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Evergreen Fiddler – August 2022

From the Secretary

08/01/2022 – Author: Katie Gotshall

Summer has been quite the whirlwind of events!  After two years, Fiddle Camp was back in session last month – and it felt like coming home.  With our limited attendance, and all classes confined to one building – it was almost like a family reunion, all cozy and snug.  The number of campers over at the fairgrounds made for wonderful evening jams after the school events were over.  In all, I had an absolutely wonderful time.  I have been working to upload videos of the 1st day of the contest (unfortunately my phone overheated and I didn’t get video of day 2 – so if you have videos please send them my way!) and the showcase to our new WOTFA YouTube channel.  Hopefully this makes it really easy to share with your friends an family, as well as provide us with a platform for uploading more and more videos over time.  Visit the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3xdvPJCBanPlKXuiM_wUGA Be sure to subscribe, so you can see additional videos as we get them loaded up.  Once we have enough subscribers (we need to have 100+), we’ll be able to customize the link – to make it easier to find.  I think everyone’s favorites so far are 6-year-old Clark (https://youtu.be/lwdwdtNi0Mo) and The Polka Dots (https://youtu.be/OX6MHobFJsg).  If you haven’t heard “Angeline, The Bassist,” you’re in for a treat! (https://youtu.be/mLQqRE62NAk).  They’re all great musicians, and lots of fun to watch.  Be sure to share the ones you like with your friends, family, neighbors, people on the street, etc.

As is customary, our Summer Board meeting met during Fiddle Camp, and the running theme was membership.  It appears that all but two districts (2 and 10) have restarted their monthly meetings and everyone is hoping that our jam attendance and play outs start picking back up.  I have been running several social media accounts on different platforms (FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, Reddit, and even TikTock) and we are definitely getting folks who are interested in what we’re doing.  Just today We got a new member of District 4, from our TikTock channel!  I am continuously helping people get in touch with their district chairs, to find local jams and resources.  I’ve even had folks reach out to me to ask about fiddlers coming to do playouts for them.  Don’t be surprised if someone new reaches out to you!

 This month is the annual Centralia Campout, and it might not be a WOTFA-sponsored event, but there are always plenty of us there!  If you’ve never been before, it’s a week long (August 13-21, it includes two weekends) and you can go for as many or as few days as you like.  There’s jamming and music all day long every day, in nearly every genre you can imagine.  I enjoyed walking around with my clarinet, stopping to play music whenever I found something intriguing to play along with.  The cost is $130 for the whole week, or $33/day.  Visit https://www.centraliacampout.com/home for all the details.  I hope to see some of you there!

 As always, if you need any information or resources, I’ll do my very best to find some and share it with you.

Tune of the Month: Haste To the Wedding

08/01/2022 – Author: Kitty Steetle
Haste to the Wedding, a jig, has Irish, Scottish, and English origins at least dating back to 1767 when it appears in the pantomime, The Elopement, staged in London. The first verse of the song is:

Come haste to the wedding, ye friends and ye neighbours,
The lovers their bliss can no longer delay;
Forget all your sorrows, your care, and your labours,
And let ev’ry heart beat with rapture to-day:
Ye votaries all, attend to my call,
Come revel in pleasures that never can cloy:
Come, see rural felicity,
Which love and innocence ever enjoy. ^[1]

The tune is found in America in the late 18 th century music copybooks (handwritten sheet music books) of Henry Livingston, a Major in the 3 rd New York Regiment that participated in the failed attempt to take Montreal from British control in 1775. ^[2] It appears in Elias Howe’s publications, Musician’s Omnibus (Boston, 1850) and School of Fife (Boston, 1851), ^[3] and was used on both sides of the American Civil War as a military quickstep (brisk music played during marching). ^[4] Perhaps because of its military history, the tune became especially popular in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia in the early 20 th Century. ^[5] Haste to the Wedding can be heard in Old Time Jams, Contradances, and Irish and Scottish Sessions everywhere.

References

1.        https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Haste_to_the_Wedding_(1)

2.        Loc. cit.

3.        Loc. cit.

4.        McCabe, Larry. The Magic of Appalachian Fiddling. Santorella Publications. 2005, p 6.

5.        tunearch.org, Op. cit.

From the IT Chair

08/01/2022 – Author: Josh Larios

While the WOTFA web site has been behaving better since I made some performance changes a few months ago, I’m still not entirely happy with how it works. At some point in August (I don’t have the exact dates worked out yet) I’m going to take a week off work and spend some time dedicated to overhauling the WOTFA site. It’s possible I can do this entirely in the background, with no disruption to the existing site, but I think it’s more likely that there will be some outages this month as I shuffle things around.

I’ll try to have a maintenance notice up when I’m actively working on things, and I’m looking forward to having a more streamlined site that makes it easier for everyone to create and find relevant information.

