FP Logo Folk Project Backstage Festivals

[Lake Image]
Click on the above picture to see photos of Fall Festival activities

Our festivals are organized events with scheduled performers, workshops, dances, round robins (singalongs), skits, canoeing, etc. Activities take place at many sites around the campground. Performers and attendees eat, talk, and spend time next to each other, giving the Festival its feel of being backstage the whole time.

[button] to go directly to Festival registration [button] to see the Festival schedule (subject to change)
[button] to forward a link to this page to a friend [button] for more Festival information
[button] to be put on our Festival email list [button] to see the winners of our Festival Photo Contest

Spring Festival, May 9-11, 2008

Featuring Cheryl Wheeler, Bob Franke, Straight Drive, Peter Blue & The Avant Gardeners

right hand
IMPORTANT NOTE

We have just received the disappointing news that Cheryl Wheeler has deveoped laryngitis and has had to cancel. We are currently seeking a last-minute replacement.

left hand

Cheryl Wheeler

Cheryl Wheeler is a New England songwriter, poet, comic and social critic, with 11 albums, uncountable songs, and over 30 years of performances to her credit. Her work has been covered by artists like Suzy Bogguss, Dan Seals, Bette Midler, Juice Newton, Peter, Paul and Mary, Garth Brooks—the list goes on.

Cheryl will be appearing Saturday, May 10 only, performing in the evening concert. She will be on site all day Saturday, and will present two workshops: The Magic of the Moment and The Magic of Another Moment.

Bob Franke

As Tom Paxton says, "It's his integrity. I always think of Bob as if Emerson and Thoreau had picked up acoustic guitars and gotten into songwriting. There's touches of Mark Twain and Buddy Holly in there, too." Bob, another master songwriter and performer, started his career in 1976 and has accumulated awards and acclaim throughout his distinguished career. Among his live radio credits are Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, West Coast Weekend and Bound for Glory. In 1992, in conjunction with the Folk Project, he published his songbook, "Songs of Bob Franke."

Bob will be onsite throughout the weekend. He will perform in concert Friday, May 9 and Sunday, May 11. He will be teaching Bob's Cheap Guitar Tricks, and sharing his songwriting expertise in Songwriting from the Center, part 1, and Songwriting from the Center, part 2.

Straight Drive

Straight Drive is "a bluegrass band with no apologies." Their straight-ahead sound has thrilled Grand Ole Opry fans about the Mississippi Queen steamboat, and echoed from the ceiling of Carnegie Hall. Five virtuoso soloists, fronted by lead singer Jen Larson, they combine instrumentals, vocals, traditional songs and contemporary original material to create magic onstage.

Straight Drive will present a "sneak peek" Friday, May 9, and two full concert sets Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11. They will be onsite through the weekend. As a band, they will present two workshops, The History of Bluegrass and The Bluegrass Band Gestalt. Individual members will be teaching and sharing Bluegrass Guitar, Bluegrass Fiddle, Bluegrass Banjo, Bluegrass Mandolin, and Bluegrass Bass.

Dance Caller: Peter Blue

Peter Blue and The Avant Gardners will be the driving forces for 5 dances, as well as music and dance workshops throughout the weekend. The music will be "funky, homegrown, and hot," with a mixture of jazz, traditional, Celtic, klezmer, roots music, and more. Dancers will be energized, listeners will be thrilled, and the roof will be raised!

Evening Dances with Peter Blue and The Avant Gardeners Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10. Daytime Dances and workshops: New England Northern Style Squares (May 10), Classic Figures in Modern Dances (May 10), and Contras with Quirks (May 11)

Additional Dances/Dance Workshops May 10: Swingin' Tern Dances, English Country Dances, Swing Dance Basics, International Dance.

Dance Band: The Avant Gardeners

Like Dancing? Like hot swing, original tunes, Celtic, waltzes, traditional, maybe a little Ray Charles? Then you'll love our Festival Dance Band. The Gardeners are fiddler and vocalist Laura Light, David Weisler on guitar, keyboard and mandolin, and Dan Sebring on guitar. Coming to us from Virginia, they will be doing dances and dance workshops all three days (and nights) of the festival. One fan wrote "I started to dance, then got all choked up from the beauty of the sound."

Peter Fischman & Deb O'Hanlon

This charming couple sings a well-balanced mixture of Peter's well-penned original songs and traditional ballads, spiced here and there by wry humor.

They will perform in concert Friday, May 9, and will present the workshop Songs of Home.

