Summer Jams in Fort Wayne, IN

Although summer is here and NIBGA won't be holding meetings at the Marine Corps. League, (now closed, meetings are at the SW Conservation Club 2/10/09) others want folks to come and jam. Here is just one request we have had. Take a friend and try it out. They said they would give musicians all the cookies you could eat.

Y'all Come and Join us for a Bluegrass Jam!
Free coffee and cookies for all!
Parking next to the building.

• When: 1st & 3rd Sat., June thru September
• Where: Southside Farmers Market
  3300 Warsaw Street
  Fort Wayne
• Contact: Sharon Harris 260-657-5012

Josh Graves very ill

Josh Graves' daughter, Linda, said her dad is in Baptist Hospital critically ill. Please let folks know he is extremely sick and prayers and good thoughts going out for him would be appreciated.

He has had to endure further surgery and may have to have even more surgery. Sorry to relay such sad news but the Graves family needs all of the positive thoughts available for them at this time.

NashCamp Bluegrass Camps, Nashville, Tennessee

Do you think summer camp is just for kids?
Adults who want to learn the art of bluegrass can run over to NashCamp, June 18-23 and June 25-30, 2006. Classes for all levels of players are open to adults and teens (with parental permission). Pickin’ and grinnin’ is taught by some of Music City’s most celebrated instrumentalists and singers, and students will get a chance to show off their licks in concert at the world famous bluegrass showcase club, The Station Inn.

Classes offered: guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, Dobro, bluegrass singing, and bass, all in a comfortable country setting. Campers stay in cozy log cabins, and gourmet meals are catered by Nashville's Mad Platter Restaurant. Hey, how do you get to the Opry? Practice, practice, practice (plus spend a week at NashCamp, of course).

Call 615-952-2267 or write nashcamp @ nashcamp.com
Visit NashCamp to see how other writers have enjoyed this exclusive retreat.

Instructors:

• Ron Stewart, Fletcher Bright - fiddle


• Tim Stafford, Chris Jones - guitar


• Missy Raines - bass


• Bill Evans, Greg Cahill - banjo


• David Harvey, Butch Baldassari, Roland White - mandolin


• Mike Witcher, Tim Scheerhorn - resonator guitar


• Bluegrass Singing - Jim Hurst

Online History of Bluegrass

(Bluegrass for College Credit)

I'd like to let folks know that Shoreline Community College (Seattle, WA) will again be offering a totally online two-credit "History of Bluegrass" (Music 150) class during spring quarter of 2006.

The college is fully accredited -- credits will transfer as Humanities credits. This course is designed for both those who would like an introduction to the world of bluegrass and those that would like to deepen their knowledge of this music. We'll spend ten weeks together - listening to bluegrass, reading about it and discussing what we've learned. We'll be using Neil Rosenberg's "Bluegrass: A History" for our text and listening to Sony's "Can't You Hear Me Callin' - Bluegrass: 80 Years of American Music" (Box set of 4 discs) and Rounder's "Handpicked: 25 Years of Bluegrass on Rounder Records.

Registration begins on March 15th and class starts the week of Monday, April 3rd. Costs: Tuition runs around $140.00. Book and CDs will cost around $70.00 (new, although you can probably find them used as well) and there is a college technology fee of $31.00 for online classes. If you live outside of Washington State, contact Chris Melton (cmelton@shoreline.edu) for information about a tuition reduction. For more information about the class contact:

Paul Elliott at dtmboys @ hotmail.com or Tom Moran at: tmoran @ shoreline.edu (206) 546-4774.

Visit http://shoreline.edu/ for more info

Coming to Kendallville before the festival?
What is there to do? How about a first run movie? The Strand Theater on Main St., Kendallville, IN 46755 has inexpensive afternoon shows for just $3. Kids are always $3. Pop is $2.50 with refills $.25.

