WORKSHOPS
VOCAL HARMONY DUOS & TRIOS
Noon – 2pm Sunday, May 20th
Vocal Harmony Duos and Trios with Don Friedman and Emily Eagen. Explore the rich world of Early Country, Bluegrass, Old Time, and Gospel harmony singing, from lesser-known rep to old chestnuts. Focus on two and three-part harmony singing, with opportunities to gain independence on a part, work in small groups, experiment with blend, and take home some new songs. Less advanced singers can start with the melody and then move to harmonizing, and more advanced singers can go deep into singing multiple parts.
HOOTENANNY/JAM
5pm – 7pm Saturday, May 19th
Bring your instruments to this workshop. Hilary Hawke, banjo player extraordinaire, will lead a hootenanny for players of all levels. Play and sing along to old time, country and traditional tunes with new friends.
EASTERN KENTUCKY BANJO STYLES
2pm Sunday, May 20th
This workshop will be taught be Eastern Kentucky banjo player Brett Ratliff and will focus on old time banjo styles from the region where he lives. Not to be missed!
TENNESSEE BLUES MANDOLIN
3pm Saturday, May 19th
Taught by Jalopy’s own Ernie Vega. This workshop will focus on blues mandolin techniques from the great state of Tennessee, with particular focus on the style of the legendary blues mandolinist James “Yank” Rachell, known best for his work in the 1920′s with blues guitarist “Sleepy” John Estes.
FAMILY WORKSHOP
12:30pm Sunday, May 20th
Jarana Beat, traditional Mexican Folk Band, will host a family sing-a-long and dance demonstration on Sunday, May 20th at 12:30.
CONTESTS
This year the Brooklyn Folk Festival will feature three amazing new banjo themed contests!
BANJO TOSS
Because we are at a landlocked venue this year the amazing and successful “Banjo Toss” of 2011 has been transmogrified into the new “Banjo Hook Toss” where in a banjo tied to a rope and suspended from the ceiling must be swung so that it successfully lands on large hook. Each contestant gets three tries. If you get all three you are entered to win a free banjo!
BANJO-HOLE
“Banjo-Hole” is a brand new game developed by Geoff Wiley and Eli Smith specially for this event. A banjo with an open hoop is attached to a motor which rotates the instrument around an axis. Contestants must toss a wiffle ball through the open banjo. Each contestant gets three tries. If you get all three you are entered to win a free banjo!
RING THE BANJO
The 3rd contest is called “Ring the Banjo.” In this carnival style game contestants wield a large foam mallet and must smash it down onto a lever which then propels a small banjo-ukelele up a rope where it rings a bell. Each contestant gets three tries to ring the bell. If you get all three you are entered to win a free banjo!
All the contests feature great carnival style prizes – and if you ace the contest you are entered in a raffle to win a brand new banjo!
EVENTS
WOODY GUTHRIE 100TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE
7pm Friday, May 18th
The 2012 Brooklyn Folk Festival will open with a special performance in honor of the 100th birthday of Oklahoma native and long time Brooklyn resident Woody Guthrie. Performers from the festival will play his songs live and actors and other people will read selections from his prose and poetic works.
JARANA BEAT
Family Concert – Kids under 14 are free
Sunday at 12:30
Jarana Beat, a Afro-Mexican band will host a family workshop on Mexican dance and song, then perform a concert. Locally brewed beer, wine and food will be available for purchase.
Mexican roots outfit Jarana Beat fuses elements of Mexico’s African and Amerindian traditions with salsa, cumbia, and other contemporary music in its present-day take on folkloric music..
With contagious charm and good vibes, this band is capable of getting any audience on its feet! Musical director Sinuhé Padilla-Isunza has mined the musical traditions of his native Mexico and other Latin American countries in an ongoing search for a distinct style with roots, resulting in the creation of this musical amalgam.
