Community Service:Report for March 2022:

2 Notable Performer Deaths:

Beloved singer, musician, story teller, teacher at Boston University, and avid Morris Dancer,

Tony (Anthony) Barrand, died on 1/29/22, at age 76.

He was a long-time performing partner with John Roberts, and has performed at the Minstrel/Troubadour

and Folk Project Festival many times. Tony helped initiate many Morris Dancing groups in New England.

He also performed Nowell Sing We Clear for many years with John Roberts and others.

(See additional article written by Mike Agranoff.)

Norma Waterson Carthy, beloved British folk singer, passed away on 1/30/22, at age 82.

She and her family band, the Watersons, were a big part of the British Folk Revival of the 60's.

There is a very nice article in The Guardian, which tells much more about her life:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/31/norma-waterson-was-one-of-folks-greatest-voices-and-greatest-

people

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Evy Mayer has also shared of the passing of Dr. Richard (Dick) Wedeen, husband of Robbie Wedeen, on 1/26/22. As a physician, he was actively involved in many humanitarian causes. He is also survived by his son Timothy and wife Christine Kavanagh, and granddaughters MacKenzie and Tierney Wedeen, as well as many other family and friends. His Obituary can be found at Barrett Leber Funeral Home - Funeral Home Tenafly, NJ (barrettleberfuneralhome.com).

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Evelyn Maurer

FP Community Service

We gained 7 new memberships in February.

As of 2/27/22, we have 213 memberships consisting of 322 people.

Todd Dennison

Membership Chair

Things are proceeding as usual with the invaluable help of Kathi Caccavale, Pat Brangs, Liz Pagan, Bill Henderson, and Gary Pratt.

Preparing the March newsletter this month, I ran into some unusual problems. Typically, I put together a master list of the articles I am expecting for the next newsletter on the 14th of the month, the day before the submission deadline. As article come in, I check them off and begin laying them out. After the submitted articles are processed, any unchecked articles still on the list have not been submitted, and I follow up on them by sending out reminder notices asking for them to be sent in.

This month, however, I was surprised to see that three articles had not been submitted by normally reliable contributors, including the Board Minutes and the Good of the Order report. My reminder notices were responded to with the missing articles, but with the added information from each contributor that they had all been submitted in a timely manner as normal. I completed the newsletter and didn't think much about it.

A few days later I was trying to solve another problem on my computer and I looked in my spam folder and discovered that the missing submissions were there, along with a bunch of other Folk Project emails. For some reason, over the past couple of months, my email service had decided that a bunch of FP mail was spam and stuffed them into away. In the past, that folder seemed pretty useless and I never found anything put there, so I ignored it. Now it was hyperactive and I am in the process of training the spam filter to accept FP mail as OK.

This, however, gives me an opportunity to point out to the board that for the past couple of years it has been my habit to confirm the receipt of newsletter submissions by always sending a confirming email back that says "Got it, thanks." I never really pointed this out before, thinking that if my usual submitters didn't see the confirmation they would think it odd and double check with me that I had actually received their email. I now realize that I should have been more explicit. So here it is:

If you send me a submission for the newsletter, you should receive a confirming email from me shortly thereafter saying something like "Got it, thanks" and copying your complete message to me. If you don't receive such an email within a day, please get in touch with me to make sure I got it.

Thanks,

George Otto

Folk Project Newsletter Editor

newsletter@folkproject.org

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Hello Everyone,

The Open Stage was back in business in February. As anticipated with the covid peaking in the middle of January, everyone was ready to get back out and play music in February! We had a great time and a great show with several new faces. The show's closing act was Frank and Hank and the audience loved them. Who wouldn't?

The March show is filling up fast. I have already received a dozen requests for people to perform live.

Thank you Reopening Committee and Board for helping to make this happen.

