New This Year: Washboard Workshop!

If you are interested in washboard playing, you'll definitely want to check out Harper Stone's workshop on Sunday the 24th from 2:45-3:45pm! We've had a lot of requests for this particular offering, so a big thanks to Harper for providing it this year!

• Harper Stone – How to Play the Washboard (and Do It Musically!): Ever thought it would be fun to turn that beloved old laundering tool into a newfangled percussion instrument, and play along with your favorite minstrels and ragamuffins? Or have you ever tried to rub that board with other musicians, only to find them grimacing and grumbling at the clatter you love so well? It's easy to make noise on a washboard, but to make it mesh with an ensemble of other musicians, you have to know some key principles. This workshop will go over some basics about how to play a washboard, and then talk about how to make it fit nicely with a variety of forms of roots music. You'll learn enough fundamentals that you'll be able to play along with your favorite tunes and make yourself a welcome addition at jam circles! There will be a number of washboards and other percussion instruments available to borrow for the workshop in case you don't have one yet.

Cajun Music from Lafayette!

Be sure to join us at the Bellingham Folk Festival on Sunday, January 24th for two great events featuring the Revelers from Louisiana!

• Sunday, 1:15-2:45pm - Cajun jam hosted by the Revelers (at Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship)
• Sunday, late-night (21+) - Dance set at the Green Frog Acoustic Tavern. Hoot & Holler starts at 8:30pm, the Revelers to follow. Only $8 with your festival wristband!

Just in time for Mardi Gras and fresh off their GRAMMY Nomination for their new record Get Ready - The Revelers include founding members of critically acclaimed bands The Red Stick Ramblers and The Pine Leaf Boys "unquestionably the two groups at the vanguard of the Louisiana cultural renaissance". Joining together they form a Louisiana Supergroup which combines Swamp-Pop, Cajun, Country, Blues and zydeco into a powerful tonic of roots music that could only come from Southwest Louisiana. Equally at home on a festival main stage, a late night dance party, or a performing arts hall, the Revelers have taken their mission coast to coast in the U.S. and around the world from Ireland to Denmark, to their own Black Pot Festival in Lafayette LA.

Partnership with Four Points Sheraton

We are very excited to have partnered with one of our festival sponsors, Four Points by Sheraton (formerly the Lakeway Inn), to provide discounted accommodations for Bellingham Folk Festival participants. All booking questions and reservations can be directed to the hotel, see our Lodging page for rates and more information.

Just Added - Bowing Tricks for Celtic Fiddlers

Another great fiddle workshop has been added to the schedule! Jesse Partridge is coming up from Olympia to play with Giant's Causeway on Friday night, and now you can join Jesse at 10am on Saturday the 20th for this intriguing class:

Bowing Tricks for Celtic Fiddlers
One of the hallmarks of Celtic music is its distinctive lilt, a big part of which comes from the bowing. In this workshop we'll explore techniques for giving your fiddling an authentically Celtic lilt, using simple tunes taught by ear. Other bowed instruments welcome. A recording device might come in handy. Recommended for intermediate to advanced players.

Just added - Partner Dancing for Anyone

We are very excited to announce that Jeff Lefferts will be teaching 'Partner Dancing for Anyone' and it looks like a ton of fun!

Saturday, December 20th 10-10:50am

Partner Dancing for Anyone - Jeff Lefferts

Learn the basics of folk partner dancing, focusing on connection and the music, not prescribed "steps." This class will
focus on a simple, relaxed style requiring no previous knowledge, although those with more experience can hone their
spontaneity and communication. Enhance your ability to lead and follow seamlessly. What does it mean to be "light on
your feet?" How does a lead make a strong "suggestion" without forcing? How does a follow respond and affect the
partnership? How do you lead if your follow has no experience dancing? I'll also teach simple spins and other "fancy"
moves. The class will focus on waltz and one-step, so you can dance to most folk or country music. But most of all, it
will be low-pressure and fun.

Saturday, December 20th - Festival Afterparty!

After the square dance on Saturday, December 20th, head over to the Honey Moon Meadery in the alley behind the Pepper Sisters for a late-night jam and soiree! Looking for a way to get there? Our good friend has offered up his bus as a fun and free jam shuttle to get people between the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship and the Honey Moon Meadery all night long! All ages, free, drink discounts when you show your festival wristband.

Saturday, December 20th - 9pm

Honey Moon Meadery

1053 North State Street Alley

Pickford Film Party

Thursday, November 13th at 5:30pm at the Pickford Film Center, the Bellingham Folk Festival will be hosting a reception to help promote the event! Take this opportunity to purchase discounted festival tickets and merchandise, then at 6:30, you can see a wonderful film about musicians busking in Seattle.

