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The New Year in and at Harmony Solsthannukhamas Party Button Party Folk Music and Beyond Fold-in/Folk Sing December 18 Website o’ the Month |
The New Year in and at HarmonyCamp Harmony: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - Sunday, January 1, 2006Camp Harmony approacheth! If you haven't done it yet, be sure to get your registration to Katie right away. The deadline is December 3. If you are already registered and realize you can't attend all or part of camp, please contact Katie at (Subject: Camp Harmony Cancellation) or by phone at 510-548-4727 (before 9:00 pm please!) as soon as you can. Prompt cancellation gets you a bigger refund, and allows more folkies a chance to get in. If you lost your registration form you can print one from our website at www.sffmc.org. Click on Camp Harmony and then on Forms and Registration.New—Kid’s DiscountWe know how expensive camp is for families. To help those who need it, this year we have set aside some campership funds for kids 3–17. You may take $5 per day off your child’s registration fee. Take this discount before any requested percentage campership. Please do not ask for more than you need to come to camp. Funds are very limited and we need to stretch them as far as we can. We will notify you if we have run out of campership funds, but for now, some are still available.Late Registrations and Drop InsIf you have not signed up by December 3, check with Katie to see if camp is full. We may be able to take a few late applications. Phone before 9:00 pm or email as above with the subject: Camp Harmony Registration. If camp is full, members are still welcome as Drop-In campers. A drop-in day is 2:00 pm to 2:00 pm the next day, and includes a bed in a cabin if one is available. The price is $50/day ($30/day for kids 3–11) plus one chore. No meals are included in the price, but some meals may be available for purchase from preregistered campers. Check the Meal Sales box at camp. Camp Harmony is held at Camps Campbell and Harmon, 16275 Highway 9, Boulder Creek, CA, 3 miles north of Boulder Creek town center.WorkshopsThis camp has all-volunteer staff, so any camper can (and is encouraged to) hold a workshop. There is always a special need for beginning-anything! If you can teach a workshop, please contact Joan Hall-Feinberg at or 510-451-1122 (for beginners workshops) or Katie Riemer at or 510-548-4727 (for everything else). Joan is also the person to contact if you can loan an instrument to a beginners workshop. She is especially looking for child-sized fiddles and guitars, but will coordinate the loan and use of all loaner instruments. Joan and Katie will fit all those workshops into the camp schedule. There will be plenty of space left at camp for more workshops of all kinds. Check the Workshop Calendar when you arrive.ChoresWorkshops, evening concerts and dances and song and tune sessions are only a few of the activities at camp. One of the most rewarding activities is the way you help camp work for all of us: your chore hours. Helping Debby in the kitchen is one of the main ways, or doing a stint in a parking lot is a great way to work off those required hours. You can sign up for those, and other jobs, when you arrive at camp. If you can commit now to 2-3 hours on January 1 for Take Down, please contact Ellen Eagan (650-583-6413 or ). This will fulfill all your chore hours for a full 5 days at camp! There are 12 of these choice spots, and we will all be able to enjoy camp, knowing there will be enough hands on tap to make the work go smoothly at the end. Whether you commit early or sign up for your chores at registration, the basic rule is the same: your chore hours are part of your “payment” for attending camp. You are responsible for the chores signed for in your name. Please show up on time and do them regardless of how much fun you might be having at the time.Bring Your Cup!Of course you’ll bring your own mug to camp and carry it with you everywhere. Just in case you forget, we will again have rental cups available in the Dining Hall, Reg Room and a few in Sommer Lodge— $1.00 for the whole week. These cups are your responsibility for the duration of camp, so you must wash them yourself. Camp staff will not wash any cups during camp, which is one of the many reasons we must now provide our own. We also will have a limited number of paper cups available, but to discourage waste and cover our costs, we will need to charge 10 cents for each cup you take. We’ve used over 6000 cups each year in the past, and this change has significantly cut the amount of waste we generate. Parents, please provide cups for your children, too. Please bring and carry your mug with you!Swing Dance NightThe schedule isn’t set yet, but will be available at the website before camp starts. Adam Cavan is coordinating the Swing Night music at camp. If you want to bring an electric instrument to camp, please talk to Adam first. Remember, Camp Harmony is primarily an acoustic music camp, and electric instruments are discouraged at all but this special camp event. Contact or 415-989-7552. There is dancing every night at camp, often contras, but also French, Balkan, Irish sets and waltzes.NotesIf you have any health, disability or dietary concerns, contact Ray Frank at or 530-756-7089. Flu shots are highly recommended and are most effective at least 6 weeks before they are needed. Isn’t that right about now? As always: NO PETS! Also no beeping things are allowed to beep at camp. |
Solsthannukhamas PartyOn Dec. 23 at 885 Clayton, SF, everyone is invited to our annual observation of Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas and other observations of the holiday season. Bring favorite treats—finger foods and drinks— and good cheer and heartfelt songs. Non-alcoholic and wine grog are provided by the Club. |
Button PartyThe Camp Harmony Button Making Party is Tuesday, December 6 at David and Mary Luckhardt’s house in Richmond. Call 510-233-5065 or email for directions. Make a special button for yourself, and help crank out the 400 buttons we will need for camp. This is always a fun party. Happy New Year to all our Harmony Family from the Camp Committee. We hope to see you all at Camp. |
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Folk Music and BeyondBob Campbell & Joanne Mar’s radio show airs Saturdays, 3:00–5:00 pm on 91.7 KALW—San Francisco Public Radio. Whether it’s a live show with amazing musicians from near and far or tracks chosen by the eclectic and interesting hosts, it’s always great. You can also see playlists, information on the artists, and stream shows from their website www.kalwfolk.org. Turn it on and tune in! Upcoming shows:
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Fold-in/Folk Sing December 18The fold-in is at noon, Sunday, December 18, at the home of Abe & Joan Feinberg. The more, the merrier. Help with the folknik, enjoy a meal afterwards, and make music. Bring a potluck dish and instruments. |
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Website o’ the MonthMy latest discovery is www.folkstreams.net. This wonderful site is a treasure trove of independent documentaries on folk culture, all streamed for free from the site. They say this about themselves: “The mission of Folkstreams.net is to build a national preserve of documentary films about American folk or roots culture...Folkstreams.net also encourages alternative forms of filmmaking about subjects neglected by mainstream corporate media.” The site has films on Gandy Dancing, Delta Bluesmen, Fife & Drum music of MI, history of the Medicine Show, Cowboy Poets, the Ballad of Frankie Silver, and that’s just a few of the music related pieces. In addition to more musical subjects, there are pieces on folk artists, healers, story-tellers; I could go on. I also found this lovely quote from a posting on their blog, www.folkstreams.net/blog/. “...Folklore is not confined to the past or even confined to its heroes...but is alive and well in every community. People sometimes like to romanticize folk culture and folklore subjects, to treat them like endangered species, but folkways are survivors...” Amen —Susan |