Reflection: Catskills Folk Connection

Tonight, September 6, on Catskills Folk at 7 pm on WIOX 91.3 FM, and streaming live at wioxradio.org, Ginny Scheer will pause to review the activities of our regional folklife organization, Catskills Folk Connection - activities that include a schedule of square dances and WIOX radio programs, and that are growing to include an exhibit of folk painting, lectures about folk art and about traditional music and dance in the Catskills, and eventually programs about Catskills foodways and vernacular architecture.  Planning folklife presentations takes a lot of time from grant writing through performance - as much as two years -  and involves more than just the folklorist and her interviewees. Radio programs, on the other hand, can be more spontaneous, giving the folklorist a chance to share new and exciting discoveries of Catskills tradition bearers, such as a folk artist who makes models of local churches, or mountain residents who gather wild foods and medicinal plants, or a member of a traditional square dance band who turns out to be a folk painter too.  Join me tonight to reflect on these and other topics and music that have been featured on WIOX's Catskills Folk and in the public presentations of Catskills Folk Connection.