Juneau Folk Festival

Arlo clawhammering it up on our chartered Allan Marine Boat which took us to and from the festival.

One of the best weekends of the year here in AK is the Juneau Folk Festival. It is fabulous seeing all the many talented folk artists around the state. Des Temps Antan was the featured band for 2009. They were an incredibly gifted old time French Canadian band. They were a three piece band, and tapped while they played! How do people do that!? It was amazing and greatly enhancing their sound. They gave a workshop on this talent, but I was busy attending a sweet clawhammer banjo workshop instead. However, I had a friend who attended and taught me the secret. Which means I have a new goal for myself. I need to learn how to play clawhammer banjo while flatfooting, which is going to take some serious coordination. Currently I can do neither of them well, but they are both so fun so I can't imagine the combination!

Another of my favorite bands from the 2009 festival was a tight all girls string band out of Whitehorse, Yukon Annie Lou is the leader and main song writer for the group. They have a CD coming out in a few days which I am planning buying, they are FABULOUS. Another goal, since I am in the Sitka Folk Society, is to bring them to Sitka!! We will see. Other goals include more adventures, E. Buck, referenced in both previous blogs, has created a summer adventure wishlist which includes more adventures than there are days in the summer. . . since I will not be here in my Sitka happiness home much this summer I will not get to partake in all of them, but I sure am going squeeze in as many as I can!