The cold winds of February remind us that it is still winter. The comfort to be found in winter is that it’s the best time of year to use the wood stove or fireplace to get that special kind of warmth that only a real fire can give you. The other comfort in winter is that it will, some day, be followed by spring and the physical and mental rebirth that can come with such a change in seasons.

But winter isn’t over and it’s still possible that we might get one of those nor’easters and the resulting business boom for the milk, bread, and toilet paper sellers. In fact, the last big one of those we had was Presidents Day weekend, 2003. It was the only coffee house we have canceled in nearly 12 years. But what are the chances of that happening again?

We’re gonna assume that no such storm will descend upon us for this one. It’s our usual February open mic hosted by singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Rick Hudson. Rick has been one of our regular performers for nearly 10 years, having moved here from the fertile musical grounds of Savannah, Georgia. He’s recently had some unplanned time off and is looking froward to getting back on stage. His music is the music of America’s heritage-what is sometimes called old-time. He probably has forgotten more songs than most of us know, and his deep respect for the music that came before is evident in all that he does.

As has been the tradition for Friends of Folk open-mic coffeehouses, Rick will perform opening and closing sets, with who-knows-what in between. We are making this a contest with the winners getting spots on stage at the Delmarva Folk Festival in October. You can find the rules and details elsewhere in this newsletter.

It all starts at 7:30 pm, February 17, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and North Bradford St. in Dover. Admission will be $3 for members and $5 for non-members. Kids 12 and under get in free. Be sure to bring a non-perishable food item for the Delaware Food Bank. A great evening of music, hot & cold drinks, and sweet treats await. Don’t let it happen without you. There’s nothing else like it in Dover.

-- John Kidd, DEFF President

Membership in the Delaware Friends of Folk is on an annual basis, and it's now time to renew your membership for 2007. You don't get too many bargains quite like this: For just $10 (individual) or $15 (family), you get discounted admission to all of our coffeehouses and our annual Festival, invitations to special "members only" events, including our annual membership meeting where you can vote for our Board of Directors. And there's more - now you can also join the Dover Federal Credit Union when you're a member of the Friends of Folk. Join or renew your membership today!

The Delaware Friends of Folk has crafted an innovative way to showcase local talent, leveraging both their monthly Coffeehouse series as well as the Annual Delmarva Folk Festival (now in its 16th year!). They’re calling it the Delmarva Folk Hero contest. Here’s how it works.

Candidates must perform in one of the two upcoming Delaware Friends of Folk’s Open Mic Coffeehouses, held in February 17, 2007 and July 21, 2007. At those coffeehouses, ballots will be distributed to the audience (performers are encouraged to bring friends!). The top performers from those 2 Open Mics will be Finalists and will be asked to perform on the Main Stage of the Delmarva Folk Festival on Friday evening, October 5, 2007.

At that Friday evening Festival performance, ballots will again be distributed to the audience (again, get those fans and friends to come out and vote for you!). The best performer will be dubbed the 2007 Delmarva Folk Hero, and will be awarded a prize package which will include $100 cash, a longer performance slot on the Main Stage on Saturday (the following day), recording studio time with West Street Studio in Dover, and a photo shoot with Steve Hicks, local photographer and photography teacher, to help provide cover art for that CD you’ve been wanting to put out for so long. More prizes may be added still!

• Candidates should present a genre similar to the ones typically presented by the Delaware Friends of Folk – Folk (traditional, new, or “singer songwriter”), Bluegrass, Blues, Celtic, Jazz, New Age, World, Old-Time, Roots, Story-telling.
• Candidates should be solo through 4 performers, with a strong preference toward fewer performers in any act, to simplify changeovers. No drum kits, please.
• Ballots will be distributed during the Open Mic Coffeehouses for the audience to vote for their favorite performer. No proxy, delayed, or internet voting will be allowed – you must be present to vote.
• The Board will review the ballots, and will use them to help make the final programming decision on the finalists, as well as the final winner.
• The Finalists will each get a performance slot on the Friday night of the Festival. Each slot is anticipated to be 25 minutes long, but this may change depending on the number of Finalists chosen.

So plan to get to the Delaware Friend of Folk Coffeehouse on February 17 or July 21, and bring your friends! You need to be there by 7pm to sign up for a performance slot. The Coffeehouses are held at Wesley Chapel, at Bradford & Division Streets in Dover Delaware. The cost is $3 for members and $5 for non-members.

As Cooldog did 2 years ago, and Terrie and Bruce McClay did last year, our friends at Cooldog Concert Series will be hosting a fundraiser on April 22nd for the Delaware Friends of Folk.

In the past our objective for fundraising was to get the site for the Delmarva Folk Festival wired for electricity, so we could reduce or eliminate our dependence on generators for our major event. That accomplishment is now in the past, we're pleased to say.

But the 2006 Delmarva Folk Festival was not kind to our organizational coffers - the Nor'Easter that kept so many people home drained our accounts. So, the objective for this year is to replenish the "rainy day" fund, to ensure that the 2007 Festival on October 5 & 6 is able to go forward regardless of the weather.

Here's the info on the Fundraiser:

Place: Cooldog Concert Series, near Kenton, DE (just 2 miles from the Festival Site)
Time: 11am until we stop
Price: $20 for adults, $12 for students & military
More Info & RSVP: Go to the Cooldog Concerts Site for more detail

Volunteers are desperately needed. We'll need folks to help set up, break down, keep the food cleaned up, monitor the alcohol, and sell merchandise. To volunteer, contact Cooldog.

The exact timings of the performances hasn't been worked out yet, but here is the list of performers that you can expect!