On June 1st, 2000, 566 accordionists were organized by the Stedeker Dansers at the International Folklore Festival in Diepenheim, The Netherlands; they played a tune for 22 minutes. On July 7th of this year, 644 accordion players played “Snow Waltz” at the Civic Centre in Kimberley B.C. On August 6th, with any luck, more than 645 accordion enthusiasts will break into “Mussels in the Corner” at the 29th Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, making our festival the site of the largest accordion orchestra in history.

Finding and assembling 645+ accordion players sounds very daunting (and illegal!), but since that number is just over one accordion player per thousand persons in Newfoundland, it’s really a mere drop in a bucket. We have chosen “Mussels in the Corner” as our piece because it’s a very standard Newfoundland tune, and so straightforward that most accordion players will know it or can pick it up quite easily.

We’ve also come up with a way whereby even people with almost no accordion experience can participate. Christina Smith made up several sets of button accordion notation, sort of an “Accordion Tablature for Dummies” (no jokes please). There is an easy version and a regular version, which can accommodate all skill-level players in all the main button accordion keys. All are available on the SJFAC website (www.sjfac.nf.net), or can be gotten by contacting anybody at the SJFAC office (576-8508). There is also an MP3 file of the song on the SJFAC website which may be downloaded and played, a very useful tool for the complete beginner. Further, for those who don’t have an accordion or has access to one (for shame!), the mini single-octave button boxes will be available at the festival, at O’Brien’s Music store on Water Street, at Music Stop and at other stores in the city; they generally retail for about $30.

Still not convinced you want to help make accordion history? Well, to sweeten the pot, we’ve decided that everybody with an accordion will gain free entry to the festival for the Saturday afternoon session.

Other logistics have to be considered besides the number of accordions and accordion players. Gathering more than 650 people with accordions is a sure recipe for mayhem. Thus, the Accordion Revolution Security Enforcement (A.R.S.E.) will be patrolling all afternoon to keep everyone with an accordion from tooting all day, and to ensure accordions aren’t stolen (by banjo players). The Saturday daytime session has a wonderful line-up of performances in the workshop tents, and on the Main Stage and the Neil Murray Stage. The revolution is after the Saturday afternoon session and it’s very important that it doesn’t interfere with the other festival performances. Eager accordion players need to hold their enthusiasm until the historic moment arrives!

Participants are encouraged to register with the SJFAC beforehand. Even people who have pre-registered will need to sign in the day of the attempt, so be sure to arrive at the park with plenty of time. Enter by the Bannerman Street entrance, where there will be a sign-in/registration table, volunteers to answer your questions and officials to witness your signature. Participants under the age of 16 must have a parent’s signature; sorry, those are the Record Book’s rules.

The SJFAC publicity and promotions committee crafted this delightful idea. Guinness Book of World Records has been contacted and their official guidelines will be followed. If we pull this off, the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival will be in the Guinness Book of World Records, perhaps for years. Button boxes, piano accordions, and concertinas unite! East takes on West. The accordion revolution is nigh ….about time, I say.

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