Spokane Folklore Society

Letter From The President

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Folklore Society members,
This month we are bringing in an out-of-town band, Potato Head, for our Saturday dance. Our own local bands provide excellent music for us, but sometimes it's nice to have a change of pace and a different kind of energy. We hope you'll come to our April 12 dance at the East Spokane Grange to
experience this band from the Palouse area.
In June we will also have a different band, the Contraptions, all the way from Pennsylvania! (A band member's sibling in the Colville area makes their visit possible). They have toured the East Coast and Texas, and will be playing for the Wednesday night dance on June 18.
Sincerely,
Margie Heller
SFS President

Special Folk Concerts Coming Up
The Folklore Society will be bringing two outstanding folksingers to present concerts later
this spring. On May 8 we will have Juni Fisher. Juni was named 2007 Song of the Year Songwriter
and 2006 Female Vocalist of the Year by the Western Music Association. In June, we'll be visited
by Tom Lewis, who makes his home just north of us in Canada. You may have heard Tom on Dan
Maher's radio show, Inland Folk.
Here's the info for Juni Fisher concert:
Juni Fisher in concert, May 8, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Location: The Woman’s Club, corner of 9th and Walnut Streets, Spokane, WA
(the back room -- enter by going up the stairs on Walnut St.)
Sponsored by the Spokane Folklore Society
Admission: $12 for SFS members, $15 for not-yet-members

The deadline is nearing to register for the 2008 Lady of the Lake Music and Dance Camp which will take place during the week of June 22-28, 2008. If you have not come to camp before because you don't have a whole week to spare, we are now offering a half week schedule so you can squeeze your fun into three days. We hope that you can join us for two great contra and square dance bands plus harmony singing, band and instrument workshops, couples dances, and more. The Horseflies; with Judy Hyman, Jeff Claus and Ritchie Stearns, joined by Mark Murphy and Larry Unger as the Tractor Family, and Notorious; with Eden MacAdam-Somer and Larry Unger, joined by Sam Bartlett, will play for contras and squares and lead instrument and band workshops. Seth Tepfer and Becky Hill will call dances and lead a caller's workshop. The Grace Sisters will lead harmony singing and clogging. The camp takes place on beautiful Coeur D'Alene Lake in Idaho and is sponsored by the Spokane Folklore Society. Join us for a fine week of music, dance, jamming, hiking, swimming or hanging out on the porch.. Applications for the whole week are available on line at www.ladyofthelake.org, Contact Vickie Marron or Kathy Bowman for the 1/2 week registration form.

Dates:June 22-28, 2008

Cost: $495 including meals and housing for the week

$247.50 for a half week from Sun-Wed. or Wed.-Sat

Contacts: For registration-Vickie Marron at vickiemarr@aol.com or kbowman@iomet.com

Butte, Montana hosts the National Folk Festival 2008 July 11-13.
It is a free event. Check out the website for info on performing applications, (Deadline March 31 for this year), see who has been
accepted already etc. The festival will be in Butte for 3 years. http://nationalfolkfestival.com/
The National Folk Festival features performances and demonstrations by over 250 of the nation’s finest musicians, dancers and craftspeople.
It will feature 25 Artists/groups on seven stages including a dance pavilion dedicated to non-stop participatory dancing, a family stage with
performances appealing to both the young and the young-at-heart, and a Montana folklife stage. In addition to the performance stages, there
are several themed festival areas: the Montana Folklife Area, the Family Area, two Festival Markeplaces and the Festival Food Courts.
The National Folk Festival is a large, FREE outdoor event. The Butte, Montana festival site will be located adjacent to, and partially within,
the fascinating Uptown Butte Historic District. A mix of open air and tented sites will provide a variety of performance venues ranging from
intimate stages to amphitheater size. The Amphitheater Stage, which offers a panoramic view of Butte and the surrounding mountains, is being
developed on the site of the historic Original Mineyard, with its dramatic deep shaft mine head frame that is a remnant of Butte’s days as
an underground copper mining center.
One of the country’s largest and most prestigious celebrations of the arts, the National Folk Festival, is coming to Butte for a threeyear
tenure beginning in July 2008. First presented in 1934, it is the oldest multicultural festival in the nation. The National Council for the
Traditional Arts (NCTA), the organization that has produced the National Folk Festival since its creation, recognized Butte’s and Montana’s
unique natural resources, cultural assets, and strong community spirit.
A large-scale three-day outdoor event presented free to the public, the National Folk Festival celebrates the roots, richness, and variety
of American culture. It features a broad array of music and dance performances, participatory dancing, workshops, children’s activities,
regional and ethnic foods, storytelling, parades, craft exhibits and demonstrations, and more. A “movable feast of the deeply traditional folk
arts,” the National brings a jubilant and dizzying array of offerings that appeal to audiences of all ages.
Historic Uptown Butte will be the site of the 70th, 71st and 72nd National Folk Festivals in 2008, 2009 and 2010. This is the first time the
National Folk Festival has been held west of the Mississippi River in over 40 years*, and its first time ever in Montana.
Music, Dance, and Tradition From Across America
Music and dance traditions from every part of the nation are represented, performed by the country’s very finest traditional artists.
Audiences are treated to authentic blues, gospel, jazz, polka, cowboy, bluegrass, klezmer, old-time, Cajun, rhythm and blues, mariachi, western
swing, zydeco and more. Continuous performances on seven stages celebrate Native American, Celtic, Acadian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean,
East Asian, Appalachian, Hispanic, Eastern European, African and Pacific Island cultures.
A Celebration of America’s Cultural Roots
Folk arts are those deeply held grassroots cultural expressions -- music, dance, crafts, stories and foodways -- passed down through
time by families, communities, tribal, ethnic and occupational groups. The festival’s programming embraces the heritage and traditions of all
Americans – from those whose families have been here for centuries to those of our country’s most recent immigrants. Legendary masters as
well as the next generation of dynamic young artists celebrate the musical soul and cultural roots of America.
VOICE LESSONS
Dannie Lynn Plummer
(509) 474-0486 ~ (509) 216-4075
Located on the South Hill
Classically trained in voice and from a singing family, Dannnie Lynn grew up singing in church, then became active in the folk music scene of the ‘60’s. She is currently a vocal instructor in Spokane and an active member of the Inland Northwest Bluegrass Association.
Dannie Lynn has played with various local bands on a casual basis, and now plays full time with Molly & Tenbrooks.
Individual Sessions
Age 13 ~ Adult
Classes for children
Ages 5-8 “Sunshine Singers”
Ages 9-12 “Little Spokane River Band

