There are coffeehouses, and there are coffeehouses... And then there is our next coffeehouse...

Last year, we were made aware of an opportunity to apply for a grant from Delaware Division of the Arts through the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. It caught our attention because it was meant just for presenting non-profits in Delaware. We applied, crossed our fingers, and soon found out that we had been approved!

It is through this Special Presenter Initiative program that we are able to present our upcoming Coffeehouse. I am not exaggerating when I saw that the fee for the headliners is over 4 times the fee we have ever paid to any other performer. If it were not for the grant, we would not be able to bring this extraordinary band to play here in Central Delaware.

And so, it is my great pleasure to announce that on February 21, 2009, the Delaware Friends of Folk will present the Tannahill Weavers, direct from Scotland, at its monthly coffeehouse series.

The Tannahill Weavers are truly one of Scotland's premier Traditional bands. The effectively blend traditional melodies with modern rhythms, receiving worldwide acclaim in the process.

As the Winnipeg Free Press noted, "The Tannahill Weavers - properly harnessed - could probably power an entire city for a year on the strength of last night's concert alone. The music may be old time Celtic, but the drive and enthusiasm are akin to straight ahead rock and roll."

They are one of the few Celtic acts that use full-sized highland bagpipes in on-stage performances, which adds powerful pipe solos to driving guitar, rich harmonies and ethereal flute playing, and truly sets the Tannahill Weavers apart.

Opening the show will be Sandy Shalk. Sandy is a familiar face to old-time Friends of Folk members. Sandy is has played guitar for many decades in area bands, but a few years back he found his calling in fingerstyle guitar of the Celtic variety. His primary passion is for tunes of his mother's Scottish homeland, so his repertoire will be an appropriate companion to the Tannies.

It all starts at 7:30 pm, February 21, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and N. Bradford, in Dover. Admission will be $15 for members, $20 for non-members, half price for students, and Wesley students will get in for $5. And of course, ages 12 and under are free - we encourage you to bring the "Young Folks" out so we can pass our traditions along to the next generation.

If you haven't renewed your membership yet, you can do that at the gate. We’ll have plenty of hot coffee and cool drinks, and we'll be baking fresh cookies for your snacking pleasure. Don't forget to bring a donation for the Food Bank of Delaware - in these tough economic times, they need your support more than ever. Come out, bring a friend, wear a kilt if you like, and be part of the happening.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair

As you look toward the holidays and plan on what 2009 will bring us, it's time to renew your membership in the Delaware Friends of Folk.

It's one of the greatest bargains out there - just $10 for an individual, and $15 for a family membership. Membership Benefits

• Discounted admission to Coffeehouses
• Discounted admission to our Annual Folk Festival
• Monthly newsletter with Friends of Folk news and area musical happenings
• Invitation to exclusive Members-Only events like our annual "Pick-N-ic" in the summer, annual membership meeting in December
• Ability to vote at our annual membership meeting each December
• The joy of being part of a great organization that supports folk music in Delaware!

You can sign up or renew at our shopping page.

Remember, we are a real live 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. That means that your donations to Delaware Friends of Folk are likely tax deductible, but we know you’ll check with the experts before trying to rip off Uncle Sam. We are beginning to work in a few other directions, like sponsoring workshops and perhaps other educational efforts. Got a few extra dollars? Got some ideas on how we might use them? Let us know.

The first meeting of the 2009 Delmarva Folk Festival Committee will be on March 4th beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Sheridan’s on Commerce Street in Smyrna. I hope to see some new faces that night!

I’d like to introduce you to the festival committee as it stands now.

• Beth Fizell works to secure our entertainment, manage our charitable contributions, coordinate the Folk Hero Contest, and maintain our website.
• John Kidd works on securing entertainment, with the sign committee to put up the directional signs to the venue, is one of the co-chairs for the building and facilities committee, and he handles stage lighting during the festival.
• Jan Crumply produces our program, assists with ad sales for the program, produces our marketing materials, and secures cover art for the program.
• Backstage refreshments for the artists is the responsibility of Giani Siri this year.
• Our concession sales will be managed by Clarence Brackin.
• Jim McGiffin will coordinate publicity and marketing for the festival and also secure our insurance.
• Eric Young takes all the fine pictures for our festival that you see in the paper, the program, and on our website.
• Rob Fox works with the sign committee to get those signs out, he manages the vendors who come, manages the finances for the festival, and cooks BBQ all weekend.
• Storm Longhauser handles merchandise and leads clean up efforts for the event.
• Jen Schick plans and manages all the wonderful children’s activities we offer,
• Kristin Hamilton will be in charge of volunteer coordination this year, a huge job.
• Kelly Crumpley manages our ad sales for the festival program and works with the sign committee.
• Paul Gumerman produces the wonderful sound of our festival.
• Lonnie Field and Bob Hamel are co-chairs of the building and facilities committee. Their committee begins work at the festival site in July.
• Mary Belmont is joining our group this year as the ticket and gate manager. Her group will be working hard on Friday and Saturday as the happy faces everyone sees when they drive up to the gate area.
• And I fill try hard to manage this whole event and help out wherever it’s needed. I also arrange for mosquito spraying before the event and arrange the staff appreciation party after the festival.

This year we have some key positions that need filled and I’d like to distribute the duties a bit wider by having more people step up to help.

• We need a parking and security chairperson.
• We also need a chairperson for the Building and Facilities Committee to work with the co-chairs.

This is a fun group to work with and I hope you will consider joining us.

Do you have some talents you'd like to share with the Friends of Folk?

Our web site could definitely use an upgrade... a "face lift" as it were... Do you have web development talents that you could share? We'd love it if our web site were more attractive, intuitive, and informative, but with the ability for our volunteers to manage the content without having to trouble our webmaster for every update.

Do you have these skills and like to help us out? If so, please contact Beth at president@delfolk.org to discuss.