SAVE THE DATE OCTOBER 14!

The first Catskills Folk Lyceum lecture this year will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2-4- p.m.,(location TBD) and will feature folklorist Hannah Davis, New York Folklore Society's Upstate Regional Representative.  In keeping with Catskills Folk Connection's focus on traditional Catskills food, Hannah will speak about New York State foodways in her talk titled "Spiedies, Grape Pies, and Garbage Plates (Oh My!): A Serious Look at Upstate New York's Silly-Sounding Foods." 

Join CFC for an afternoon of fun in which we will find out about Hannah's recent work with good traditions in central New York.  At the reception following Hannah's talk, Catskills Folk Connection will share a mini-slide show about Catskills food traditions and will offer free recipe cards from local food tradition bearers. 

Watch this blog for the announcement of the location for Hannah's talk.  It will be in either eastern or central/western Delaware County.  

Family Fun at September 16 Square Dance in Walton

This Saturday, September 16 from 7-10 pm, Catskills Folk Connection is sponsoring an old-time traditional square dance at the Walton Grange, 135 Stockton Avenue, Walton, NY  13856.

Continuing in the tradition of Hilt Kelly and the Sidekicks, music will be provided by the Tremperskill Boys with John Jacobson fiddling and calling.  John spent many afternoons with Hilt Kelly, playing and transcribing his fiddle tunes and learning the square dance calls. The result is a continuation of the traditional "Eastern" square dance that for decades was the entertainment at house dances and community halls in the Catskills.  Based in community and family life, it developed as an accessible form of self-entertainment to which all were, and are, welcome.

If you have square danced before, this dance will take you back to its roots in 19th and 20th century fiddle tunes and to old-time dance figures that Thomas Jefferson would recognize.  If you have not square danced before, this dance with the Tremperskill Boys will be a gentle introduction to a democratic and cooperative dance form danceable by all ages.

At the September 16 dance, all dances will be taught.  You need not bring a partner.  Come enjoy an evening of lilting square dance tunes, songs for dancing, and fiddle tunes for listening.  Admission is $5, age 12 and under free.  Refreshments will be provided by the Walton Grange.

Also available for sale at the dance on Saturday will be Hilt Kelly's 2016 CD "Tunes I Learned From My Dad."  It consists of 10 tunes, many of which have not been previously published.  They are unnamed tunes identified by ethnomusicologist Jim Kimball as tunes from quadrilles that may never have had names.  Income from CD sales goes into a revolving fund for future digital publication of Hilt Kelly recordings and future written publications about Catskills traditional music and dance.

For more information about the September 16 dance and about the CD featuring Hilt and Stella Kelly, contact Ginny Scheer, Catskills Folk Connection folklorist, at 607-746-3521 or vscheer@juno.com.