2015 Folk Alliance Report
The curtain has fallen on the 2015 Folk Alliance and the reviews are in! “Great conference,” “Fabulous,” “So much great music,” “Boy am I glad I came,” “Wow!” Local 1000 had a booth in the exhibit hall, President Tret Fure participated in a panel on “Crossing Borders,” and we had lots of opportunities to talk with people about the benefits of belonging to Local 1000. We also held a board meeting and a membership meeting. It was a wonderful time to see each other, re-connect with our union, and to make music.
For many Folk Alliance attendees the highlight was our annual Showcase Free Zone. Each night stories and songs were shared from our members and guests. Wednesday night saw an overflowing room of folks sharing songs in an open song circle. Brother Sun had us singing harmony songs on Thursday night. On Friday night Eve Goldberg led a Women’s Song Swap, and Spook Handy facilitated songs of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Saturday night started with “Songs to Teach our Children” led by Aaron Fowler and Laura Dungan, and we closed the room out with “Environmental Songs” led by Mara Levine. All in all, it was a very successful conference for Local 1000 and we thank everyone who helped out and participated.
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for next years Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, February 17-21, 2016.
Membership Meeting
69 Local 1000 members were registered for the conference with 24 members participating in the membership meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Daniel Boling started the meeting with his song “Lead Belly, Woody and Pete.” Business was conducted (minutes will be on line) and our outgoing Canadian Vice President, Ken Whiteley closed the meeting with “Quite Early Morning.”
Minutes from our recent Membership Meeting are available here
Minutes from our recent Executive Board Meeting are available here
Ken Whiteley presented with Utah Phillips Award