Below is a copy of the communiqué from the Camel City Strummers, regarding the 2016 Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival.
Warning: It does not contain good news for the hammered dulcimer community.
The Winston Salem Dulcimer Festival is undergoing significant changes. Of most consequence to NC Trapezoids -- This year's festival will be geared to mountain dulcimers only. A sad moment, indeed!
Let us pause for a moment of silence ... but also a moment of gratitude.
Of course, many others have been involved in the planning and execution of this on-going festival, but I dare not attempt to name them at the risk of leaving somebody out!
It all started more than 20 years ago, when the Brookridge Dulcimer Players and Meadows Music started the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival. The Festival was held at the Reynolda Friends Meeting. By 1997, the Festival had already outgrown those facilities. In 1998 it moved to College Park Baptist Church. By 2007, more than 100 students were attending, with 10 instructors, two concerts, and 30-some workshop sessions! Zoom ahead to 2016, and circumstances dictate change.
Many of us hammered dulcimer players are truly sorry to see this good thing come to an end. When will we see our friends, from near and far? Where will we get our dulcimer fix?
We wish our mountain dulcimer playing friends a successful and fun-filled festival, as we look forward to the next big thing in the hammered dulcimer world. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to join forces again down the line.
Here's the communiqué:
2016 Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival
Greetings from the Winston-Salem dulcimer community!
Folks, we’d like to let you know that, despite rumors you may have heard, there will be a Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival this year. There are some changes in store – some minor, some a little larger – but we will be having an event that is, overall, a lot like what you are used to.
The biggest change is that this year’s festival will be for mountain dulcimer only; it will not include hammered dulcimers. This was not an easy decision to make; and there are multiple factors involved in it. We won’t rule out the possibility that this might change, again, in the future; but for this year our approach is basically to “simplify.”
Other changes include a change of venue, and a slight change of date. Both the venue and the date are not far from what’s been the case in the past, so we will consider these “minor” changes. More details on all this in just a bit.
The festival will be a “one-day only” event this year – no Friday night activities are
planned. Everything will take place between Saturday morning, April 30, and Saturday evening at 6:30 (approx).
Last, but not least, another big change in the festival is in the administration of the event. Terry Lefler is stepping away from managing what has become one of the premier dulcimer events in NC. Terry will still be on our advisory board (and we are grateful for his guidance and assistance), but the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival will now be sponsored by the Camel City Strummers, a newly-formed dulcimer club here in “Camel City” USA.
Instructors that we have signed up for this year include: Joe Collins
Larry Conger
Dave Haas
Judy House and Carol Crocker (co-teaching the "beginner" track)
We have a lot of details still to work out for WSDF2016, but we are hard at that right now. Just be sure to go ahead and “Save the Date” on your calendars: Saturday, April 30, in Winston- Salem, NC.
We will send more details as we hammer them out. In the meantime, you can note these sources of info for WSDF:
Warning: It does not contain good news for the hammered dulcimer community.
The Winston Salem Dulcimer Festival is undergoing significant changes. Of most consequence to NC Trapezoids -- This year's festival will be geared to mountain dulcimers only. A sad moment, indeed!
Let us pause for a moment of silence ... but also a moment of gratitude.
- Gratitude for the good friends and memories made at this festival
- Gratitude for the fantastic instruction and the inspirational performances experienced
- Special gratitude for Jeff Sebens (founder) and Terry Lefler, who have each taken their turn running the festival over these many years
Of course, many others have been involved in the planning and execution of this on-going festival, but I dare not attempt to name them at the risk of leaving somebody out!
It all started more than 20 years ago, when the Brookridge Dulcimer Players and Meadows Music started the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival. The Festival was held at the Reynolda Friends Meeting. By 1997, the Festival had already outgrown those facilities. In 1998 it moved to College Park Baptist Church. By 2007, more than 100 students were attending, with 10 instructors, two concerts, and 30-some workshop sessions! Zoom ahead to 2016, and circumstances dictate change.
Many of us hammered dulcimer players are truly sorry to see this good thing come to an end. When will we see our friends, from near and far? Where will we get our dulcimer fix?
We wish our mountain dulcimer playing friends a successful and fun-filled festival, as we look forward to the next big thing in the hammered dulcimer world. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to join forces again down the line.
Here's the communiqué:
2016 Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival
Greetings from the Winston-Salem dulcimer community!
Folks, we’d like to let you know that, despite rumors you may have heard, there will be a Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival this year. There are some changes in store – some minor, some a little larger – but we will be having an event that is, overall, a lot like what you are used to.
The biggest change is that this year’s festival will be for mountain dulcimer only; it will not include hammered dulcimers. This was not an easy decision to make; and there are multiple factors involved in it. We won’t rule out the possibility that this might change, again, in the future; but for this year our approach is basically to “simplify.”
Other changes include a change of venue, and a slight change of date. Both the venue and the date are not far from what’s been the case in the past, so we will consider these “minor” changes. More details on all this in just a bit.
The festival will be a “one-day only” event this year – no Friday night activities are
planned. Everything will take place between Saturday morning, April 30, and Saturday evening at 6:30 (approx).
Last, but not least, another big change in the festival is in the administration of the event. Terry Lefler is stepping away from managing what has become one of the premier dulcimer events in NC. Terry will still be on our advisory board (and we are grateful for his guidance and assistance), but the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival will now be sponsored by the Camel City Strummers, a newly-formed dulcimer club here in “Camel City” USA.
Instructors that we have signed up for this year include: Joe Collins
Larry Conger
Dave Haas
Judy House and Carol Crocker (co-teaching the "beginner" track)
We have a lot of details still to work out for WSDF2016, but we are hard at that right now. Just be sure to go ahead and “Save the Date” on your calendars: Saturday, April 30, in Winston- Salem, NC.
We will send more details as we hammer them out. In the meantime, you can note these sources of info for WSDF:
Website: http://www.winstonsalemdulcimerfestival.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/WSDulcimerFest/
Email contact: info@winstonsalemdulcimerfestival.com
Email contact: info@winstonsalemdulcimerfestival.com
I am seriously bummed! ML
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