Some Fine Festivals from Sweet Music Index

These are mountain dulcimer festival announcements collected from the posts on Sweet Music Digest listed in the order they have appeared. If you want your festival listed here, just announce it on the Digest. We'll do the rest. To find a festival in your area, use the Edit / Find function on your browser to run a search on the name of the state you're looking for or scroll down the list. The state names are in bold-face type. Check the dates carefully. All dates are for 1998. Mountain dulcimer festivals are also listed at Dulcimer Players News. So if you don't find what you're looking for here, check there.

Greetings to you all from Connecticut. Well, Housatonic Dulcimer Celebration #5 is scheduled to take place this fall on Friday, Sept 18 to Sunday, Sept. 20th in New Milford. Featured performers are: David Schnaufer and Steve Schneider w/ Paul Oorts. Other artists include: Neal Walters, Heidi Cerrigione, Stephen Seifert, Walt Michael, Lorraine and Bennett Hammond, George Haggerty, Esther Creek, Bernadette Weimer, Dallas Cline, Sue Ford, Rob Brereton, Mike Kachuba, David Marks, and Thomasina.

We are expanding the workshops to also include five guitar workshops as well as workshops in drumming, songwriting, and a Singing Circle. It looks like it's going to be another great weekend in beautiful New England
in the Autumn. It should be great fun....

For information write to:
Housatonic Dulcimer Celebration
P.O. Box 2024
New Milford, CT 06776
Or call: 203- 266- 7560
Or e-mail: Thomasina9@aol.com

I am happy to announce that the first "Great River Road Festival" will be held at the Pere Marquette State Park just north of Grafton, Illinois. The Festival is sponsored by the "Gateway Dulcimer Society". The park is about 40-45 miles north of St. Louis, Mo. The dates of the Festival are August 21-22-23. The official beginning is at noon Friday, August 21, all day Saturday, August 22, and a Gospel Sing on Sunday morning August 23. Come earlier and stay later.

The featured performers are David Schnaufer (Tenn.), Rick Thum (Mo.), Gary Gallier (Mo.), Kendra Ward and Bob Bence (Ohio), Alfonse Ponticelli (Illinois), Al McFarlane (Kansas), Maureen Sellers (Indiana), Hollis Landrum (Miss.), Alex Usher (Mo.), and Doug Felt (Ohio). As you can see there will be four national Mountain Dulcimer Champions present.

There will be mini-concerts Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and afternoon, concerts Friday and Saturday evenings, workshops Friday and Saturday, open mike both days, vendors, fast and slow jams all day.

The park is a newly remodeled WPA project from the 1930s built along the cliffs with a long sloping lawn going down to the Illinois River. It is one of the prettiest parks in the entire United States.

There will be plenty of outside activities for the non-musical partners including antiquing, water theme parks, hiking, horseback riding, etc..

The campground is built adjacent to the lodge grounds. We suggest that you reserve rooms and camp spaces as early as possible as they are limited.

Visit our website at
http://members.aol.com/gatewaydul/index.html.
Contact Jack Giger at Gatewaydul@aol.com, 618-344-2822, or Sharon Hargus, hargus65@agtelco.com, 618-675-3535 for further information or for pre-registration forms.

Come jam With Big Muddy. See you there.

I just wanted to send a quick update on plans for Kindred Gathering (twenty something). This year's event will be August 14-16. The location is just South of Lake Cuchuma between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. That's in Southern California. The site is called Live Oaks and is run by Santa Barbara County. There is a common cooking area, warm, communal, sex-segregated showers, and lots of room for camping. As the name implies there are lots of oak trees for shade though a Southern California oak is a pretty poor cousin to the lush expansive trees in rainier climates.

For those of you who have never attended a Kindred Gathering, it's not like any other festival. There are no paid performers or teachers. Anyone wanting to present a workshop or lead a particular jam puts it on the posted schedule. Likewise the Saturday evening concert is divided among those wishing to perform. Meals are mostly potluck.

Those of us in Southern California Dulcimer Heritage can help with transportation from train or plane terminals. For more info or questions, e-mail me directly as I've become really flakey about keeping up with the list.

Fret dulcimers not life.
connie_allen@dulcimer.lover.org
connie@eagle.fdbs.com

Announcing Meadowlark, a music camp for adults in mid-coast Maine, August 23-29, featuring Old-Time, Celtic, Folk, Maritime, and good-time music, with concerts, jamming, and instructional workshops at ALL LEVELS.