Ken Galipeau

Got a funny bone? Ken will tickle it! Got a Heart? Ken will touch it. A collector of stories, songs and poems, he presents his material as though they were his own, using vocals a cappella, or with guitar, djembe (African drum), or piano. Ken's latest CD Ken Sings Les, was released February 29.

He will perform Sunday, May 11, and will present three workshops, Songs of John Denver, Computer Recording Session, and Computer Mixing Session.

Sonas

Sonas is Gaelic for happiness. And Sonas is Tina (fiddle), Amy (fiddle) and Margie (keyboard) sharing their love of Cape Breton fiddle music with enthusiastic audiences.

Sonas will perform in concert Friday, May 9, and will provide music for the dance workshop Swingin' Tern Dances, as well as presenting a workshop in Fiddling, Cape Breton Style.

Frank & Hank

Frank (Sole) and Hank (Hen3ry Nerenberg) are Folk Project favorites, both as soloists and side men.

Two impressive guitar talents, joined by Bassist Bill Myer, they will perform in concert Saturday, May 10, and will teach How to Improvise in 3 Easy Notes, as well as leading Jammin' with Frank and Hank.

What Makes This Festival Different?

You don't have to be a musician to have a good time. Appreciators, enthusiasts, family members and kids are all welcome and appreciated.

The Folk Project Festival takes place at Fairview Lake, the largest environmental education camp in New Jersey, with 600 acres surrounding a 110 acre lake. The professional camp staff provides outdoor activities, including supervised canoeing on the lake.

We're family-encouraging and kid-friendly, with planned activities for children, and enormous open space for kids to play.

All concerts and dances are indoors. No problems if it rains.

You're surrounded by music all the time, with 3 full concerts, 5 dances, and more than 30 workshops. There are jams and sessions all over the camp, everything from bluegrass to traditional to renaissance to chanteys to whatever. Everyone is welcome to listen, dance, or join in.

Stuff You Should Know

ROOM & BOARD:

COST:

OPTIONS:

DIRECTIONS:

Email Alerts

If you would like to be put on an email list to learn when registration is available, or for general Festival announcements, please click here.

Registration

[New Festival Promotions]
To make it even easier for everyone to come and enjoy our festival, we have introduced the following promotions for the Spring Festival:
    The George Miller Scholarship
    Scholarships of $45 and $90 will be awarded to keep the full-weekend price low for those can use it. Click here for details.

    Saturday-Only Ticket
    Attend all the Saturday workshops, dances and round robins, lunch, dinner, concert, skit, and late-night dance, for only $85/adult and $60/child. At this price, bring the whole family. Heck, bring someone else's family too!

    Discounts for Affiliate Folk Club Members
    Discount admissions are now available to members of the Philadelphia Folk Song Society, the NY Pinewoods Folk Music Club, and Pick'n & Sing'n Gather'n,

    Carpooling
    More good news from the Festival Committee: we have heard the laments of the carless about the difficulty of getting to our Festival way out in the boonies, so we are working to set up a ride-share program. Our new transportation coordinator, Heather Lev, will help match up folks seeking rides to Festival with those able to offer a ride. If you fit into either of these categories, please contact Heather at and let her know where you will be traveling from, when, and how many seats you need or can offer. She will help you get in touch with someone who can share a ride with you.

    Festival Photo Contest
    Like to take photos? Bring your camera to the Festival and take the best photos showing festival activities and you could earn a 25% scholarship to an upcoming Festival. After the Spring Festival, submitted photos will be considered and judged by the Publicity Committee, and the top 3 will be recognized by being posted to a special page on the FP website. The person taking the #1 picture will receive the 25% scholarship. Please note that, unlike at last festival, only photos showing festival activities can be entered, so shots of the beautiful scenery will not be eligible. For more information click here.

Scholarships Available

A set of scholarships is now available to help lighten the cost of coming to Festival. Click here for information about how to apply.

On-Line Registration

On-Line registration is now closed.

Registration forms

Here are two PDF files containing registration forms for our festival. The first is just the registraton form with minimal graphics (to save printer ink), while the second is the full festival flyer with pictures that can be printed out and distributed to others.

[button] Registration form, 1 page, minimal graphics

[button] Festival flyer, 2 pages, full graphics

Information

For more information, call the registrar John Sarney at (973) 509-1014, send him email by clicking on , or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to 
    FPF Registrar
    62 Harrison Avenue
    Montclair, NJ  07042
[^] Back to the Folk Project Home Page
Click to send comments about these pages to the Folk Project webmaster.