I just returned from Kansas City where the huge Folk Alliance Conference
was held from Wednesday through Sunday at the Westin and Sheraton Hotels a
few miles from where we had the ARSC Conference in May. (BTw, one of the ARSC
Conference Silent Auction items was a full Conference registration!) FAI
had a table in our exhibit room.
FAI gathers almost 2000 performers, booking agents, house concert hosts and
journalists and it goes fro m9am till 3 am. Here are a few ARSC related
highlights:
On Wednesday night Chuck Haddix at UMKC was awarded the Spirit of Folk
Award for his radio show
The Same Night a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Smithsonian
Folkways and it was accepted by Jeff Place, Tony Seeger, John White, and Dan
Sheehy.
On Thursday and Friday Chuck Haddix was on panels about KC Radio and
another on KC Jazz and Charlie Parker.
There was a sufficient supply of ARSC Brochures there as well.
I got to meet Graham Nash and Al Gore as well as folk legends like Oscar
Brown Jr., Carolyn Hester and Jim Kweskin. And Dom Flemons (formerly of
the Carolina Chocolate Drops) was there and plans to help with one of the
sessions at the ARSC Chapel Hill Conference) and will be joining ARSC shortly!
My friends in KC saved me both Friday's and Monday's articles on the
conference and both are really great and do a great job in explaining it.
You might want to read if if you have time. :
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/18/4832452/folk-alliance-conference-showca
ses.html
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/23/4844421/folk-alliance-festival-ends-wit
h.html
I'll be happy to share photos when I get them sorted.
Steve
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