Last year, we held an experiment. We knew there were cool things happening at Open Mics and small stages around central Delaware, but they weren't always finding their way to our stage... So we performed an experiment, taking the best of Reality TV (if there is a "best"), and gave it a strong Folk Flavor. And so was born the Delmarva Folk Hero contest.

We weren't sure how it was going to work out. That first Coffeehouse in February 2007 was a little bit crazy - we had artists show up after all of the performance slots were filled up, and and the place was so packed we were literally "standing room only". The energy was registering high on all meters, with most of us not knowing what was going to happen next. A memorable moment was when Jonny Maduro's guitar string broke on his first song, and Aaron Nathans passed his guitar up to him on the stage so he could finish his set without losing time changing a string.

Last July we ran the second qualifying round, with similar results - many new faces, and a lot of talent that we previously had not been aware of. Some were better than others, of course, but every performer got an appreciative reception from the crowd, who were sympathetic to the nerves of both seasoned and neophyte performers when the pressure of a contest upped the ante even more.

Our finalists last year were a mix of familiar and new faces. One of the most surprising and delightful of the performers wound up being declared the "Delmarva Folk Hero" in the end: Bad Wheel Jonny. Bad Wheel had obviously been playing music for a long time, but had only started performing in front of other people a few months before he showed up at the July coffeehouse.

So we decided to do it again this year, for the 2nd Annual Delmarva Folk Hero contest. A few minor details will be different this year. First, we aren't likely to be "standing room only" - the coffeehouse will be held in the sanctuary at Wesley Chapel, which seats about 4 times the number of people than the room we used to use (where we now serve refreshments). That means we'll have plenty of room, so you have no excuses for not rounding up all your friends to come out. Second, we're holding the qualifying rounds in July and September - the two coffeehouses that are just prior to the Festival. We changed this for two reasons: we got the chance to book Garnet Rogers for our February coffeehouse this year, and we felt that it was a bit anti-climactic to hold the first qualifying round in February and then the second in July - for those February contestants, that was a looooooong time to wait to find out if you made the finals.

The admission for this coffeehouse is just $3 for members and $5 for non-members (what? you're not a member yet??). What can you possibly do for this price and have this much fun??? (ok, don't answer that question...)

Here's the way the contest works:

Candidates must perform in one of the two upcoming Delaware Friends of Folk’s Open Mic Coffeehouses, held in July 19, 2008 and September 13, 2008. 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 3, 2008.

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 2008 Delmarva Folk Hero, and will be awarded a prize package which will include:

• $100 cash
• Longer performance slot (50 minutes) on the Main Stage on Saturday (the following day)
• Invitation to appear with Mark Rogers live on the air on WSTW 93.7's Hometown Heroes show
• Recording Studio time with West Street Studio in Dover, Delaware
• Photo shoot with professional photographer Eric Young
• More prizes may be added still!

There are a few “rules and guidelines” to be mentioned:

• 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 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 Board does not anticipate overruling the audience vote, but reserves the right to do so.
• 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.
• The Finalists must be available to perform at the designated time on Saturday in the event that they win, or will forfeit the entire prize package.

It all starts at 7:30 pm, July 19, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and N. Bradford, in Dover. Admission will be $3 for members and $5 for non-members. Students are half-price, and ages 12 and under are free. We’ll have plenty of hot coffee, cool drinks, and sweet snacks. Come out, bring a friend, and see it happen.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair

The summer is heating up and so are preparations for the Folk Festival. Are you ready to volunteer to help yet? We can use you and about half a dozen of your friends!

Last month we talked about the duties associated with the Parking and Security Committee and before that we talked about the hard work ahead for the building/facilities committee. This month I’d like to talk to you about the ticket booth and ticket sales committees. The ticket sales committee is already hard at work designing tickets, flyers, posters, pre-order post cards, and ticket purchase brochures. This group has to develop and print festival tickets and artist passes. This year we will only sell tickets on-line, through DeFF board members, at special events, at the gate, at Coffeehouse performances beginning in July, and at Fox & Associates on S. State Street in Dover.

The ticket booth workers begin their work before the festival. Wrist bands have to be organized, the cash register has to be programmed, program information has to organized, and lists of vendors, volunteers, and artists need to be coordinated. The ticket booth staff begins on-site festival work on Friday at 3:00 p.m. In addition to selling tickets and getting the crowds into the venue quickly, they have to keep track of ticket sales, vendors, volunteers, camper registrations, and artist arriving. Their work doesn’t end until about 10:00 p.m. on Friday night and begins again at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Saturday will be a long day for this group since the gate doesn’t close until 9:00 p.m. If you can count, or use a calculator to count, or can operate a cash register, please consider joining this committee.