Our instructors this year will be: Anne Dodson (teaching mountain dulcimer and singing; of Different Shoes), Keith Murphy & Becky Tracy (of Nightingale), Ken Kolodner (of Helicon), Malke Rosenfeld (of Riverdance), Mike Casey, Ritchie Stearns (of the Horseflies), Deborah Friou, Jerry Bryant, and Chris Turner & Rachel Maloney (of The Nee Ningy Band). We will offer instructional workshops for banjo, guitar, fiddle, flute, tin whistle, celtic harp, mandolin, mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, harmonica, keyboards, concertina,
step dance, clogging, and both group and solo singing.

Meadowlark Camp's facilities include 1/4 mile of frontage on Washington Pond, a 4-mile crystal clear lake, plus 20 cabins with bunks and showers, dance studio, performance hall, and easy access to the coast. Discounts available for workstudy and for tenting or B&B option. Great food including last night Maine lobster feast. Also contradancing, step dancing, clogging, and Rosen Body Work sessions available. Ample opportunities for non-musical spouses/families to enjoy themselves along the coast, including beaches, whale watching, LL Bean's, and more.

For more information, please contact: Curt Stager (director)
E-MAIL: stagerj@paulsmiths.edu
PHONE: (518) 327-3561
WRITE: P.O. Box 158, Paul Smiths, NY 12970.
AFTER JUNE 10: (207) 845-2555, medolark@acadia.net

I am happy to announce the first annual Cedar Creek Dulcimer Jubilee, festival for mountain & hammered dulcimer and other folk instruments, sponsored by Folk Notes Dulcimer Shop. It will be held at the Red Cedars Easter Seal Camp, 3900 Hursh Rd, Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 7-9, 1998.

There will be camping available on the premises (no hookups), workshops, jamming, open stage, concerts, swimming, a raffle for a Simerman dulcimer, and more.

The Saturday evening concert will feature Sweetwater, Jim Hudson, Maureen Sellers, and Shakin' Hammers String Band. There will be a noontime concert Saturday with Sam Stone which is open to all festival attendees. For more information go to:

http://www.tk7.net/ddenhart/CdrCrk.htm or
http://www.tk7.net/ddenhart/folknotes/festnews.htm
any additional questions, e-mail me at ddenhart@tk7.net

Hi folks! I'd like to pass on some info about a great dulcimer festival in Pennsylvania. Linda Littleton of Simple Gifts (of State College, PA) is the new organizer and she has great plans to open it to ALL folk instruments.

Featuring:
Simple Gifts - Instrumental music from Celtic to Klezmer
Heartstrings - Irish and American music on hammered dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, and bodhran
Tull Glazener - mountain dulcimer
Mark Alan Wade - hammered dulcimer
Randy Kochel - hammered dulcimer

NEW! Free Evening Sessions at Clarion University , about 15 miles south of Cook Forest. Workshop for all on Friday 7:30 pm-9:30 pm--Simple Steps to Performance with Simple Gifts--followed by a jam. Free concert Saturday 7:30 pm-9:30 pm with Simple Gifts & Tull Glazener followed by slow, singing, and instrumental jams.

NEW! Workshops open to ANY folk instrument. Workshops for ALL include Old Timey Tunes, Eastern European Tunes, Arranging Music, Folk Band, Backup Techniques, Hymns, and Jamming. Special workshops for fiddle, bodhran, and spoons.

NEW! Organized Jamming Evenings and at workshops.

NEW FORMAT! Attend any workshop. No need to pre-register for specific classes as in previous years.

PLUS! Vendors. Open Stage. Saturday Lunch-time Mini-Concerts by Workshop Leaders. Hymn Sing. Workshops with featured performers and Nils Caspersson, Pam Cyphert, Ken Longfield, Donna Missigman, Barb Nagle and Sue Henschel, Sally Ringland, Carolyn Schiffhouer. Workshops for all levels of mountain and hammered dulcimer. Topics for mountain dulcimer include Fingerpicking, Creating Harmony, Christmas Carols, Mountain Tunes, Waltzes, and more. Hammered dulcimer topics include Hammering Techniques, Chords, Backup, Irish tunes, and more.

Cost: $20 - pre-registered full weekend- all workshops & concerts ($23 at the door)

For brochure or more information write

Dulcimer Roundup
Sawmill Center for the Arts
P.O. Box 180
Cooksburg PA 16217

814-927-6655
sawmill@penn.com

I was wondering if anyone out there had any information about the August Dulcimer Daze,  in Vermont. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

This event happens August 28 - 30 in West Dover, Vermont.  Friday evening there's an open mike followed by a contra dance in nearby Wilmington. 