Presented by the Bellingham Folk Festival, with filmmaker Brian Nunes in attendance! Join us for a pre-screening reception at 5:30 including live music in the lobby, refreshments, and the chance to get discounted tickets to the first annual Bellingham Folk Festival! A Q+A to follow.

This award-winning film explores themes of creativity and success through the lens of street music. It raises fascinating questions about the nature of context and how it can affect our perception of artistic worth. Using a richly woven fabric of raw footage, insightful interviews and a compelling soundtrack, Find your Way prompts audiences to become more aware of how their own pre-conceptions of “what’s good” can prevent them from appreciating something’s natural beauty.

http://www.pickfordfilmcenter.org/programs/pickford/find-your-way-a-buskers-documentary/

Welcoming Casey Connors

Looking to get a handle on some basic theory? We are very excited to have Casey Connors teaching a fun and informative workshop on Saturday at 11am! Casey also plays with with fabulous Bellingham band, Ratteltrap Ruckus.

Beginning Music Theory for Musicians

This workshop aims to give you essential tools to visualize how music works in order to make sense of the musical landscape and to enable your playing. We'll cover the very basics of pitch, note naming, keys, scales, modes, and the basics of rhythm. If we have time we might address basic harmony as well (i.e. chords). The point is not to obsess over esoteric terminology but to cultivate a greater intimacy with the music we make. The visual aids will blow you mind. We will not be covering music notation at all. If you're interested to take "Musical Anatomy" or "Hearing Chord Changes" at 1pm, this may be a good foundational place to start. There will be plenty of examples given, but an instrument of your own is not required.

Saturday - Slow Jam with Chad Petersen

We are very excited to have Chad Petersen leading a slow jam during the lunch hour on Saturday of the festival. Is this jam for you? Find out below!

"I like all styles of music and welcome just about anyone who is interested to come and explore playing with a bunch of other people of varying musical abilities. I find that musical growth is accelerated when playing with others as it makes us more aware of being in tune, and in synch rhythmically. Talent is helpful, but optional for this jam. :-)"

Instructor Elaine Woods joins BFF

Elaine Woods has played in bands with country singers, folk singers, indie and jazz singers, twenties swing and rock.  She was a band coach with the Bellingham Girls Rock Camp, and  has led workshops in fiddle backup for large groups with players of varying ability.  She has been a mentor for violin and fiddle players moving from  classical music into the less formal world of folk music. 

Instructor Erin Esses Joins BFF

Erin Esses hails from Southern California where she plays and teaches in a variety of different settings and styles. From Celtic to Bluegrass, Rock and Roll to Classical, and Folk to Funk, Erin enjoys it all. Classically trained, she is a graduate of UC Irvine, where she also began dabbling in all kinds of improvisation and playing well with others. She regularly provides live music while looping with her cello for yoga classes. During the summer Erin attends various fiddle camps and teaches at Alasdair Fraser's Sierra Fiddle Camp and Camp Kiya. Erin loves to travel with her carbon fiber cello and always looks forward to making it up to the Pacific Northwest. Don't be shocked to find Erin strapped in to her cello, walking around while playing. Erin is a member of the celtic, old-time cello duo Dusty Bows, and also plays and sings in the folky bluegrass band Gone Wayside.

Volunteer Positions @ BFF

This blog post is mostly a test, but it could be helpful if we put some information here.

Let's Talk About Rideshares

photo credit: William Creswell on Flickr

New Instructors Added

photo credit: Ovidiu Onea on Flickr

We are very excited to announce our preliminary instructor and performer line-up for 2014: Flip Breskin, Anna Schaad, Brian Bowers, Laurel Bliss, Clyde Curley, Coty Hogue, Kat Bula, Geof Morgan, Richard Scholtz, Lucas Hicks, Clea Taylor, Jenny Rose, Aaron Guest, Cayley Schmid, Jeff Lefferts, Melanie Flink, Norah McLaughlin, Charmaine Slaven, Charlie Beck, Devin Champlin, Erin Esses, Elaine Woods, John Daughtrey, The Gallus Brothers, Rattletrap Ruckus, The Shadies & more to come!!

10/06

We are so excited to have Charmaine Slaven teaching at the Bellingham Folk Festival 2014! Check out her workshop on Saturday morning.

Appalachian Flatfooting - Charmaine Slaven 

Learn the art of accompanying Southern fiddle music with your feet!  We'll start with basic rhythm foundation steps, and learn accent steps as we go, with an emphasis on dancing with good musicianship.  Suitable for beginners through intermediate dancers.  Leather-soled, low heeled shoes helpful.