We'll also let you in on the Line-up for the festival. You can see it here.

Delmarva Folk Festival meetings take place on the first Wednesday of each month at Sheridan’s in downtown Smyrna beginning at 6:30 p.m. In July, we'll actually meet on the 2nd Wednesday, on July 9th, to avoid the July 4th holiday week. Any one with an interest in the Festival is invited to attend. If you are interested in helping in any way, come to a meeting or contact Kae Mason at (302) 736-5585 after 5:00 p.m. The Delaware Friends of Folk is a great organization to dedicate your valuable time. Remember, anyone who volunteers to work for five or more hours during the festival is admitted free. Additionally, those who help the facilities committee during the summer will be admitted to the Festival free.

We worked long and hard, debated, negotiated and decided, and finally came up with what has to be one of the best Delmarva Folk Festival line-ups ever. Here y'all go:

On Friday night, October 3rd, we'll host the Finals of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest. Our host for the evening (providing entertainment while we tally the votes) will be last year's winner - Bad Wheel Jonny.

	Hoots & Hellmouth indie group - somewhere between soul, bluegrass, rock, jam band, roots and folk, you'll find these guys pickin' and jumpin' on the stomp board! YAW! See video here
	Ernie Hawkins blues guitar master, appearance supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Performing Artists on Tour (PennPAT) Ernie will also be holding a blues guitar workshop at 4pm on Saturday October 4th, so bring your guitar and be prepared to learn from an expert! See this Video Clip from YouTube
	Robert Hazard Band Former post-punk '80s icon, author of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", and now doing his favorite style of music - earthy roots rock. He's bringing his full band for this special show! Hear a sample. See a video
	Kevin Burke & Cal Scott Duo featuring Celtic Fiddle master Kevin Burke A video for your enjoyment here.
	Christine Havrilla Trio she calls it Neofunkadelicfolkpoptwangrock, we call it awesome Video available here
	Kate Klim young pianist, vocalist and songwriter - a real delight See a Video here.
	Chapel Street Junction upbeat bluegrass, old-time, and a bit of Celtic thrown in. 2007 Delmarva Folk Hero finalists Hear music samples here.
	Butch Zito & Teri Dobra folky, bluesy, bluegrassy fun 2007 Delmarva Folk Hero finalists Hear music samples here. See a Video here.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair

It's not a surprise to anyone that the economy, well, sucks right now. Rising costs for food and energy make it more difficult for everyone, and many people who have never needed the help are now relying on the services of charities like the Food Bank of Delaware to keep hunger at bay for their families. The summer is also a challenging time for the Food Bank, since donations tend to decline as people go on vacation, yet they have extra mouths to feed - school aged children who usually rely on a school lunch program for their one nutritious meal of the day, but when school isn't in session that meal isn't available to them.

As if the economic situation didn't make the Food Bank's job hard enough, the unthinkable happened. Two of the Food Bank's tractor trailers were stolen, and were full of donated frozen chicken which was scheduled to be delivered to hungry families. They managed to recover the trucks just a few days later, but the contents were a total loss.

There are many ways you can help out. The Delaware State Police are holding a special statewide food drive until July 21 to help the Food Bank recover, so you can stop by any of the State Police barracks with your donations. The locations and more information are listed in this News Journal article. You can also bring your donations to our coffeehouse on Saturday, July 19th (or any of our coffeehouses). Or if you want to make an online donation of money that can be used for any of the Food Bank's important programs, you do go to their web site to do that.

Sure, your dollar doesn't go as far as it used to, but most of you probably have something from your pantry that you can share, maybe some surplus from your garden, or a few bucks from your wallet. A hungry family will appreciate it.

We're currently looking for artwork for the cover of the Delmarva Folk Festival Program. If you've got some artistic creativity and would like to submit artwork for consideration, please contact Jan Crumpley at (302) 465-0805 for further details.

The selected artist will receive free admission to the Festival, a Festival T-shirt, will be credited with a bio in the festival program, and will get our eternal gratitude for sharing their talents.

The guidelines for submissions are:

• Autumn Theme
• Music Theme
• Black & White
• Must be received by August 1, electronically or via mail to P.O. Box 1006, Dover DE 19903-1006
• Must not be offensive or political
• Should capture the spirit of the event

Optional elements:

• Delmarva Folk Festival Logo (can be obtained from our web site)
• Preference given to Friends of Folk Members (why not join today?)
• If "Delaware Friends of Folk" text appears, it should be in Arnold Bocklin font