Wonderful variety of workshops run all day Saturday.  Workshop leaders are Aubrey Atwater, Dallas Cline, George Haggerty, Lori Keddell, Sandy Lafleur, Bonnie Leigh & Bernadette Wiemer.

The Saturday evening concert features Margaret MacArthur & family, Neal & Coleen Walters, Heidi & John Cerrigione, and Lucy Joan Sollogub who will also be leading workshops.

Sunday morning there's a hymn sing and more workshops.  In addition to an interesting assortment of dulcimer workshops, there are workshops in Irish tin whistle, Autoharp, Beginning Songwriting, and Singing.

This will be the 4th year I've attended this festival, the 2nd year I've lead workshops. It has always been a great weekend. George & Mary Haggerty, the festival organizers, have pulled out all the stops this year. Contact them at (802) 368-7437for more information and to register.  Cost for the the festival is only $40.00 if you register in advance.

Hope to see you there!

Make a note: Harmony Harvest Campout, Sept. 18-20 at the Buckeye Lake, Ohio KOA. Sponsored by Standing Stone Strings and Things Dulcimer Club, Lancaster, Ohio. Info: Mike Oliver, 152 E. Fair Ave, Lancaster, Ohio 43130-1801 or phone 740-653-0917.

There was an inquiry about a month ago regarding a Festival in Iowa at Purviance farm. That had been originally scheduled for late June. I received a mailing about it today. It has been recheduled for Oct. Jams are scheduled for Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3. Workshops are scheduled 9:00 to 3:00 on Saturday and 9:00 to 12:00 on Sunday.

Instructors include: Bill and Sharon Van Dusen, Chuck and Shari Hornback, and Micky Davis.

For further details contact Shari or Chuck Hornback at 515-285-7462 or Micky Davis at 515-292-4278

The Venue is Purviance Farm near Dallas Center in Central Iowa, close to Des Moines. Purviance Farm is a 100 year-old farmstead with overnight rooms available at $50 for 1 room double occupancy. Direct calls to Nadine Weiser at 515-464-4986.

Hi folks!  Here's a reminder about The Great Dulcimer Roundup in Cook Forest Pennsylvania coming up September 11-13.

Linda Littleton of Simple Gifts (of State College, PA) is the new organizer and she has great plans to open it to ALL folk instruments.

Concerts Feature: Simple Gifts - Instrumental music from Celtic to Klezmer; Heartstrings -  Irish and American music on hammered dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, and bodhran; Tull Glazener - mountain dulcimer; Mark Alan Wade - hammered dulcimer; Randy Kochel - hammered dulcimer

The roundup starts Friday evening with a FREE workshop for all instruments at Clarion University , about 15 miles south of Cook Forest. It's 7:30 pm-9:30 pm in Moore Hall. Simple Gifts will present "Simple Steps to Performance", followed by a jam.

The Saturday evening concert with Tull Gleasoner and Simple Gifts, also at Clarion University, is freetoo and followed by slow, singing, and instrumental jams.

NEW! Workshops open to ANY folk instrument. Workshops for ALL include Old Timey Tunes, Eastern European Tunes, Arranging Music,  Folk Band, Backup Techniques, Hymns, and Jamming. Special workshops for fiddle, bodhran and spoons.

PLUS! Vendors. Open Stage. Saturday Lunch-time Mini-Concerts by Workshop Leaders. Hymn Sing. Workshops with featured performers and Nils Caspersson, Pam Cyphert, Mark Fowler, Ken Longfield, Donna Missigman, Barb Nagle and Sue Henschel, Jim Hudson, Sally Ringland, Carolyn Schiffhouer. Workshops for all levels of mountain and hammered dulcimer. Topics for mountain dulcimer include  Fingerpicking, Creating Harmony , Christmas Carols, Mountain Tunes, Waltzes and more. Hammered dulcimer topics include Hammering Techniques,  Chords, Backup,  Irish tunes and more.

Save a few bucks and preregister. For brochure or more information write:

Dulcimer Roundup
Sawmill Center for the Arts
P.O. Box 180
Cooksburg PA 16217

814-927-6655
sawmill@penn.com

If you don't have a brochure you can email me for directions.
Sally Ringland ringland@mail.clarion.edu

some related resources:
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