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CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW


Alas, the really big snowstorm has brought to naught all of our planning efforts and the willingness of hundreds of volunteers to participate. We'll leave up the information below, so you can see what Mother Nature is forcing all to miss.
The FSGW Midwinter Festival is a family-friendly extravaganza of music, dance, stories, workshops, and crafts. Held the first Saturday in February -- which is Saturday, February 6, 2010 -- the Mini-Fest provides a wonderful opportunity to beat the winter blues, visit with friends and neighbors, and be part of some of the finest music and dance that the Washington area has to offer!

Want to get in free? Scroll all the way down to the bottom for information on volunteer opportunities.

FSGW Midwinter Festival
2009 Festival

Saturday Feb 07, 2009 at 12:01 PM to 10:30 PM
Takoma Park Middle School (Takoma Park,MD)

Updated February 1, 2009. Please scroll down to find the link to the most recent performance grid.
Please note the following recent changes: The Irish evening program will run from 7:30 to 9:30 (not from 7:30 to 10:30). Sea Chanteys will be at 3 pm, and Morris Chorus will be at noon. Mary Shapiro’s children’s concert will be at 3, and Calico Jack will be at 12:30.
If you’d like to purchase tickets in advance using PayPal, we encourage you to do so, but you must complete your purchase before Friday, February 6, at 11:59 pm.

The 2009 Mid-Winter Festival features:

The fabulous Instrument Petting Zoo and wonderful crafts for sale in the Lobby from noon to 6 pm.

Contra dancing from noon to 6 pm in the Auxiliary Gym, with a new band and caller every hour. Dave Colestock takes off at noon, with Perry Shafran, Anna Rain, and Eva Murray each taking a turn. The Hot Square Babes will call an hour of squares beginning at 3, and a roster of new callers will try out their new-found skill at 4. You’ll hear lots of local musicians, including AP & The Banty Roosters, Gypsy Meltdown, GRRR, and The Front Row Band.

Six different dance workshops (1 hour each) in the Main Gym:
A Hambo workshop
at noon, taught by Lisa Brooks and Dan Kahn with music by Julia Borland and Catherine Chapman, English Country dance at 1, taught by Michael Barraclough, with music by Elegant Echoes, a rollicking Family dance at 2, called by Susan Taylor,, with music by AP & The Banty Roosters, Irish Step dance at 3, taught by Megan Downes, with music by Peter Brice, at 4 it’s Serbian and Macedonian dances taught by Jamie Platt, with wonderful music by Sarenica, and from 5 to 6 Hugh Conway will teach the traditional Irish set Antrim Square. (Search YouTube for "Antrim Square" and you’ll be well prepared!)

Continuous performances in the Cafetorium:
Foggy Mountain Hilton plays bluegrass starting at noon, followed by the Irish Breakfast Band in concert. At 2 pm it’s Marc Glickman and Dennis Botzer with an hour of Irish tunes, followed by the Bolivian dance troupe Sambos Corporales alternating with beautiful classical, Latin, and Brazilian guitar solos by Juan Cuadros. At 4 the Capitol Hillbillies will take over, with the offbeat scientific a capella vocal stylings of The Chromatics from 5 to 6.

Storytelling all day long in Room 122,
with Margaret Chatham, Ellouise Schoettler, the talented Twinbrook Tellers, Jane Dorfman, Adam Whitley, Laura J. Bobrow, Ralph Chatham, Anne Sheldon, and Bill Mayhew, and a half-hour "Storyswap" at 5:30.

Bluegrass in Room 102, with a Gospel Sing led by Ann Porcella and Flawn Williams at 12:30, Art of the Duet at 1:30, "Roots of the Banjo" by Greg Adams at 2:30 (more info at www.banjodatabase.org), When Country Was Country at 3:30, and a participatory jam to end the day, starting at 5.

Workshops, jams and acoustic concerts in Rooms 108, 114, 118, and 184.
Check the performance grid for times and room numbers.
Instrumental workshops include bodhran with Maggie Sansone, Rob Greenway, Matt Bell;
narrative singing and Irish button accordion with Peter Brice;
and hammer dulcimer with Karen Ashbrook, who has very generously arranged to bring some extra dulcimers for participants to use!!
Vocal workshops include Morris Chorus at noon, Sacred Harp at 1, a Gospel Sing at 2,
Sea Chanteys at 3,Balkan songs at 3,and Doo-Wop led by Flawn Williams at 4.
Check the grid for acoustic concerts by
Boys Night Out, The Social Ramble, Calico Jack, the Ash Grove Players, Slaveya,
Windy Run,
Todd Crowley, Mary Shapiro (her concert is especially for children), Lisa Null and Molly Andrews, Chance and Susette Shiver, Kim Capps (with Ian Walters), Carl Zebooker, Bob Clayton,
and Judy Cook.