Todd Dennison

Chairman Open Stage

Below is a picture from last month's Open Stage. A good time was had by all

Publicity Report for the March 1, 2022 Board Meeting

Sam Edelston, March 1, 2022

Publicity Committee Members

Alicia Weimer, George Otto, Howard Goldman, Jean Scully, Jim Gartner, Joanne Cronin, Joe Guzzo, Kathi Caccavale, Liz Pagan, Loretta Brooks, Mark Schaffer, Michael Mitsch, Mike Rauchwerk, Olga Alvarez, Pat Brangs, Paul Fisher, Rebecca Rydell, Susan Lembo

Web Team Members

John Lamb, Allan Kugel, Charles Lamb, Lori Falco, Rick Thomas (emeritus Member)

Reports

Chairperson’s Report – Sam Edelston

I’m looking forward to the return of in-person concerts that actually bring in revenue for The Folk Project. This brings back some opportunities for Publicity to do some publicizing.

In preparation for the Troubadour’s reopening, I’m doing some Zoom meetings with members of the Publicity Team. Good conversation with one group last Thursday – thank you to Joe Guzzo, John Lamb, and Loretta Brooks. Another group is scheduled for this Thursday, and a couple more conversations are scheduled after that with people who weren’t available sooner. I think we’re all aware of this, but it bears restating: The Folk Project has a lot of smart, multi-talented people who care deeply about making it run.

I plan to come down for some Troubadour shows to meet some of the volunteers who I haven’t spent quality time with face-to-face – and, of course, to see some great shows.

Liz Pagan is taking over creating our monthly Troubadour posters. Thank you to Deborah Graham, who had been doing this, for all she has done (and for finding her replacement). Thank you to Liz for taking on this task.

Sunday, Mike suggested to me that we reach out to other venues in the area, and also radio stations, to see if we can get some cross-promotion for Troubadour’s reopening. The Tom Paxton concert gives us a particularly good justification. I like that idea, but haven’t had a chance yet to discuss with some of the relevant FP people about details or any concerns.

I’m also wondering if it would make sense to do some sort of special Reopening merch, like a T-shirt or water bottle – maybe with a theme along the lines of “Together again,” or “Folk Project Stayaway Alumni Association” (perhaps with the names of all the Stayaway online performers on the back). If we do it mostly or entirely online with a vendor that ships directly to customers, this can be a low-risk fundraiser with little or no leftover inventory. At the Board meeting, I’d like to take a quick poll just to get a sense of whether there would be an adequate market for this. I know it’s an interesting idea, but I need you folks to tell me if it’s a good or bad idea.

E-communications – Mark Schaffer

Mark reports that it has now been 2 years since he consolidated all of the separate, venue-specific e-letters into the one coordinated, semi-weekly Music Alert. By mentioning multiple FP venues in each issue, each of our venues gets more frequent promotion, even as we simplify people’s in-boxes.

Our open rate continues to be about 1/3 – close to 1,400 opens twice a week.

Sam adds: I told Mark that I’ve been enjoying his volunteer profiles at the bottom of the Music Alert e-letters, because it turns the faces and names into personalities. He responded by asking me to send him 3 sentences and a photo – so in last Monday’s e-letter, Freebo and Tom Paxton “opened” for me! 😊

Facebook – Kathi Caccavale

Facebook

Kathi is traveling, so Sam says:

4,195 people Like our page, and we have 5,210 Followers.

The big spikes in Post Engagement (+86%) and Video Views (+16%) are entirely attributable to the February 1 Streaming Tuesday concert with Dan Navarro. We also got 19 new Page Followers and 12 Page Likes that day. That Friday’s 2/4 concert with Kipyn Martin produced similar numbers of Follows and Likes, though the Engagement and Views were not out of the ordinary.

Our FB post with the most Engagements, by far, was Ken Galipeau’s 2/17 video promoting his Friday webcast, with 153. The runner-up, with 69, was the 2/17 announcement about Crys Matthews and Heather Mae.

Folk Project group: 1,528 members, up from 1,488 last month.

NJ Uke Fest: 236 members; up 1 from last month.

Swingin’ Tern: 575 members; unchanged.

Twitter, Instagram – Jean Scully

Kathi Caccavale has hooked up the Folk Project Twitter account (@TheFolkProject) to Constant Contact, so now when the Music Alert gets sent out, our 1200+ openers (among 4700 recipients) potentially see the lead photo and a link to the whole eletter. Constant Contact was already sending the Music Alert to our Instagram and Facebook.

