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The San Francisco Folk Music Club
(SFFMC) is a non-profit corporation (501(c)(3)) of
singers, instrumentalists, performers, song writers,
dancers and listeners who embody a set of personal
and musical relationships whose longevity and hybrid
vigor attest that what we do is something in which
we deeply believe. Its purpose is the enjoyment,
dissemination and preservation in individual, family
and community life of that acoustic music roughly
defined as folk. |
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Friday Night Jams. Song swaps
and jams are held on the second and fourth Fridays
of each month at our new home, Cyprian’s ARC, at
Turk and Lyon streets in San Francisco, from 8:00
p.m. until midnight. This venue has 5 separate rooms
for jamming and lots of easy street parking within
one block. Please try to park on the street, but if
you can't find anything closer, you may park in the
blood bank lot at Turk and Masonic. Please note—NO
PETS! Service animals only. Further information at
(510) 473-6651. |
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The folknik, the Club
newsletter, issued every other month, contains a
schedule of folk music events in the San Francisco
Bay Area and beyond, original songs, news of Club
activities, and articles of general interest. A
subscription list of about 650 persons and folk
music organizations is maintained. Mailing is done
at a pot-luck music party by volunteers who fold and
tab the newsletter, eat and make music when the job
is done. Time and place of folding parties are on
page 2 of each folknik. The online folknik
publishes most of the content from the printed
edition, and lists current and some past issues. |
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Music Campouts - Three
weekends a year--Memorial, July 4th, and Labor Day--
the SFFMC sponsors music campouts in the Bay Area,
featuring lots of singing around the campfire,
evening concerts, and other outdoor activities for
the whole family. To find out about the campouts
click the "Music Campouts" title above. |
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Camp New Harmony takes
place over the New Year holiday, lasts four to five
days and is restricted to Club members and their
families. There are heated cabins and central dining
hall where we eat together for three gourmet meals
per day - plus workshops, concerts, dancing and the
usual unstructured singing and jamming. For more
information click the "Camp New Harmony" title
above, or contact Amelia Hogan, 831-331-3705. |
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In June each year, the Club presents
the San Francisco Free Folk
Festival, with two days of performances,
workshops and dancing, as a gift to the people of
the SF Bay Area. Admission is free; the performers,
the organizing committee, and all festival staff
volunteer their time. |
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In October each year, the Club
presents
the El Cerrito Free Folk
Festival, with one day of performances,
workshops and dancing, as a gift to the people of
the SF Bay Area. Admission is free; the performers,
the organizing committee, and all festival staff
volunteer their time. |
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All work for SFFMC is done by
volunteers except for the person who maintains the
mailing list. This keeps subscription costs low.
Decisions are made by a Board which meets the second
Tuesday of each month at a location announced in the
folknik. Everyone is invited to these
meetings for discussions on practical and policy
matters affecting the Club. |
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Club History: The SFFMC was
founded by Dave Rothkop who reports: “San Francisco
Folk Music Club was the legitimate child of
Hiroshima and the Cold War. Believing that music is
the one language capable of transcending national
egotism, a small group of idealistic and not very
musically gifted high schoolers began meeting in
each others’ homes in 1948.... We didn’t end the
cold war but have pursued our dream of mutual
understanding through music.” In 1959 the Club was
reorganized by Herb Jager on a somewhat more formal
level to assure its continuity and promote concerts,
benefit performances and other activities related to
the community. In mid-l962 when Herb left the area,
Faith Petric took responsibility for keeping the
Club functioning and in 1964 started publication of
the folknik. |
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Because there are many whose love of
folk music causes them to devote a considerable
amount of time and energy to the Club, it has grown
to about 650 subscribers, has
inspired/mothered/fathered some five folk clubs in
California and is a solid musical entity in the West
Coast music scene. Some members have gone on to fame
and fortune, such as they are in folk fields,
becoming professional performers. |
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For further information on the San
Francisco Folk Music Club, please write 1609 Woolsey
St, Berkeley CA 94703, or email
info@sffmc.org |