March Musical Theme“Celtic”

2016 Board MembersPresident: Mary Sanders! ! ! MLSAND123@aol.comVice President: Howard Detamore! ! howde1948@hotmail.comSecretary: Steve Arbuckle! ! ! sarbuckle288@gmail.comTreasurer: Barry Levitt! ! ! balcpg@gmail.comMusic Coordinator: Cathy Platt! ! cpplatt@comcast.net 317-485-5010Member-at-Large: Connie Temm! ! ctemm@iupui.eduPast President: Dave Tucker!! ! dtucker@vinu.eduNewsletter Editor: Susie Kraeszig! ! susankay49@sbcglobal.netWebmaster: Myrna Gray ! ! ! myrna.gray@gmail.comEagle Creek Folk Fest Chair: Morgan Sanders-Jackson amusingcalliope@gmail.com

March 2016 MeetingSunday, March 13, 2016, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PMBethlehem Lutheran Church52nd & CentralIndianapolis, IN1:00 - 2:00 - Slow Jam 2:00 - 3:00 - Performance Hour3:00 - 4:00 - Big Band Practice4:00 - 5:00 - Sharing Circle

Volume 2016, Issue 3! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! March 2016

THE CENTRAL INDIANA FOLK MUSIC &MOUNTAIN DULCIMER SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER

Song of the Month Insert“Shortenin’ Bread”

2016 Eagle Creek Folk Fest Registration is attached this month. Registration is due by April 15th.

2016 Eagle Creek Folk FestSaturday June 11 and Sunday June 12!

Welcome New Member!Ira Newton

Slow JamThe slow jam at 1:00 will be led by

dave slates. please bring a song to share at

the jam.

Money Bag$By Barry Levitt – March 2016

Account Status for January 2016 as of this writing (prior to reconciliation):

$6,592.76 =>checking balance (more than one year ago).

$2,425.00 =>net gig income over the past rolling year ($750 above prior period)

$1,575.00 =>dues income over the past rolling year ($195 above prior period)

$3,393.37 =>total expenses over the past twelve months ($240.37 below prior period)

$1,249.69 =>operating surplus for the past twelve months ($1,058.49 over prior period)

Based on the past rolling year’s experience, we have sufficient funds on hand to cover about 20 months of expenses.

Memberships Status: In February, we had one new member, nine renewals, no reinstatements, and no dropped members. Total memberships stand at 72, vs 83 one year ago.Membership Dues: Annual individual membership dues are $25/year, effective January 1st, 2015. The immediate family, living at the same address, of an individual member may be included in a family membership. If your membership is due or past due, please send a check to CIFM&MDS, P.O. Box 1503, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1503, or catch the treasurer at the next meeting. We are always happy to take your money.Songbooks: Printed (on paper) versions of the songbooks are still available while supplies last. Songbooks will also be available in electronic format on flash drive (memory stick). Printed versions of the Main Songbook with or without the Mountain Dulcimer Tabbing by Lew Mastin are available to all members in good standing for $30 each. Fiddle tunes are included in the Main Songbook, but a special “Fiddlers Edition” is available as a separate printed supplement for $5 each. Songbooks will also be available in electronic format (flash drive) for $10 each.Jean Vance has been a great help providing treasury service assistance at our CIFM&MDS meetings the last several years.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT, MARY SANDERSI recently came across an article about reasons why someone should attend a music festival. Although we are not The Newport Folk Festival or the Great Lakes Folk Festival, some of those reasons should be considered as we approach our 42nd Annual Eagle Creek Folk Festival, to be held on June 11th and June 12th. The first reason listed by this article was The Line-Up. No, Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie are not coming, but we have many truly talented members of our Society who will be performing, well worth listening to. And, we are also looking forward to performances by Atwater-Donnelly and by The New Augusta Blues Band. Another reason listed was The Friendships, a chance to see old friends and make new ones. Sometimes folks choose not to go to a festival because of The Facilities, but we have an incredibly beautiful venue, parking and bathrooms, and if all goes well, some limited food offerings provided by Morgan County Sertoma Club to add to our yearly intake of ice cream. Another reason mentioned was The Zen Zone. Well, for what its worth, I really sleep well after each festival day. The Innovations and The Talent … yes, we have talent, and innovation as well, with opportunities to learn new things from our varied workshop offerings. I think it is safe to say that we have progressed from the first folk festivals, such as those held in the 6th century BCE, with musicians playing flutes and Kithara (an ancient Greek string instrument), dancers, and even singers, featured as a part of the Pythian Games. The Priceless Moments and The Team Spirit…yes, we have them. Music flying across the stage in the gusty wind right in the middle of a song, marching kayakers crossing between the audience and the stage (perhaps this was a dream), working together to put up tents, to take down tents, and to chase after blowing tents. As our Festival approaches, on June 11th and 12th, consider a final reason to attend, that is, The Fans. We need your presence, your support, your participation, and your willingness to encourage those around you to join us, to make this the best Eagle Creek Folk Festival of 2016!(ideas borrowed from: 10 Reasons you should experience a music festival. 10-09-2013. HubPages.)

Happy Harpers HappeningsHappy Harpers is a group for autoharp players of all skill levels. We meet on the fourth Sunday of each month at members’ houses. We have a Yahoo group which you can join that has music and our calendar. If you have any questions about the group, please call Cathy Platt at 317-485-5010 or email: cpplatt@comcast.net

The Dulcimer Only Group(AKA DOGs)

The Dulcimer Only Group meets each 2nd and 4th Wednesday at Robin Run Village on West 62nd Street. We start at 7 P.M. Please contact Lew Mastin for more information at lewmast@embarqmail.com.