YouTube – Joe Guzzo

Joe says:

YouTube Channel Report for the month ending February 26, 2022.

• We have 277 subscribers as of the end of January. That’s a gain of 6 subscribers in the last month.

• This month, the channel got 154 views. Our second show of the month won’t air until tomorrow, 2/27.

• Watch time was 12.3 hours – up from 7.9 hours last month – thanks to 9.5 hours of watch time on Victoria Vox. Victoria’s interview had an average watch time of 15.4 minutes.

• The next three shows will all feature new interviews along with new music. These should generate a good amount of traffic.

o February 27 – Dana Cooper

o March 13 – High Tea (duo)

o March 27 – Nashville songwriter Claudia Nygaard

· I would like to have more interviews. I will be looking for additional guests as we get into the spring season.

Web – John Lamb

John says:

February was an average month in terms of workload for the website.

• • We assisted Troubadour and Open Stage to publicize upcoming events that are now confirmed as live, in-person shows at MUUF.

  • We helped Streaming Tuesdays and Horses Sing None of It enter information about upcoming shows and upcoming broadcasts, respectively.

  • We forwarded incoming inquiries about being booked at Folk Project events to Gary Pratt for Streaming Tuesdays and Tina Ross for Inside the Song for their consideration, and pointed those who asked to information online about getting a spot on Open Stage and getting booked by Troubadour.

  • We tightened up some of the spacing on the Troubadour page.

  • We clarified the procedure for using the Advance Ticket Sales worksheet that gets produced weekly by Amy Livingston for Troubadour and Open Stage.

  • We updated the Newsletter distribution page in preparation for the March edition of the newsletter.

  • We made routine updates to email forwarders.

As always, many thanks to Charles, Liz, Lori and Allan. Please send questions, comments and suggestions to webmaster@folkproject.org.

Accompanying this memo, I’m sending the website report from Google Analytics, fresh off the press from John Lamb. He points out that February’s numbers were lower than January’s, but User Sessions are up by 13%, and Unique Users are up 33%, over same month last year. He also notes that the Open Stage (about the only live thing in Feb 22) was one of our more popular pages this month.

Merch – Paul Fisher (acting)

Nothing new.

Dear Board

The Swinging’ Tern Reopening guidelines below will be put in motion form at the March 2022 meeting for board approval.

The Ad Hoc Reopening Committee continues to develop safety guidelines for Folk Project venues. Different programs have different considerations and requirements. This is especially true of Swingin’ Tern.

The safety guidelines enumerated below are in line with, and in some ways exceed, those of other dances already open in our area. Also, every guest, after considering our safety measures, has chosen to assume a level of risk.

Please remember that recommendations are made considering current conditions and trends. The committee is prepared to reconvene the moment conditions change for the worse and to create new guidelines for board approval on an emergency basis if warranted.

Thank you,

Ad Hoc Reopening Committee

SWINGIN’ TERN DANCE REOPENING GUIDELINES

Like everyone else, we hope that things improve quickly and substantially and that these guidelines will be temporary and will no longer be necessary.

1. As per Folk Project (FP) guidelines all performers, volunteers, and attendees at a dance or other Swingin’ Tern (ST) events are to be fully vaccinated as per the requirements of the vaccine they have received. A booster shot, while strongly encouraged and as appropriate for the individual, is not required at this time.

2. Performers, volunteers, and attendees are required to present proof of vaccination, which may be a card, phone photo, electronic docket system or other accepted means. The proof can be given when they attend the event or it can be presented to a ST committee member in advance as may be acceptable and appropriate for that individual. ST will maintain a list of “pre-approved” people to facilitate quicker entry to future events.

3. For each ST event, attendees would be asked to place their name, phone number, and email address on a list for possible contact tracing.

4. As per FP policy, the ST will post “Assumption of Risk/Disclaimer” signs at the entry desk and in several locations around the dance hall. In addition to the signs, the notice would be read aloud by the master of ceremonies, host, or other designated person.

5. ST would follow the FP policy on the wearing of N95, KN95, and FN94 type masks. Attendees would be asked to bring their own approved masks. However, it is understood that the FP would acquire masks in quantity for distribution to its member groups, which attendees could obtain at a nominal cost.

