On Nov. 17th, the St. John's Folk Arts Council held the first in what will be a series of day-long workshops focused on Newfoundland traditional arts.

The first seminar, hosted by Chris Brookes and Christina Smith, was a look at the history of mummering in the province. Participants had the chance to stage their very own Mummer's plays. Hilarity ensued and much fun was had by all.

Chris led all hands through a number of different versions of the play, and talked about the significance of each of the characters. He also gave "tips" on how to use common household items as props; a toilet brush evidently makes an excellent sword, and a vacuum cleaner can double as a "resuscitation machine" to bring the Turkish Knight back to life! Christina and Chris distributed plans for making your very own hobbyhorse, and gave advice on how to successfully crash parties.

The next workshop, to be held in early February, will be "How to accompany Newfoundland traditional instrumental tunes on the guitar", hosted by Jean Hewson.

Other workshops will include set dancing, rug hooking, and Newfoundland traditional songs.

For further information, contact Jean Hewson by phone: (722-2863) or email: jhewson@nfld.com.