March Notes from your Music CoordinatorCathy Platt, cpplatt@comcast.net; phone: 317-485-5010

This month at our meeting, during the Big Band hour, Myra Dworski will again be practicing some of the tunes that we don’t play as often. There are some great ones in our books that you will like. Our goal this year is to expand the list of songs that we use in our gigs. Take a glance through your Society Songbook and if there is a song or two that you’d like to be playing at our gigs, let me know. We will put them into our practice line-up and get them ready to perform. Your Society Board would also like to “beef” up our slow jam hour together. If you’d like to help with that, please contact me.

Remember, if you happen to be visiting some place that you think might be a good venue for us to play, all you need to do is send me the name of the venue and I will follow up with them. If you can get a contact name (usually an Activities Director or Manager), email or phone number, that would also be helpful. You are a great resource!

The Eagle Creek Folk Festival Committee has accomplished much in the past month, and we’d like to share a few highlights with you! Mary Sanders and Dave Slates have secured our headlining performers: Atwater-Donnelly and New Augusta Bluegrass Band. Dave Wensits has created a gorgeous promotional postcard for us to distribute and is now drafting a poster design. Connie Temm has taken the lead in developing a sponsorship letter to be shared with businesses and organizations in our respective communities. Part of our

mission this year is to grow both our visibility in and support from the community, and these are tools with which we hope to do those things. We look forward to sharing these with you once they’re finalized and printed.

Please see the Eagle Creek Performance and Volunteer Registration form, attached to this newsletter. Your completed forms are due on April 15th. Feel free to contact me (my information is on the form) with any questions you might have.

Ukulele LadiesContact, Cathy Platt, cpplatt@comcast.net; phone:

317-485-5010The Ukulele Ladies are a welcoming group of women who want to play the uke. We meet at Betsy Wilson

1st, 3rd and 4th Thursday) and Mary Sanders’ (2nd Thursday) houses. If you’d like to join us, send me an email and I will set you up with our Yahoo group so that you will get meeting reminders, music and other info. We are a group of all skill levels on the

uke. If you’d like to learn how to play, get in touch!

Performers at the February Meeting Biscuits & Bagels - “Turn Your Radio On”

Bill Kissling - “I Know Who Hopes Tomorrow”Sugar Cream Pie - “When I Wake Up to Sleep No More”

Sidetracked - “This Old House”Tom Meier - “Little Mountain Church House”

Gary Reiter - “High Flyin’ Bird”Ukulele Ladies - “Motherless Children”Dianne Kafka - “Who Will Sing For Me”

Susie Kraeszig and Steve Kessinger - “Heaven” Gary Kiser - “That Meeting in the Air”

Amy, Nathaniel and Henry Raab - “Rainbow Sign”

Word from the Eagle Creek Folk Festival Committeeby Morgan Sanders-Jackson

If you would like to perform during Performance Hour, just arrive at least 20 minutes before the meeting begins to get your name on the list.

Meet Our Members Meet Ira Newton, our newest member. Ira was born in Indiana, one of nine brothers and sisters. His father was a professional musician, a drummer and harmonica player in a country western band. None of his siblings were musical, and Ira also thought he had no musical talent. He didn’t think he could play the drums, but when he picked up a guitar, it fit him. More than that, Ira had songwriting in his heart. At twenty-one, after graduating from Northwest High School and Indiana University Indianapolis with a major in philosophy, Ira headed to Los Angeles to write songs. Ira joined the National Association of Songwriters and several similar organizations, and for the next thirteen years he lived in Los Angeles, writing songs and performing them at a weekly songwriter’s workshop while also holding down a paying job. His wife, Pam, was born and raised in Los Angeles but had moved to Indiana, where she had family. When they decided to marry, Ira moved back to the Indianapolis area; Pam had a steady job. They were married in 1991. Since retiring from his job as a plumber- pipefitter for the Veteran’s Administration around two years ago, Ira is able to truly focus on his songwriting and also on picking up his voice and his guitar playing. His excitement about writing songs and about now having the time to let this passion bloom and blossom is visible. When writing a song, he focuses on concepts and meanings, on saying something, sharing an observation, hoping that when others hear what he is expressing, they will wish they had thought of it themselves. His songs have a message, a sociological connection, a meaning, a story. Some are spiritual. When he sits down to write a song, the song takes him where it wants to go. Sometimes he does a play on words. Sometimes he makes up his own words. Recently, he even wrote a fairytale. Ira listens to music all the time. He likes country music, folk music, easy listening music, the Bee Gees, and other genres, and is compelled by what he hears to write better songs. Anne Sweeten, a new- age classical pianist, is a great favorite. He listens to her music, gets a mood, a feeling a perception, and starts writing his own song. Recently, at the last minute, Ira attended an Eric Lambert musical workshop, which he found insightful, and talked with various musicians. He was seeking a group of people who are friendly and into music, with whom he can share his songs, and who can provide backup for his songs, and has landed in our Society. I look forward to Ira sharing his songs with us. Welcome, Ira!

Our Website:www.indianafolkmusic.org

Check out pictures from the 41st Eagle Creek Folk Festival!

Pictures by Dave Wensits: https://flic.kr/s/aHske87TFF

Pictures by Susie Kraeszig: https://flic.kr/s/aHsked4CrZ