6. If food and drink is provided at ST events it would be store purchased, individual pre-packaged items only. Unsolicited donations of food would not be accepted at this time. Attendees would be encouraged to provide their own liquid refreshment, water bottles, snacks, etc.

7. Because of the energetic, aerobic nature of contra dancing, ST would maintain its mid-dance break for dancers to rest, drink, and snack. Participants would be asked to eat any food outside of the event building. The ST will determine internally if additional “mask breaks” for dancers to go outside and remove their masks for a few minutes are warranted. Because of the physically demanding aspect of contra dancing, in between dances, dancers will be permitted to go to where they have placed their belongings to take a hydration drink as they feel necessary without having to go outside while maintaining proper social distance.

8. The ST will continue to provide hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes as it has in the past, located throughout the dance hall.

9. As dancing is a “contact sport” with close interaction among the participants, it is not warranted to impose an “every-other-seat” type restriction.

10. The ST has historically used fans to aid in ventilating its dance areas. The ST would use these fans in any future dance hall to supplement as may be necessary depending on the building’s ventilation and mechanical systems.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Mark Schaffer <mark.schaffer@folkproject.org>

Subject: Reopening Committee Report re: Swinging' Tern Guidelines for March 2022 Board Meeting

Date: February 22, 2022 at 11:26:57 PM EST

To: Board@folkproject.org

Dear Board

The Swinging’ Tern Reopening guidelines below will be put in motion form at the March 2022 meeting for board approval.

The Ad Hoc Reopening Committee continues to develop safety guidelines for Folk Project venues. Different programs have different considerations and requirements. This is especially true of Swingin’ Tern.

The safety guidelines enumerated below are in line with, and in some ways exceed, those of other dances already open in our area. Also, every guest, after considering our safety measures, has chosen to assume a level of risk.

Please remember that recommendations are made considering current conditions and trends. The committee is prepared to reconvene the moment conditions change for the worse and to create new guidelines for board approval on an emergency basis if warranted.

Thank you,

Ad Hoc Reopening Committee

SWINGIN’ TERN DANCE REOPENING GUIDELINES

Like everyone else, we hope that things improve quickly and substantially and that these guidelines will be temporary and will no longer be necessary.

1. As per Folk Project (FP) guidelines all performers, volunteers, and attendees at a dance or other Swingin’ Tern (ST) events are to be fully vaccinated as per the requirements of the vaccine they have received. A booster shot, while strongly encouraged and as appropriate for the individual, is not required at this time.

2. Performers, volunteers, and attendees are required to present proof of vaccination, which may be a card, phone photo, electronic docket system or other accepted means. The proof can be given when they attend the event or it can be presented to a ST committee member in advance as may be acceptable and appropriate for that individual. ST will maintain a list of “pre-approved” people to facilitate quicker entry to future events.

3. For each ST event, attendees would be asked to place their name, phone number, and email address on a list for possible contact tracing.

4. As per FP policy, the ST will post “Assumption of Risk/Disclaimer” signs at the entry desk and in several locations around the dance hall. In addition to the signs, the notice would be read aloud by the master of ceremonies, host, or other designated person.

5. ST would follow the FP policy on the wearing of N95, KN95, and FN94 type masks. Attendees would be asked to bring their owned approved masks. However, it is understood that the FP would acquire masks in quantity for distribution to its member groups, which attendees could obtain at a nominal cost.

6. If food and drink is provided at ST events it would be store purchased, individual pre-packaged items only. General food donations would not be accepted at this time. Attendees would be encouraged to provide their own liquid refreshment, water bottles, snacks, etc.

7. Because of the energetic, aerobic nature of contra dancing, ST would maintain its mid-dance break for dancers to rest, drink, and snack. Participants would be asked to eat any food outside of the event building. The ST will determine internally if additional “mask breaks” for dancers to go outside and remove their masks for a few minutes are warranted. Because of the physically demanding aspect of contra dancing, in between dances, dancers will be permitted to go to where they have placed their belongs to take a hydration drink as they feel necessary without having to go outside while maintaining proper social distance.

8. The ST will continue to provide hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes as it has in the past, located throughout the dance hall.