Guitar lessons by Steven King USA National Fingerstyle Champion
$15 weekly per half hour, or $30 per hour
at Guitar Acres 28517 N. Perry Rd, Chattaroy 238-6504
Or at Learn to Burn for $20 per half hour 15 E. Rockwell, Spokane
Learn from the best. Also enroll in Steven's Fingerstyle College Online at www.kingofguitar.com for legal access to King's 300 song tabs for only $1 per title. Search for "Steven King guitar" clips on YouTube.com

Want to Tango? No, it doesn't take two. Singles or couples welcome. Sundays: Connexion del Tango (on Monroe, just south of First
Street) Practice 3:00-6:00 pm,
Free Mondays: BOF club (Monroe & Third) Lesson at 7:00, dance till 9:30 pm,
$5.00 Tuesdays: Coeur d'Alene VFW Club (Fourth Street) Beginner lessons, then intermediate, then practice 7:00-9:30 pm, $3:00
Thursdays: Connexion del Tango, Beginner lesson, then practice 7:00-9:00 pm, donations accepted. Center Stage main floor, 1017 W. First,
Beginner lesson, then practice 7:15-9:30 pm, $5.00 Connexion del Tango also offers private lessons and special group lessons for beginner
and intermediate dancers.

Knitting Circle at the Gallery of Thum' on 106 South Madison St., Spokane WA.

$5 to claim your spot, from 2-7 pm on Wednesdays. that's still enough time to go contra dancing! Snacks are provided. for questions, call (509) 624-1519

New Contra Dance Price Structure

We are happy to introduce a new student admission rate. Admission will be $8 for SFS members, $6 for students – with valid IDs, and $10 for adult “not-yet-members”. The board is considering other types of admission price discounts for future dances, such as: group discounts or discounts on pre-paid tickets. Let one of the board members know what you think about these ideas!

The Dances of Universal Peace are on the first and third Thursdays of every month at the Unity Church at 29th and Bernard, Spokane, at 7 PM. The Dances are a sort of spiritual folkdance--simple movements and singing celebrating the world's spiritual traditions. Some are quite energetic and joyous, and others quite meditative. They might be based on a mantra from the Buddhist or Hindu tradition, or sacred phrases from the Jewish, Christian, Sufi, or Native traditions, etc. All are taught each time we do them. All ages and spiritual proclivities are welcome. For more information talk to Bruce Calkins at the contra dances or at (509)220- 5160.

Want the SFS to help sponsor your event?

The Folklore Society board has come up with a form (in acrobat pdf.format) to help you figure out what you'll need.
It will always be available at the SFS main index page.

Have You Got Mail? Your options for staying in the know and not missing any events! Are You on the SFS E-List? The SFS E-List is used to send e-mail reminder announcements about SFS events and other folk and international events in the community. The SFS EList has recently been updated to reflect the current membership. If you are currently a SFS member but are not receiving the E-List announcements, please send your email to dancer@moxxee.com. If you are not a member, this is a good reason to join. Or if you wish to be removed from the list please send an email to the same address.

Spokane Coeur d’Alene Dance Email List This email list is a valuable tool for finding out what the dance community in the Spokane -Coeur d’Alene area is doing. Dance groups, bands, instructors and individuals publish information about classes, events and where people are going to dance. No group membership is required. To subscribe, send an email to: dancelist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com You will get a return email with a URL. Go to that web site. Choose either option (join the dancelist or become a member of yahoo groups and join the dancelist), they both work. Carpool to Moscow? Anyone want to carpool to Moscow for the Palouse Folklore Society contra dances? Contact Linnea at linneagarlock@hotmail.com or 533-0225.

Free Want ad page. Looking for a way to start a band, join a band, or just play with some like-minded musicians? Got an instrument you want to buy, sell, or trade? Try posting a free ad at the SFS free want ad page. (Now listed near the bottom of every SFS web page on the SFS menu, or click here)

Help support Footnotes, SFS Website, Fall Festival, Arts Preview, dance series, special events! Join the SFS

For more news of the Spokane Folklore Society, become a member and receive the complete newsletter in the mail, or a link to the new pdf version in your email.

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