Wow! Is it time for the October report already? That went fast. We’ve had a beautiful September and now the leaves are turning, rain is returning, and fall is in the air.
October is also the first month that you can pay your dues for 2026. All you have to do is click on the home page of WOTFA.org where it says pay your dues and pay them online. For District 6, Roy Calvert has said he would be glad to print forms and bring them to the jams so you can give your checks and forms to Bernie to mail to the member chair. We want to make it easy to join or renew because our organization depends heavily upon the dues to exist. Won’t you please become a member or renew soon for 2026?
Our first meeting/jam after the summer was a great success. Roy Calvert turned 90 on Sept. 5th, so we celebrated at the jam with his son Earl, daughter in law, Becky and daughter Jeanne. Since Earl and Becky are both accomplished fiddle players our music sounded much better than it usually does which was a real treat! Also, Cici Smith turned 9 this week. She has certainly improved over the summer and was a joy to hear. Along with lunch, we had 2 cakes to share in honor of our birthday folks. Yum! And if you missed this jam, I’m sorry because it was a really good one. We even had a record number of 11 fiddlers! There is a picture below showing everyone except Roy who was resting up from all the excitement.
Tyler held a short meeting and Bernie announced that he would like to step down from his treasurer’s position. Won’t someone please step up and give Bernie a break? He’ll help you, so it won’t be too overwhelming.
We had a good turn out for our September 27th circle jam. This was a fun jam and people played songs that others knew and sang along to. There were 2 Michaels and 2 Johns (one was a Jon) which was funny, but all 4 added to the goodness of the music. Every jam is different with people picking different songs and different people showing up. It’s been so nice to get back into the music jams this fall. Put the next one on your calendar if you haven’t attended one yet. They are really uplifting. Here are a few pictures.
Along with the 2 Saturday events, we have been continuing with our weekday playdates at retirement facilities and smaller group homes. This is a great way to be able to play music together for an audience and for the audience to enjoy the music. Also, we charge a nominal fee for this service which raises money for our activities and for scholarships for kids to learn old time fiddle music. We are so grateful for all the folks who volunteer their time, energy and musical ability to do this week after week.
On one last note, the list below shares the dates and times of our District 6 events which always include jams. Any specific information can be found on the website or you can contact me with any questions. All are welcome. Come when you can.
- October 4, meeting/jam at 11 am to 4 pm
- October 25, circle jam at 1 pm to 4 pm
- November 1, meeting/jam at 11 am to 4 pm
- December 6, Christmas party at 11 am to 4 pm
- January 3, 2026, meeting/jam at 11 am to 4 pm
Thanks for reading my report. Keep up the music in your heart and fingers. I hope to see you at one of our events.
Jenny Swanson (timbuktoe@yahoo.com)