Morris Dancers and rappersword groups!
We expect The Foggy Bottom Morris Men, the Rock Creek Morris Women, and the Dread Pirate Rapper.
Watch for them in the hallways, in the lobby, and creatively invading the gym and Cafetorium between sets.


But wait, there’s more....
From 6 to 7:30, Waltz in the Main Gym, beginning with a brief lesson by
Tony Treston and Diana Hrabosky, with music by Waltztree Trio.


But wait, there’s more....
From 7:30 to 10:30 there’s an evening contra dance
from 7:30 to 10:30 with caller Bob Isaacs and the Glen Echo Open Band.

But wait, there’s more....
In the Cafetorium from 7:30 to 9:30 we’ll be presenting an all-Irish extravaganza,
Takoma on the Shannon,
featuring Brendan Bell on flute, Rob Greenway on flute and guitar, Keith Carr on banjo and bouzouki, Kelly Criscuolo-Debutts on uileann pipes, Don Yates on vocals, and Peter Brice on vocals and button accordion. Megan Downes will show you the steps that wowed the Washington Post critic!!

Click here to see this year’s less-tentative-than-it-was-yesterday schedule, in .pdf format. The date and time it was most recently updated are in the lower left-hand corner. It will be updated as additional details become available -- the folk process at work -- but additional changes should be minor.

Ticket Prices:
Day PLUS Evening (noon to 10:30 pm)
FSGW Members: Adults $14, Children 6-12 $6, Family Maximum $43
Non-members: Adults $18, children 6-12 $8, Family Maximum $55
Day (noon to 6 ONLY) or Evening (6 to 10:30 ONLY)
FSGW Members: Adults $8, Children 6-12 $4, Family Maximum $25
Non-members: Adults $12, Children 6-12 $5, Family Maximum $37

Bob Isaacs

Venue Information for
Takoma Park Middle School
Driving Directions: The school is just off of Piney Branch Road two blocks North of MD 410 (East-West Hwy - Philadelphia Ave).

From I-495: Take Exit 28B, MD 650 (New Hampshire Ave) South.
At the bottom of the long hill (5th traffic light), turn right onto Piney Branch Rd. Cross University Blvd, Flower Ave, Sligo Ave, and
Ritchie Ave. Look for the large brick school on your left
in about 1000 ft.

Metro: A walk of 8/10 of a mile (about 12 minutes walking) from the Takoma station on the Red Line, or take the Route 14 Ride-On bus from the Takoma Metro station to the school.

Walking Directions from the Metro: Exit the Metro and bear left toward the kiss and ride lot. Walk through the kiss and ride lot (or the sidewalk between the busses and kiss-and-ride lot) until you come to the street, which is Eastern Avenue. Turn left on Eastern Avenue and walk one block. You will need to cross Eastern Avenue. Turn right at the next street, which is Holly Avenue. Walk about one-half mile down Holly Avenue. (After you cross Philadelphia Avenue, it climbs a hill and passes the Takoma Park Elementary School (not the school you're looking for), but in two more blocks, Holly Avenue ends at Grant Avenue. Turn left on Grant Avenue and walk one block. You will a see a big school on your right, and this is the Takoma Park Middle School, which IS the school you want. Walk through the parking lot and up to the main entrance. Welcome!

Handicapped Access: The building is fully accessible. Though an elevator is available, we generally use only the ground floor. Fully accessible toilet facilities.

Smoking is prohibited, not merely in the school building, but anywhere on school property. Smokers will need to go all the way out to the street in order to light up. (Maryland State Law).

Volunteers are essential!!. If you can work for two hours, you get in free! Jobs include: Selling tickets, Performer check-in, Instrument security room, Hospitality room, and Information assistant/food sheriff -- and yes, you get to wear a red sequined cowboy hat and a badge for that last one. Sign up at the Sunday night FSGW Dance starting in January, 2010 or email April Blum at minifestmessages(at)aol.com for more information.


Are you interested in selling crafts during the Midwinter Festival? Candy Madigan is our crafts coordinator. Please email minifestmessages(at)aol.com and your message will be forwarded to the Crafts Coordinator.

For More Information Please Contact
2009 Festival Coordinator,April Blum
4520 Fidelity Court
Annandale,VA 22003-4525
Home phone 703-978-2774

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