Volume 46 Edition 8 August 2017 Submit articles to: [email protected] By the 15th of each month FFS Board Of Directors President A Non-Profit Corporation for Traditional Arts Denise Sciandra [email protected] Notes from Board President, Denise Sciandra Vice President Introducing Mikal Sandoval. She sings, plays guitar, and dances. Some Paul Starcevich [email protected] of you have met her at the Basque where she participates on Mondays with the Honky Tonk group and on Wednesdays with the Friends of Secretary Sue Wirt Kenny Hall Jam. Her singing and personality add to both. [email protected] Mikal began playing Treasurer Jim Ross and singing as a teenager when [email protected] her family lived in the small, Concert Master remote community of Mina in Pat Wolk Trinity County in Northern Cali- [email protected] fornia. Her mother influenced Membership her singing and dancing. Patty Bennett [email protected] Mikal says that she has Lifetime Member “fronted several bands” includ- Alan Hubbart ing country, folk, rock and vin- Members At Large tage 1920s and 1930s type Ron Bohigian [email protected] bands. She has been on a few Bill Lehr recordings as lead and backup [email protected] vocalist. She has performed at Mikal Sandoval Karen Starcevich the California State Parks as the “singing park ranger”. Mikal has since retired from [email protected] that career. She was lead singer in in an “award-winning four-part ladies group”. Ann Lamb [email protected] Mikal says that if she had a blog, she’d call it “Country Girl/City Girl.” That refers to having been born in the big city of San Francisco and working in Los Angeles but Bill Johnson [email protected] spending childhood years in Mina, California, “population 5”. “We didn’t live in town, no electricity so our music was what we shared and heard.” Flyer Editor Bill Johnson [email protected] Mikal “loves to dance” and hopes that contra dancing or other social dancing will be available soon. “If not, I’ll dance as I do when and where it’s welcome.” Calendar Editor Maria Glover HM 559-322-8677 Mikal says that she is “grateful to be among such friendly, inclusive folk” in Fresno. Cell 559-281-8278 [email protected] Come to the Basque on Monday at 5:00 p.m. or Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to enjoy some good music, good company, and meet Mikal. Logo Design by Tom Walzem The Fresno Folklore Society “Flyer” is a monthly publication. at Otto Creative FFS P.O. Box 4617 Fresno, CA 93744 Banjo Frog Art Submit articles for publication to [email protected] by Jon Adams by the 15th of each month 1 SUE BEEVERS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER It is not too early to start planning for this event. A date has been chosen, Sunday, October 8, at the Wolk Folk Garden at 4:00 pm. Rather than a full blown pot luck, the plan is for munchies and desserts, with a silent auction, jams by Lynn's Jam and performances by the scholarship winners. This is an event that raises funds for musical instruments, lessons, instrument repair, camp fees, etc. for children who are interested and involved in Folk, Old Time, Bluegrass, etc., music. Spreading the message of music and how it can improve your own and others' lives was important to Sue Beevers. She played fiddle in a band, Scats on the Sly, wrote plays and song lyrics, volunteered for many events that furthered good in the world, including support for the preservation of the Chinese cultural locations in Hanford. A good friend to all she met, her light will continue in this expression of what she loved—children and music. The Wolk Folk Garden is located at 6661 N. Forkner, Fresno. Volunteers are needed to help stage this event. Also, if you have an item(s) that you wish to donate to the silent auction, please contact Sue Wirt at 222-9801 and bring it to the event. (Sue Wirt) Community Dance Changes The tradition of twice monthly Contra Dances which have been held for many years, most recently at the California Dance Academy, have been discontinued due to low attendance. Organizers will take another look at possibly restarting them next year. Send any ideas you have that may bring renewed contra dance success to Evo Bluestein at [email protected]. Until then, keep those hooves a shakin’. In the meantime, the 1st Saturday English Country Dance continues in Auberry and the 4th Saturday Irish dance continues at Cal Arts Academy. There will also be a quarterly North Fork Dance starting June 16. Details at evobluestein.com. or email Evo. NORTH FORK COMMUNITY DANCES