YOUNG FOLK AT THE HALL 2003
Last year, under the auspices of the St. John's Folk Arts Council, I undertook to organize an event called "Young Folk at the Hall." It was modeled after a concert I had staged in 1991; at that time, the St. John's Folk Arts Council hosted an event for young folk performers at the LSPU Hall. It was a great success, so I decided to revisit the idea in 2002. This time, however, Jean Hewson and I extended the concept; we conducted two workshops for interested youth prior to staging the concert. As those who attended the workshops and the concert will attest, the project was a resounding success.
This February past we put out the call again to interested young folk to attend workshops and take part in the concert. Many of the young people who attended last year returned with great enthusiasm. We also had some newcomers attend, so the number of participants increased from twenty-one to thirty-one. This included six young people who learned and performed a six-handed square set.
For those not familiar with the workshops, participants are divided into groups of four or five to form "folk bands." The idea is to bring together a variety of instruments and vocalists to create a cohesive unit. Care is also taken to allow individuals of various levels of ability to interact with each other. Each group is asked to decide on three to four pieces, songs and/or instrumentals, which they work on over the period of the two workshops. They also decide on a name for the "band." During the workshops, seasoned folk musicians from the community generously give of their time to assist the young players working through the material. Each ensemble then performs this new repertoire in a concert held at the LSPU Hall. This year we had stellar performances from THE BLACKNOTES, FINE-TUNED, IVORY PLAYERS, THE KITCHEN DANCERS, OLD KING COLE AND THE FIDDLERS THREE, and THE OUT OF TOWNERS.
Once again I'd like to extend my heartiest thanks and congratulations to all those involved--the participants, facilitators, volunteers and parents. And a special thank you to VOCM for helping us spread the word about a great afternoon of celebrating live folk music. I hope we'll all meet again early next year for the third annual "Young Folk at the Hall"!
- Fergus O'Byrne
Being a part of the Young Folk at the Hall workshops has been an interesting and entertaining experience. I have both played and enjoyed traditional music for a long time. It was difficult, however, to find other musicians my age who were interested in this style of music. When I first heard about the workshops, I thought they were a great idea. I knew there had to be other younger folk musicians and maybe this would help us to find each other.
The workshops did exactly that. They gave us the opportunity to form bands, create our own arrangements, and perform. It was great to see how much could be accomplished over the course of two weekends. It seems that this is going to be an annual event, which I think is very positive. With the current influence of mainstream media, the more opportunities we have to practice our traditions the better.
- Fergus Brown-O'Byrne
SCOFF & SCUFF (PADDY'S DAY WEEKEND 2003)
What a time it was - a great one had by all!! What started it?
Last summer, Kathleen Parewick and I attended the Vinland Music Camp in Gros Morne with our children, Julia Parewick and Allan Ricketts. As we left the camp and were heading back to St. John's, we both felt that the camp had been an enriching and enjoyable experience, both for us and for our children. Realizing that there were some youth who just could not afford to attend, we started coming up with ways in which we could help defray some of the cost for those who wanted to participate in folk arts training such as that offered at Vinland Music Camp. That is when we came up with the idea of a Scoff & Scuff fundraiser. We presented the idea to The St. John's Folk Arts Council (SJFAC); they loved it, and a fund called the Youth Folk Arts Training Fund was established. Monies raised for the fund will be used to assist youth (17 and under), who require financial assistance to participate in folk arts training opportunities. With the SJFAC on board, an organizing committee was formed, a date was selected, a hall was booked and volunteers and performers were gathered for the fundraiser.
The Scoff & Scuff was a great time! Folks of all ages showed up for a night of great food and traditional Newfoundland music and dance at the Masonic Temple, in downtown St. John's. While everyone was enjoying their meal, performers, including Karen Lynch and Charlotte Anne Malischewski; Hugh Scott & Gayle Tapper; Rosemary Ash, John Lacey & Allan Ricketts and Vince & Glen Collins entertained them with songs and tunes.
The meal finished and the floor cleared, everyone was eager to make room for the dance. The musicians (Jean Hewson, Stan Pickett, Andrew Lang, Frank Maher, Dave Penny and Rick West) set up and Ford Elms, Dr. Dance himself, got ready to start calling the dance. Everyone was smiling; people who just wanted to watch were enjoying it as much as the dancers. It was so much fun, even though I was exhausted from all the preparations for the event. I can still picture Ford, calling the dance, and laughing to himself at the same time, as some of us were learning how to thread the needle!
…Now, Thread the Needle - no, go under - keep going - no, under - under!!
In addition to the Scoff and Scuff, we held a silent auction that was a great success, and for which we received support from numerous businesses and individuals who donated items. We also sold tickets to raffle-off two paintings donated by 15-year old musician and visual-artist Allan Ricketts, and passes for the Fiddle Encounters Series donated by the Arts & Culture Centre. The prize-winning tickets were drawn by June Hiscock during Folk Club at the Ship Inn on April 23rd. The lucky winners were: Agnes Walsh, who won the Vinland Crowd on the Lomond painting; John Hodder who won the Lomond River, Gros Morne, Newfoundland painting and Ivan Pickett, who won the passes for the Fiddle Encounters Series.
When Kathleen and I started organizing this event, some said that we were a little too ambitious on what we thought we could raise.
Needless to say, we were very pleased with what we accomplished: we raised approx. $1,500! On behalf of Kathleen and myself, a special thank you goes out to Jean Hewson, Erin McArthur and the SJFAC, committee members, volunteers, performers, musicians, Ford Elms, Robbie Thomas (for helping us when it came to the food), Peter Belbin's Steakhouse (for the wonderful stew and rolls), Mike Gillan (for his delicious vegetarian stew), all those that brought yummy desserts, Wallace Hammond (for the sound system), Rob Brown (for his expertise in the sound department), Sam Whiffen & the Homebrew Show, Steve Cochrane & Out of the Fog, businesses and individuals who provided items for the silent auction, Allan Ricketts (for donating his paintings), Spurrell Art Gallery & Framing, John at the Masonic Temple, and to everyone who helped make these fundraising ventures so successful. We intend to continue raising funds for this initiative, so that we can assist young folk interested in participating in the traditional folk arts of Newfoundland and Labrador. To find out more about the Youth Folk Arts Training Fund, please contact the SJFAC office at 576-8508 or by e-mail at office@sjfac.nf.net.
- Tina Ricketts
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