District 2 Report (Ferry, Lincoln, Pend O'Reille, Spokane, and Stevens Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Kyle Peterson

It was so great to be back in the Moses Lake area, hearing the sound of fiddle, guitar and the occasional mandolin, banjo or accordion rolling around the tents and campers at night. Though there were a few comments about the lower attendance – I think all of us were hoping to see people that did not attend – it is understandable that much of our membership wanted to be cautious and stayed at home. But I appreciate those who braved the drive, the heat and needed to get out and play with friends again. I had a great time, learning a few new songs, listening to the many talents who got up on stage and played their favorite tunes, and I even made a bit of a breakthrough on my quest to read music. I hope next year will bring similar weather, many of the same instructors, and a lot more people from the WOTFA organization.

District 2 Chair: Kyle Peterson wotfa.kyle@gmail.com 509-280-5603

District 3 Report (Chelan, Douglas & Okanogan Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Jose Lopez

We had our first Tuesday event on the 2nd @ Prestige. 8 members showed up and everyone was upbeat and anxious to perform for a grateful audience. Good time had by all. Our next play date is scheduled for the 3rd Tuesday and that will be @ Blossom Valley. We will have our regular meeting/apple jam on the 3rd Friday @ the Eagles. We are preparing for Wray’s memorial that will take place on the 20th of August.

On a sad note, we lost another member and dear friend (Wayne Dresker) RIP last month.

District 3 Chair: Jose Lopez lopez.tejano.josem@gmail.com 509-860-3961

District 4 Report (Skagit, Whatcom, Island and San Juan Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Barry Cole

We held our July district meeting in Mt. Vernon on July 22, 6:30PM.  This was a make-up meeting after not being able to hold the meeting for lack of a quorum last time.

On August 12th, we will be unable to play at the Mt. Vernon Senior Center.  There is a local community event that will prohibit us from use of the center.  Instead, our fiddlers will play at Jack and Judy’s home on August 12th from 2:00 – 5:00 PM. Please contact Barry for directions (sounds.trad@gmail.com)

On August 20th, our fiddlers will play at Danny’s home.  This is a Saturday.  The event is tentatively scheduled for 11:00 AM.

District 4 Chair – Barry Cole sounds.trad@gmail.com 360-834-2674
Treasurer – Sarah Buntin itsrustyoldhalo@frontier.com 360-320-1696
Secretary – David Andersson anderssoncrossborder@gmail.com, Kevin Watson kevin.watson1861@gmail.com
Calendar – Fred Robbins email: fred@robbinsmetal.com

District 5 Report (Kitsap, Mason, Grays Harbor & Pacific Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Laura Farr

The District 5 Campout will be held over Labor Day weekend, September 2nd – 4th at the Kitsap Square Dance Club in Gorst in conjunction with the dancers.  We will be playing for the dance Saturday night.  If you would like to play, please plan to join us at 10:00 am Saturday morning for the band practice.  Laura Farr will be teaching a tune or two at 11:00, followed by lunch at noon.  Other activities have not yet been determined, but some options could be a band scramble, Poker Jam, or a show.  If you plan to bring an RV, please be sure to contact Russ Richardson, the wagonmaster, asap so he will have a spot for you.  The cost to camp is $20 per night if you are using hook-ups.  Tent camping is $10 per night unless you use hook-ups, in which case, it’s $20 per night.  Everyone is on their own for dinner Friday night and all lunches.  The fiddlers will provide breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning, and hamburgers and condiments for dinner Saturday night.  Please bring a salad or dessert to share.  We will have a Gospel Hour at 10:30 Sunday morning.  All are welcome!

Our regular monthly meetings will begin again the third Saturday of September at the same location. We look forward to seeing you all again!  Hope you are enjoying your summer!

District 5 Chair: Kent McCabe dkmccabe0723@gmail.com 360-830-0317

District 6 Report (King County)

08/01/2022  -  Author: Jenny Swanson

Greetings from District 6!  Summer has finally begun and the days are enjoyably warm and even include some sun!

Our playdates are continuing to bring joy to everyone involved.  Also, some of our members have attended festivals in various parts of the state.  The workshop has happened and that means that maybe things will continue to move more in the direction of normal life.

The main event in June was the celebration of Shirley Calvert’s life which was bittersweet.  We all miss her greatly, but it was sure nice to get together with people who loved her to share and remember a life well lived.  The event at the Masonic Center was well attended by family and friends who came from across the state as well as South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho.  A nice lunch was provided and music played.

Roy and his family sincerely thank all who came.  A big thank you as well goes out to all who helped with the service and food.  I’ve included these pictures so you can see what it was like.

Have a great August and remember that our meetings and jams start up again in September, starting on the 2nd Saturday which is the 10th from 11 am to 4 pm.  More on those in the next newsletter.