There is also a drive-in theater located just south of Kendallville. Packup the car and enjoy something that is disapearing from the American scene. Auburn Garrett Drive-In. 1014 SR 8 Garrett, IN 46738.

From the web site of the theater:
Welcome to Cinema Associates.com, the online home for the Auburn-Garrett Drive-In Theatre, the Silver Screen Cinema, and The Historic Strand Theatre!Cinema Associates is an independent theatre circuit comprised of three (3) theatres located in Northeast Indiana featuring First Run movies. All three of our theatres hold bar for the lowest first-run movie prices in the state, meaning that we have the hottest and the newest features availalbe locally, and at a far more reasonable cost.Please feel free to look around our site, and check out our current features.For any questions, please contact Cinema Associates at (260)357-3345 at any time. Thanks!

NIBGA Interviewed!
Just finished an interview with Jody Vance, a free lance writer for the Avilla Nooz to be published in early April. The Avilla Nooz has a summer issue that is distributed free in the area. Look for it in your lake stores and read about our club and the Kendallville 2006 festivals.

A HOG AND SOME FIDDLES

The 6^th Annual Mid-Winter Hot Dog Clog Hog held January 7^th drew cloggers and musicians from communities within the area from Muskegon, Greenville, Stanton, Lansing, Jackson, South Bend, IN, and circling up to Muskegon again. Running from 8am to 6pm at the Maple Leaf Grange south of Nashville, MI saw a lot of energetic movement and sound from the dancers feet as eight clogging groups took part in the fun, besides the musicians and watchers who came to jam and watch. Some enthusiasts were at the door at 7:30am to get in.

Black ice on the roads in the morning kept some of the folks away but there were still 85 people who dared drive the slick roads to be able to do what they like to do most. A pile of clogging teaches were done in the morning for dancers and watchers delight and in the afternoon Bob the clogger, head instructor and director of the Thunder Floor Cloggers, based in The Old Time American Clogging and Southern Appalachian Square Dance School in Lake Odessa, called the Appalachian big ring square dance, which is always a fun activity but not generally seen in the usual. At one time Bob the clogger had two circles, one inside the other. 16 couples in one and 8 couples in the center. Dick Wild of Jackson also called old time Michigan square dance. While the musicians were on a break the cloggers danced to cds but the musicians still found time to jam under the wood floor.

People from 11 to 111 all danced together and no one seemed to mind. The floor sounded good and just as important it felt good. The Annual Mid-Winter Hot Dog Clog Hog is a yearly fund raiser for the Thunder Floor Cloggers portable stage and expenses. The club has been building the stage for over 5 years and is now trying to put the cover on it. It has been built on donations from people who like to see the group dance. The group has a Folk Heritage Program they take to elementary schools, churches, reunions etc where they teach the Southern Appalachian big ring and show steps one can put with it. They’re trying to keep the art of old time dance alive for future generations.

FIRE WOOD

Indiana Dept. Natural Resources is trying to stop the spread of Emerald Ash Borer, an exotic insect that kills ash trees. Because this pest is found in the bark of firewood, if the facility you are visiting allows a fire please burn all firewood completely to help avoid spreading the insect.

It is against State and Federal laws to transport firewood (other than pine) from quarantined areas. No firewood may be carried over the Michigan State Line into Indiana. Firewood also may not be carried into any park or reservoir from the following counties in Ohio: Lucas, Fulton, Henry, Wood, and Paulding.

Firewood must also not be brought into any park or reservoir from the following counties in Indiana: Lagrange and Steuben. All firewood must be burned prior to leaving any property and not left behind for other campers.

2006 Memorial & Labor Day Festivals Internet service:
Locl.net has confirmed that they will again provide free wireless Internet access at the Memorial and Labor Day festivals. Last year there were a number of start up problems that Locl.net hopes to resolve prior to the Memorial festival. They expect to check the system out as the spring weather allows.
If you need Internet service, check into Locl.net as they have coverage throughout the Midwest. Don't forget to mention NIBGA!