9. As dancing is a “contact sport” with close interaction among the participants, it is not warranted to impose an “every-other-seat” type restriction.

10. The ST has historically used fans to aid in ventilating its dance areas. The ST would use these fans in any future dance hall to supplement as may be necessary depending on the building’s ventilation and mechanical systems.

February 9, 2022

The following is the Sound Reinforcement Committee report for March 2022

Sound Reinforcement Committee – March 2022 Report

We had one event, the Open Stage event, to support in February. The live sound support in the MUUF sanctuary went without incident. We supplied sanitary mic covers to all vocal mics as they changed users so all performers were using a “fresh” mic. We also supplied a mix for the video camera supporting the Facebook broadcast of the event. We received reports from some viewers that there was some “crunchy” sounds associated with the audio portion of the broadcast. We investigated during the broadcast and found no defects in our broadcast operation. The audio signal was clean clear and strong at the mixer and at the camera. This suggests that it may be a broadcast problem that happens after the signal leaves our facility. We will do a thorough investigation of our system prior to the next event, the Open Stage in March.

There is no change in the status of the MUUF renovations. This continues to pause our training activities.

John Mahon

Dear Board,

Exciting Getaway News:

Plans for the Spring Acoustic Getaway are moving forward.

It will include three concerts, three meals, 16 to 24 workshops and limousine parking service.

Performers will be No Fuss & Feathers, Ellis Paul, National Fingerpicking Champion Christe Lenée, The Heather Pierson Trio, and Circle Round the Sun.

One special workshop of note will be the Valentines Day in May workshop with the jazz band doing their cancelled February program backing up member singers.

It will be in Rockaway for 45 commuters and probably cost $105.

Changing COVID guidelines may increase attendance and possibly reduce the cost.

Event Hosting Going Live:

Jay Wilensky is exploring the possibility of a March indoor Evening of Music and beginning outdoor music gathering in the park in April.

Project guidelines will, of course, be followed.

Mark Schaffer, Special Events Chair

Folk Project board members,

In recognition of and appreciation for what our concert series has done for the Folk community (performers, agents, and audience members) during the pandemic, we were offered a free sponsorship for the Baker Booking Winter Showcase. The showcase presented seven performers, providing income and exposure to the performers and a portion of the proceeds went to the FAI scholarship fund.

This showcase was the first of a 3-night series, which was a collaboration between Baker Booking, MPress Records, and Black Oak Artists (another booking agency). The series was developed to replace the FAI Showcases that were originally scheduled this weekend (now postponed to May).

The value of the sponsorship was initially $150, but ultimately $450, since all of the sponsors were listed for all three Showcases. There was no financial support from The Folk Project.

Promotion consideration was provided by publicizing the Baker Booking Winter Showcase on The Folk Project (New Jersey) Facebook page and The Folk Project Facebook group. It was also featured in the Music Alert. It was not posted on the Folk Project website due to the short lead time.

The free sponsorship was offered the morning of the showcase. Since this was literally a last-minute opportunity, time was of the essence. I called Elizabeth, who gave her approval.

A Folk Project banner (see below) was displayed on the graphic created for each showcase and posted on each of the presenters' Facebook. The Folk Project was mentioned several times during the showcases.

I attended each of the showcases and participated in the chat during the show. I also participated in the Meet & Greet Zoom meetings after each Showcase. There were several performers that hopefully will be booked for future Streaming Tuesdays concerts.

——

The other highlight of the month was the completion of booking streaming concerts for Troubadour Online. With the reopening of the Troubadour, booking for those shows reverts back to Mike Agranoff. We will continue to stream and host the Troubadour concerts.

Gary

Streaming Committee chair

Swingin Tern' report for February

Karen Justin and Doug Heacock have each found a good prospect for a new Swingin' Tern venue. Sacha Forgoston is coordinating the search efforts. We will keep the board posted.

Leigh Walker

Swingin' Tern

Hello all,

Below is our Profit & Loss statement. Not many financial transactions but we have definitely been busy.

Karen and I finished getting us current with our CRI (State charitable verification report). We are waiting for confirmation with the State. Next on our agenda is filling out our 990 Federal Tax Forms.