Thanks for reading and remember to play music with your friends while you still can!

District 6 Chair: Roy Calvert roycalvert35@gmail.com 425-228-5846
Reporter: Jenny Swanson timbuktoe@yahoo.com

District 8 Report (Pierce County)

08/01/2022 – Author: Barbara Peterson

Many opportunities to play music with us in Pierce County!
Here are some of our ongoing activities:

3rd Sunday 2PM District 8 Meeting and Jam. We will meet in September 18 at the Mid County Community Center (MCCC) 10205 44th Ave E, Tacoma, WA 98446. It’s easy to find behind the school on 104th, just off of 512 and Canyon Road. There’s plenty of parking! We’ll have a short meeting followed long jam. Join us! Bring a friend! Meet some nice people!
Mondays 1:30PM-3:30PM Circle jam at Puyallup Senior Center – 210 W. Pioneer Ave. Again, easy to find and park. Formerly the “6ft Tree Jam”, it’s now the “Indoor Tree Jam”. We’ll probably play outdoors again when the weather permits.
Wednesdays 5-8PM a slower jam session at the Golden Rose Mobile Park in Puyallup. This will be a good place to start out at an easier pace. BUT please contact me ahead to confirm. Contact: Barbara Peterson bmacLeanp@comcast.net
1st Friday 3:30-7:30PM Circle Jam at Wilco Farm Store in Gig Harbor. 3408 Hunt St NW in the back. Contact Matt 202.631.3417
Fridays 1PM-4PM. Jam at Golden Rose Mobile Park Community. (No jam on the 1st Friday, ’cause that’s Gig Harbor jam above.)

This just in! August 27 2-4PM Contra Dance on the Key Peninsula! This will be at the Longbranch Improvement Club, 4312 Key Peninsula Highway SW, Longbranch 98351. There’s a caller from Seattle, they need dancers, and it’s family oriented.

Oh yeah, don’t forget the 19th Annual Centralia Campout August 13-21! Loads of fun! Details at their web page https://www.centraliacampout.com/ Spend the day, or camp out!.

2nd Thursday 1:30PM. We have resumed our quarterly playouts at Franke Toby Jones Retirement Community Center in September and December. Contact: Ron Duncan 253-549-2553.

We would like to see/hear more musicians at our circle jams and meetings. So why not drop in? Bring a friend. If you have questions, give us a call! Barbara (253) 926-8457

Welcome to our new member Cathy.

District 8 Chair: Barbara Peterson bmacleanp@comcast.net 253-926-8457

District 9 Report (Lewis & Thurston Counties)

06/01/2022 – Author: Christie Easter

Hi Everyone! Happy Summertime to all. For the month of August we will be having our regular monthly meeting and jam on Friday, August 5th from 10am-Noon at Faith Baptist Church located at 436 Coal Creek Rd in Chehalis.

To find the Church take I-5 to exit 79, then head EAST (back over the freeway).  Turn LEFT on N. National Ave and go 1/3 mile, then turn RIGHT onto Coal Creek Rd. Go 1.1 miles, then turn right into the Church driveway. We will be in the middle building.  There will be coffee and tea and some snacks but it won’t be a potluck.  Everyone is welcome at the jam.

We don’t have any playdates in August but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything fun to do! Here are some other fun fiddling things to do this month in Lewis County:

WAMA PICKERSFEST August 5th-6th-7th in Winolequa Park in Winlock.  Dry camping available on a first come, first served basis. Genre jams on Friday afternoon include a Celtic jam, Old Time jam and a Swing Jazz jam.

Otherwise, Lots of jamming, workshops, open mics and evening performances by all kinds of Old Time, Bluegrass and jazz groups and a free Sunday Gospel show. Daily tickets or weekend passes available. Website is www.WinlockPickersfest.com

MT ST HELENS BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL.  August 12-14, 2022 Kemp Olson Memorial Park, Toledo, Wa

Fun Bluegrass festival near downtown Toledo, Wa. Featuring Copenhagen mics, workshops, band scrambles and lots of shows in the evening.  Dry camping available, one day or weekend passes available. Website is www.Washington bluegrass association.org

CENTRALIA CAMPOUT:  August 13-21, 2022 1300 K Street, Centralia 98531.  Fun and low key Old Time music Campout along the Chehalis River.  Lots of informal jamming without any fixed schedule. No contests or performers, but events like a BBQ, potluck or dance may crop up at any time, spontaneously. Daily & week-long rates available. Website is www.CentraliaCampout.com

That’s it!  Have fun and stay cool.

