The 62nd Florida Folk Festival was May 23-26, 2014 with huge crowds, excellent talent,
wonderful demonstrations and exhibits, fun dancing, and the required
downpour.
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| One of the many demonstrations Isn't she a beauty? Red Shouldered Hawk |
In spite of being quite busy this year with administrative
tasks, I truly enjoyed the weekend. This year was a different
experience as Bill and I worked behind the scenes and performed only
on Sunday.
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| Banjo Contest Gailanne |
We arrived at the park April 2nd
worked through opening day helping get the festival off the ground.
Our roles were as Florida Park System Volunteers performing various
tasks: calling volunteers and vendors, recording tee-shirt orders,
archiving music, and assisting with the monthly “Coffee House”.
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| Entrance to the park |
By the first of May while I was data entering miscellaneous data,
Bill was organizing, repairing, and welding the sound trailer.
During
the festival we coordinated with vendor setup and special requests,
helped with transportation, and answered questions.
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| Folks checking up |
Now we did find time for socialization with the volunteers, staff,
vendors, and friends. And as we made our rounds checking on the
vendors there was time to hear a few songs, learn a few facts in the
Folk Life Area, and sample cuisine (one has to eat!).
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| Sunday Morning Music hosted by Heart Strings |
The
last day, Sunday,
found Bill and I wearing
performers hats. The first set was leading the “Sunday Morning
Music Jam”, which has become a favorite of many festival attendees.
There are no guidelines other than keep it simple and keep it fun.
Each year I am surprised with the direction and this year, for the
first time, there were quite a few gospel tunes.
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| Good jam - guess Billy was tired |
Our last set of
the day closed the Tower Stage. Now some might consider this a
brushoff but it is a special honor. When you are the last act on the
last day of a festival you had best have a good set and send the
audience away with happy memories and wanting more. We closed with
our Florida version of This Land and the audience raised their voices
on each chorus.
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| Reynaldo educating us about Red Shouldered Hawk |
Yes, it was a good festival. Can't wait for the
63rd
Florida Folk Festival...
put it on your calendar...
Memorial Day Weekend 2015!
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