START JUNE 16, 2017 Quarterly community contra/country dance, 6:30-9 PM North Fork Christian Center $2/person and $10/family at the door Friday Sept. 8 Friday Dec. 8 Location: North Fork Christian Center (across the street from North Fork Market) 57044 Road 225 North Fork, CA 93643 Have you ever wanted to try square dancing? The time is NOW! Square Put aside all of your excuses: I don’t have rhythm – don’t need any Dancing I can’t dance – if you can walk, you can square dance I don’t have a partner – you don’t need one Save some American History. New square dance classes are beginning in August. Bring your friends! Bring your family! All ages are welcome. Make it a date night, family fun night, or night out with friends. Square dancing is not what you think. Give it a try! Mondays at 7:00 PM St. Paul’s Methodist Church 2435 N. Thesta, Fresno If you have any questions, call Kay at 559-940-8249. On Clinton at the 41 Underpass 2 It’s hot outside! That’s okay because we got the cure to cool you down and shake those summertime blues.Eva Scow & Le Petit Strings will be laying down some swinging Gypsy Jazz beats in the John W. Dodson Theatre. Enjoy a small bite to eat while sipping a delicious special one night only brew from Valparaiso Cafe & Roastery (they make a killer affogato of ice cream + coffee) You’ll be toe tappin’ in no time! Tickets are $12 advanced and $15 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online or at Bitwise South Stadium during regular business hours. Keep your ticket stub for $1 off your first beer at the after party at Tioga Sequoia Brewing Company. Eva Scow : violin & mandolin Andrew Dixon : clarinet/saxophone Mike Taylor : guitar Kevin Hill : upright bass Scow is a mandolinist and violinist who started playing music at the age of 4 and has played in orchestras and bands exploring music from Bluegrass to Brazilian Jazz. Scow has opened for artists including Willie Nelson, Poncho Sanchez, Lee Ritenour, and JJ Cale. Scow is a member of the contemporary jazz quartet Espacio and the progressive funk group The Experience. She teaches string orchestra and jazz education for Central Unified School District and the Milestones Youth Jazz Workshop. This lady is filthy talented. Le Petit Strings is Scow’s newest group that explores the world of Gypsy Jazz. Originating in 1930’s France, Gypsy Jazz, also called gypsy swing or hot club jazz, is a style of jazz made popular by artists such as guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli. Sometimes you just need to sit back, relax, and listen so some jazz. TWILIGHT THURSDAYS BACK IN SEPTEMBER The Clovis Botanical Gardens on Clovis Avenue at Alluvial will host the Twilight Thursdays series again this year. Musical events being celebrated start on Thursday, September 14 with the Uncle Ephus Band, a favorite at Bluegrass in the Park; September 21, the Gilly Girls will be present to regale us with their instruments and harmony; September 28, Two for the Road will return for an encore performance of swing, Celtic, and folk music; and on October 5, J.T. And Sarah will perform a variety of songs from the 50s, 60s and 70s. The parking and performances are free, located at the north end of the park in the Pavillion. Bring your chairs and munchies or dinner. Clovis Botanical Gardens will have cookies for sale (they are really good). Hope you can attend. (Sue Wirt) 3 BLUEGRASS IN THE PARK IN AUGUST Here we are in August and there are only a few performances left on the calendar. August 4th, Sugar Pine will be playing a variety of music. They play for the Sugar Pine Railroad events (some of them are also in Narrow Gauge Ramblers—more train stuff). Dave Novell, Jeff Gu- rule, Chuck Thrapp and Robyn Flory are the band members and always give us a good time. On August 11th, the Morgan Canyon Band will be there. It is a perennial favorite, with musi- cians Dave Kyle, Mike McDonald, John Blanchfield, and Art Farkas who favor us with Blue- grass as well as Parrot Head songs from Jimmy Buffet, and my favorites, songs from the Ea- gles. One of our members sent a cd of their music to a musician friend out of state who then wanted ten more for his friends. The park will be dark for us on August 18th while the law school uses it for their annual back-to-school BBQ. However, on August 25th, Jason and Ida Winfree and Friends will be there, traveling from the Turlock/Modesto area. The friends are Keith Davis and Vaughn Lew. Jason is a founding member of Red Dog Ash, a very popular award-winning Bluegrass band.