February 27-29, 2004
“Singing together and learning new songs feels like striking gold.” Feel the pure joy of singing. Listeners, too, are welcome. Everyone who feels connected to children will feel at home. You might come to harvest new songs to share, to simply enjoy the music, to share a song you wrote, or laugh with unbridled hilarity. Life is pretty funny, as every kid knows. During the day we’ll have a choice of workshops. Some of these will be designated “for all ages” and some will be geared to adults, though children may also attend. We’ll have workshops on music and community building, songwriting, songs in many languages, songs of our love of the Earth, funny songs, and songs of the thirst for peace and social justice.
Saturday night we’ll have a Round Robin of song sharing, followed by late night jamming and golden oldies. Storytelling, circle dancing, fiddles, dulcimers, and bagpipes will interlace the weekend. On Sunday morning we’ll share songs that engender hope during “Songs of Inspiration.” Throughout our time together, Rowe’s copy machine will be humming as songs get shared with everyone who wants them. Bring your favorite songs about our love of our gorgeous planet and the thirst for peace and social justice that lives within us all.
The Children’s Music Network (CMN) is a group of songwriters, teachers, and parents who banded together 17 years ago to share songs they loved and to move into the larger culture. Pete Seeger is the grandfather of this network, saying, “You are crucial for the world because you get people singing again. Our nation must sing again to plant the seeds for a better tomorrow.”
Are kids welcome? Are you kidding? Absolutely, if they’re five or older, but they may not want to leave on Sunday. This gathering will be a model of what a community can be like, of people sharing wonderful songs, of people caring for each other, of the love we all have within us.
The leaders, members of the Children’s Music Network, are Sally Rogers, who plays guitar, banjo, and dulcimer, has made frequent radio appearances on A Prairie Home Companion and Mountain Stage, and won Best Folk Album of 1982 and Best Children’s Recording of 1992 and again in 1993; Sarah Pirtle, who trains teachers to bring music into the classroom through Lesley University and has received seven national awards for her five children’s CD’s. She’ll share activities from her four peace education books; Jackson Gillman, “the Stand-Up Chameleon,” makes music come alive in his wide array of colorful guises. Sparkling with energy, wit, and whimsy, he engages and delights audiences of all ages through his songsmithing, comedy, mime, and storytelling; Jennifer Armstrong, musician, storyteller, and community activist, is living more and more into sharing songs and stories of social justice and self-empowerment; and Kim Wallach, another seasoned performer who loves to help teachers find songs to complement the curriculum, help students write songs on what they care about, and brings songs and games from China, Russia, and Kenya. To learn more about the Children’s Music Network, contact: www.cmnonline.org. We hope you’ll join us.