District 9 Chair:  Christie Easter 360-791-5185. mrwillys@aol.com
Monthly meeting & jam:  1st Friday 10 am at Faith Baptist Church 436 Coal Creek Rd Chehalis

District 10 Report (Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania and Wakiukum Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Denice Carter

DISTRICT RECONVENED AND PLANNING
We are eager to restart our district after the world shut us down! Once again, we will be presenting the Washington State Fiddle Championships at the Clark County Fair August 6-7 2022. As you all know budgets are tight and participation is slow to re-establish. Please join us and support this fun event!

Please contact Denice Carter for more info and to offer contributions to make this contest possible. Thank you all for your continued support!

District 10 Chair: Denice Carter fidlmom1@gmail.com 303-859-4268

District 11 Report (Grant & Adam Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Charlie Root

We were glad to have the fiddle workshop in Moses Lake again this year. It was nice to see those we haven’t seen for a while, and to meet some new fiddlers. Some of our members were also able to take some classes this year which they enjoyed. It was pretty warm that week, but this week (the last week of July).

it’s been in the triple digits all week. Maybe the timing was pretty good. Since the workshop and the convention, our district has added two more play outs. Starting in July we will be playing at Summer Wood in Moses Lake on the 4th Thursday. Starting in August we will be playing at McKay in Soap Lake. Because of the Grant County Fair which runs the third week of August we will be playing at McKay on August 9th. Starting in September we will be playing at McKay on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. We are not back to our pre-covid schedule yet, but we are getting a lot closer.

Monthly meeting: 3rd Sunday at 1:30 PM – Jam 2:00-4:00. Moses Lake Senior Center, 608 E. 3rd Ave. Moses Lake

Playouts

2nd Wed. 10:00 AM Pioneer Village, 816 Sharon Ave. Moses Lake
2nd Wed. 1:30 PM Avamere, 8425 Aspi Blvd. NE, Moses Lake
3rd Tues. 10:00 AM McKay Healthcare & Rehab Center, Soap Lake
3rd Thurs. 10:00 AM Brookdale Hearthstone, 905 S. Pioneer Way, Moses Lake
4th Thurs. 10:00 AM Summer Wood, 830 NW Sunburst Ct., Moses Lake

District 11 Chair Charlie Root clroot@sosmail.us  509-765-5927

District 12 Report (Benton, Franklin, & Walla Walla Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Shawn Hughes

Monthly Meeting: 2nd Sunday at Trios Adult Day Services Building, 10 N. Washington St. Kennewick. (Enter at back) Doors open at 2:00PM for jamming; Finger potluck at 3:00, followed by short business meeting and more jamming.

Monthly Playouts:

1st Wednesday, 6:00PM – Hawthorne Court, 524 N Ely, Kennewick

2nd Wednesday, 6:15PM – Guardian Angel, 245 Van Giesen, Richland

4th Wednesday Starting 3/23, 3PM – Bonaventure, 1800 Bellerive Dr. Richland

There will be no District meeting for the month of August. We will look to have our next meeting in September. I would also like to put in another reminder of the text thread that we have going in the district. If you would like to be put on the thread and get text messages about the playdates act please let Jim, Daryl, Joe or I know.

This past couple months we have lost one of our longtime and very supportive members of District 12 Chuck Hathaway. Chuck was known as the guy at the sound board. He was always so supportive of the district and the youth in the district. He and his wife could always be counted on for volunteering and support at all events. I am sure some of us even got a good “shush’ at one of these events.  Thanks again for everything you did Chuck, you will be missed.

District 12 Chair: Joe Gunter gunterboys43@gmail.com 509-948-1772

District 15 Report (Jefferson & Clallam Counties)

08/01/2022 – Author: Rita Hubbard

We are hopeful that District will be meeting again starting the 2nd Saturday in Sequim - more info to be announced to the district.  Miss seeing everyone!

District 15 Chair: Rita Hubbard sidandrita@yahoo.com               360-385-3978

District 16 Report (Snohomish County)

08/01/2022 – Author: Dianne Gooch

Our jam sessions will continue on every 2nd & 4th Friday nights through the summer and we do have air conditioning for these warm summer days. Mark your calendars for the 2nd & 4th Friday nights, 5:30 – 10:00 pm (or a bit later) at the Sisco Heights Community Club, 13527-99th Ave NE, Arlington, WA 98223.

Our next WOTFA Midway Jam will be August 21, 1:30-4:00 pm, at the Lynnwood Library (19200 44th Ave W, Lynnwood) on Sunday. We have a great time playing classic fiddle tunes and being challenged with new tunes. I have a large email list so will send out the date when confirmed for August and September. Feel free to ask other musician friends to join us

District 16 Chair: Noel Lareau - 360-691-5907 e-mail: Noelula@aol.com
Reporter: Dianne Gooch DLGooch2305@gmail.com
Sunshine Chair: Mayves Anderson mande93221@yahoo.com
Playout coordinator: Gary Nordby gtnordby@frontier.com