I formed a Financial Committee last Month. Present were Elizabeth, Steve, Eitan, Mark and myself. We met the Wednesday after the board meeting. My primary reason for forming the group was I wanted more qualified eyes on our finances and the much needed support for me to make the correct decisions. I hope to be more proactive with our finances as apposed to being reactive. I am looking forward to working with them.

Our first order of business was to re-assign our Vanguard Account Administrator. Chris has asked to step down. Thank you Chris for handling the account since 2017.

We will be calling for a vote for a resolution to have myself and Elisabeth added to the Vanguard account. We then need to provide the minutes from the meeting to Vanguard with other forms to complete the transfer. We felt having two signatories was better than just one. Eitan has been the lead on this project. Chris has been a huge help with past documents and history stored in the Back Office. Their help and expertise have been invaluable. Thank you both.

Margaret (Peggy) Karr

Treasurer

The primary activity of the Troubadour Booking Committee this month has been booking. Shortly before the February meeting, and after consulting with Volunteer Chair Jean Scully we had resolved to resume live shows at the Troubadour in April. That vindicated our shutdown plan at the beginning of the year to cancel only the shows through February, and then subsequently March, but leave the bookings for subsequent months in place. That saved a lot of work in repopulating the schedule after reopening. At this point we are mostly fully booked into October with a few scattered openings in Summer and Fall. The schedule is very strong, and there are a number of high-profile acts penciled in on some of the dates that appear open, waiting on their confirmation. New bookings are detailed at the end of this report.

We plan on abiding by the safety precautions for reopening passed by the Board last meeting. However, with the rapidly decreasing numbers of new COVID cases, and impending changes in CDC and NJ Department of Health regulations, we sincerely hope that the Reopening Committee will recommend, and the Board ratify the lifting of the “No breaks” requirement currently in those safety precautions. The current Troubadour format of a 30-minute set from the Opening Act and two 45-minute sets from the Headliner would mean a two-plus hour uninterrupted session of music, which is a lot to sit through without a break, even with the high quality music we present. If that restriction is lifted, we would serve snacks on the Terrace outside the Terrace Room (It should be warm enough by April.), thus diminishing the risk of infection by being outside. The Unitarian Fellowship fully approves of that plan.

New bookings since last month:

1. April 29: Juliana Parker Edelston -- (Better known to Projectiles as Julie Edelston, Sam’s daughter) singer-songwriter opening for Low Lily

2. May 6: Claudia Schmidt -- Highly expressive singer-songwriter with a soaring voice. Back for the first time since 2008.

3. May 27: Magpie – Songs of social conscience with great harmonies, with opening act Spook Handy, a performer much inspired by Pete Seeger

4. June 17: Sam Edelston – Dulcimer virtuoso, wacky songwriter, and Folk Project Publicity Chairman.

5. July 1: Dana Cooper – Compelling and high-energy singer-songwriter, with our own Circle Round the Sun (Jay Wilenski & Co.) opening.

6. July 15: Windborne – Vocal harmony quartet, with our own vocal harmony duo, Ken & Pat Rolston opening. Rescheduled from their canceled January show.

7. July 22: Trout Fishing in America – High energy and humor. Our own humorist, Carla Ulbrich opening. Rescheduled from their canceled March show. This also serves as a preview of Carla for those who don’t know her in advance of her feature act appearance in August.

8. August 26: Carla Ulbrich with songwriter Sam Robbins opening.

9. September 23: John Forster – A modern-day Tom Lehrer with Ken Galipeau opening. Rescheduled from their canceled January show.

10. September 30: Tom Chapin – Iconic singer-songwriter with Singer-Songwriter and Board member Tina Ross opening. Rescheduled from their canceled March show.

11. October 7: Beppe Gambetta – Flatpicking wizard. With The Fermenters, Grateful Dead-inspired trio.

Like I said, I’ve been busy! Many thanks to Lorretta Brooks, Kathi Caccavale, and Gary Pratt, upon whom I have dumped a lot of the work involved with processing all these bookings.

Mike Agranoff

Program Chair

The Troubadour Acoustic Concert Series

Morristown, NJ. USA

www.Troubadour.FolkProject.org