Utah Phillips and others, including Radio Rail, The Black Irish Band, Los Compadres and Charlie Chin are at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento on Sunday, March 29, doing songs celebrating the culture of those who built the transcontinental railroads. Matinee 2:00 p.m., evening 7:30 p.m. Tickets by reservation only: 408-725-8142 or 916-323-6343. General Admission, $15, Senior/Student $12, Youth (1-12) $8.
The Third Annual Tomales Bay Folk Festival will be held on Saturday, April 4 at the Dance Palace, on the corner of 5th and B Streets in Point Reyes Station. The festival will feature an afternoon and evening of music by West Marin and Bay Area folk musicians.
In the afternoon from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. the Dance Palace will resound with music from a wide variety of concerts, participatory workshops and Pickin' Parlors. A variety of local musicians will lead a rollicking participatory Pickin' Parlor. Everyone is invited to bring their instruments and jam.
The evening concert at 7:30 p.m. features folksinger, songwriter, and storyteller Rosalie Sorrels. Rosalie has been performing for over forty years, has a dozen albums to her name and an immense personal repertoire which includes traditional folk songs, her own songs, and the songs of many American writers.
Advance tickets: from the Dance Palace, Box 217, Point Reyes, 94956. Tickets will be available at the door on the day of the festival. Admission for the day and evening is $15 general, $12 seniors, $8 kids and teens. For the day or evening only, $10 general, $8 seniors, $5 kids and teens.
For further information, phone (415) 663-1075.
A three-day music and camping festival will be held May 1, 2, and 3 at Lake del Valle, near Livermore. The festival will feature over 14 bands playing music ranging from folk to world beat to big band. Acts include: Mumbo Jumbo, Shana Morrison, Mike Marshall, Celtic Elvis and Nina Gerber.
Outdoor activities will include two nights of camping, kayaking, mountain biking, swimming and other events geared toward children. Volunteers are needed; they will have the best choice of camping sites.
Three-day tickets are $50 before March 15, $60 after March 15, and $70 at the gate. One-day tickets are $25 before March 15, $30 after March 15, and $35 at the gate. Children 12 and under free.
For tickets or further information call the Festival Box Office at (510) 370-8688.
April 19-25 in Elkins, West Virginia. Concerts, jam sessions and workshops. Tuition $310. Augusta Spring Dulcimer Week, Augusta Heritage Center, Davis & Elkins College, Elkins, WV 26241. E-mail: augusta @ euclid.dnE.wvnet.edu
At Angels Camp Sat. 10:00 a.m-9:00 p.m., Sun. 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Continuous live music on three stages, with a wide variety of Celtic styles from traditional ballads and folk songs to sea chanteys, jigs, and even modern Celtic rock.
Tickets: $10 per day adults, over 55 and children 7-14 ,$8. Calaveras Celtic Faire, P.O. Box 3995, Sonora, 95370 (209) 532-8375 or (209) 536-1792.
The 1998 Celtic Music and Arts Festival will be on Saturday March 7, and Sunday, March 8 from noon 'til late both days at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason.
Two days of non-stop top class music from Ireland and her Celtic sisters, a Celtic Marketplace with the best arts, crafts, services, books, music etc. Also a two-day program of workshops at the adjoining Firehouse.
Tix: $15 per day advance from City Box Office: (415) 392 4400 and BASS..also from select SF Irish bars and import shops. $20 at door.
The contest will take place Sunday, May 17 from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. at the Paramount Ranch near Agoura, California. Over 100 contestants, youngsters and old-timers alike, will participate in fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, singing and band categories. Three professional string bands will entertain. Admission: $7, seniors and ages 10-17, $4. Children under 10 free. (818) 382-4819.
The Wildflower Arts and Music Festival seeks entrants for our second annual Performing Songwriters Contest to be held in Richardson, Texas (Dallas area) on April 24-26, 1998. The focus of this contest is to recognize excellence in songwriting and performance. Three songwriters will each receive a cash prize of $500.
Please contact me at LSilas@compuserve.com or (972) 429-1636. Our web site is http://www.cor.net/wildflower.html.
The Sierra Swing Dance Camp, scheduled for July 5-12, 1998, features a week of dancing entirely to live music in the Sierras, near Kings Canyon National Park. Instruction in Lindy Hop, Contradance, Square Dance, plus Cajun/Zydeco, and Appalachian Clogging. Music, singing, swimming and canoeing in the lake. Cost will be $495, inclusive of everything (food, lodging, daily classes, evening dances). Contact Patti Smolian at <smolian@aol.com> (or phone her, she's in the pink directory) with your name and postal address if you'd like to receive a flyer in March.