NOMAD Northeastern Music and Dance Festival 1996

Newtown, Connecticut, October 25, 26, 27

By Ryan Thomson

This festival is now in its 9th year. I've been attending for the last 7 or 8 years and have

watched it grow and prosper. The organisers describe it as "Connecticut's first participation

festival," and it certainly lives up to this label. Not only are top folk performers in many

styles involved, but there are loads of participatory workshops, singalongs, jam sessions,

dances, children's activities, and other events for folks of all ages and skill levels. There are

9 separate areas going at the same time which means lots of fun things to do, no matter

what your interests are in folk music and dance.

From the festival flyer: "Our admission prices are kept low to encourage families to

participate together. All teachers, dance leaders, performers, musicians and those who

coodinate and run the festival are volunteers! They share their talents in this setting so

that others may learn and grow in our worldly traditions......Of course fees are paid to the

school support staff, required police, the sound rental company and the piano tuner who

tunes all pianos for us the day before the festival."

As a full time performer who makes his living by playing, I still feel perfectly happy

volunteering to help at this festival because of the cooperative spirit, and nice folks who

put it together.

The festival usually takes place at the local high school, but this year was in the Newtown

Middle School. The sites are similar, both have many classrooms available for activities, and

gyms for dancing which included: squares, contras, English country, Scottish, Irish, cajun,

Balkan, Israeli, Scandinavian, and more. Schools are generally good sites for festivals, and I

like to see facilities that are ordinarily closed on weekends, opened up for the public to

use for weekend festivals. I always leave for home at the end feeling good from seeing my

friends, and with new music making skills.

Instrumental workshops featured instruction in bones playing, doumbec, fiddle(by myself

and others), chanting, bodhran, concertina, dulcimer, banjo, guitar, and Irish harp. Many

workshops were for beginning players, and others were in a demonstration format with

questions welcome. An "open mike," for singers, encouraged participants and I was drawn

in to a group singing gospel songs.

The crafts and folk music area included clothing, wooden toys, hand puppets, paper

cutting, leather work, the Captain Fiddle booth, jewelry, tapes and recordings by several

vendors, and other international items. John Foley has created some really clever "stereo

kazoos," made from laminated woods. Allan Block took measurements in order to make me

a custom leather strap for my mandolin. Besides being a master leather worker, Allan is a

great fiddler who periodically takes a few minutes off from his work to play some lively

tunes.

There was a Scottish and vegetarian food booth along with fare from the school cafeteria. I

always enjoy Scottish meat pies, and one booth had great home made chocolate chip

cookies.

I had a satisfying experience again this year at NOMAD, and I heartily recommend it to

those who come to a festival to actively participate in international folk culture. The

official date for the festival isn't ordinarily set until late spring.

For more info visit the web site

Written  by Ryan J Thomson,1996