry sum of $10 for two songs. Further information can be had from The Great Northwest Shanty Sing-Off, c/o Victory Music, PO Box 2254, Tacoma, WA 98401-2254, or by email at <nwshanty99@hotbot.com>, and complete rules and entry forms are available at <http://www.brothermedia.com/shanty.html>. Good luck to all!
The Southern California Dulcimer Hertage announces that this year’s festival is set for Saturday, September 25, 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM at the Dana Point Youth & Group Facility. In addition to beginner and intermediate/advanced tracks in both kinds of dulcimers, this year there’s also a non-dulcimer track where you can learn percussion from David Miles, "Old-World Band for All Melody Instruments from Paul Oorts, and Gaelic singing from Mary McLaughlin. The fretted dulcimer teachers this year include Ruth Barrett, Cyntia Smith, Margie Mirken, Neal Hellman, Martha Wild, and Bonnie Carol! Hammered dulcimer teachers include Chris Peterson, Jef Bratt, Bonnie Carol, Jim Hayes, Patti Amelotte, and Steve Schneider. And on the following day, intensive workshops will be available from Bonnie (skills and repertoire for playing with other people), Steve (playing expressively, arranging, accompanying, and performing, plus ways of solving musical problems, for which 10 minutes will be devoted to YOUR problem), and Paul (DADGAD guitar playing). Information available from SCDH, PO Box 712122, Santee, CA 92072-2122.
For those interested in traveling, you may want to attend the Housatonic Dulcimer Festival in New Milford, Connecticut! The dates are September 24-26, and the URL of the website is <http://www.robearmusic.com> (Rob Brereton). Thomasina writes that they have added an entire column of workshops which are not just for dulcimer players--workshops for the guitar, autoharp, tin whistle, drumming, vocal techniques, and a singing circle. Jean Ritchie is the featured lap dulcimer perfomer, and Ken Kolodner is the featured hammered dulcimer performer. Other teachers and performers include Lois Hornbostel, Maddie MacNeil, Steve Seifert, Jerry Rockwell, Bernadette Weimer, Dallas Cline, Dan Duggan, Neal Walters, Heidi Cerrigione, David Marks, Mike Kachuba, Thomasina, Sue Ford, John Marshall, Ian McHigh, and Rob Brereton. E-mail <Thomasina9@aol.com> to be put on the mailing list. Or visit the website given above.
Did you know there’s a Fiddle Contest at the Alameda County Fair? If not, although you missed the preregistration deadline, which was June 21, you can still contact 4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton, CA 94566 for mor information. The contest will be held on July 10, and is open to all acoustic fiddlers (even those under 10, it says here).
The Humboldt Folklife Festival takes place July 16, 17, 18 at Bluelake. Food, story telling, lots of workshops, crafts, fiddle contest, dancing, fine concerts. Information can be had telephonically at 707-822-8462 or 822 6264. To volunteer, phone Cat Koshkin at 707-822-2888 or email <humcat@humboltl.com>.
The Wolf Mountain Bluegrass Festival takes place July 30 through August 1 in Grass Valley. This is a weekend of camping with music, arts & crafts, food, and family fun for all. Headliners include Vern And Ray, Laurel Canyon Ramblers, Sam Hill, Crane Canyon, Blade Runners, High Country, Crooked Jades, and Lone Prairie. For information, call 831-425-2270, write to PO Box 90, Santa Cruz, CA 95063, or email <Dbaker@Brigon.com> .
The 1999 Festival of the Sea takes place September 25-26. This year's Festival celebrates the Gold Rush with more exciting volunteer opportunities (and needs) than ever. Mark your calendar now or better yet, call 415-556-1613 to get on the mailing list so you can be part of the fun.