Storytellers of Circle - January Gathering - NEW VENUE!!!

Ómós - An evening of traditional Irish song, music and storytelling

Ómós - An evening of traditional Irish song, music and storytelling
Dec 1, 7:30 pm Kings College Chapel, doors open at 7:00
Kings Chapel is a wonderful acoustic venue. The concert is sponsored by An Cumann.
Freewill Donation at the door

Many Halifax storytellers already familiar with musicians Mossie Scanlon and Cian O Morain from County Kerry. Cian is also a great storyteller, and gave a wonderful workshop on Irish epic stories for us several years ago. Mossie is a sean-nós singer. Sean-nós is a highly ornamented traditional style of solo, unaccompanied singing in Gaelic.

They are joined for this concert by Finbarr Condon-English from Co.Tipperary. During his formative years, he spent some time learning Classical and Jazz music in London. Finbarr's first love however, is Traditional Irish music, being resident violinist at Brú Ború, Cashel, Co. Tipperary for many years. This position has presented multiple musical missions to foreign shores, acting as a cultural ambassador. Such audiences have included The World Expo Shanghai 2010 and Millan 2015 (accompanying the President of Ireland on both occasions), EU summits in Brussels and Dublin castle as well as tours to Lesthoto, Swaziland and Mozambique. Finbarr plays for Irish Set Dancers, and we may see a couple of sets during the evening.

Jody Myers and Clara Dugas - Of Mice and Flies: Stories of Creatures Large and Small

She Sings As She Flies - Revisiting the Helen Creighton Song Collection

She Sings as She Flies •




Revisiting the Helen Creighton Song Collection was conceived by first cousins and longtime creative collaborators Mary Jane Lamond and Laurel MacDonald as a special production of their Patchwork vocal performance project.

She Sings as She Flies features Mary Jane and Laurel performing songs from the Gaelic and English language traditions. Joining them are Nicole LeBlanc, Kirsten Olivia and Naomi Dawn Poulette, singing selections from the Acadian, African Nova Scotian, and Mi’kmaq communities respectively. The songs are integrated with archival recordings and images, live vocal looping, sound design and video stage projections.

The production looks not only at the rich legacy of the music itself, but also poses questions regarding the circumstances of Helen Creighton’s work, and the social and cultural environment then, and now. She Sings as She Flies is a groundbreaking new production by five uniquely talented Nova Scotian singers, illustrating the richness, diversity and complex history behind this unique folksong collection.

She Sings as She Flies has been made possible through the generous support of the Nova Scotia 150 Forward Fund and the Helen Creighton Folklore Society.

Tickets at: http://www.tickethalifax.com/events/48365267/she-sings-as-she-flies

Storytellers' Circle of Halifax - Oct 12 event

Storytellers Circle of Halifax - Fall Gathering

WTF:What the Folk! Takes no Prisoners...

Happily... summer has arrived but sadly... you all know what that means. 

After June 23rd... WTF! will be on hiatus for two months but...

 ... to fill your hearts with an equal & lasting measure of musical joy...  

... we have invited Guest Hosts... 

The Haltown Stompers 

... who for some strange & twisted reason known only to them and their medical professionals have chosen to send us off on our summer adventures with the delightful theme of...

PRISON 

Even before Society's massive uptick of incarceration in the 80s - even before the phrase "War on Drugs" was coined in 1971 - the matter-of-fact portrayal of incarceration has been reflected in pop culture, namely music. You can find it as far back as Lead Belly's prison and work songs - ones that lament his own incarceration, Jim Crow-era treatment, poverty and existential malaise - in the 30s and 40s. 

There is an excellent BBC interview which reveals how Nelson Mandela used music to raise spirits among himself and his fellow inmates: touching grin-inducing anecdotes of how he and his fellow prisoners would sing the subversive workers' folk song 'Shosholoza' as they endured back-breaking shifts at the lime quarry, or how they would put on concerts every Christmas to boost morale. And an interview with Mandela's best friend Eddie Daniels reveals how he'd frequently treat everyone to renditions of the old Scottish song 'Bonny Mary of Argyle'. In prison there were subversive folk songs that they could sing and get away with and the music would resonate through the prison walls. *Abridged from various sources

Whether emanating from a prisoner of circumstance like Lead Belly... or a prisoner of conscience like Nelson Mandela... these simple prison songs are not just historically vital, but are among some of the most moving and beautiful songs you'll ever hear.

I Know Why The CagedBird Sings *  Maya Angelou 

https://allpoetry.com/I-Know-Why-The-Caged-Bird-Sings

I know that's all very esoteric and possibly confusing but I wanted you to consider that not all prisons are actual brick and mortar. You can be a prisoner of your own literal mind. Of course you can bring songs like Folsom Prison Blues, Midnight Special, Jailhouse Rock, etc. but I also wanted to encourage you to think outside the box (or in this case... cell :)

Xo Margo

Like us on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Helen-Creighton-Folklore-Society/112710842101216?ref=ts&fref=ts

WTF! is an artistic outreach program of the Helen Creighton Folklore Society. 

Now in its 8th year, WTF!

 is primarily an acoustic unplugged open-mike session for performers of all ages in the traditional & folk music vein... singers, instrumentalists and storytellers in particular.

Co-hosted by the ever-jovial Cindy Campbell-Stone & Margo Carruthers with occasional guest hosts, WTF!

 

meets every second and fourth Friday of the month at Spencer House Community Centre, 5596 Morris Street in Halifax where sing-a-longs are known to spontaneously erupt and laughter is always a given. 

Come anytime after 6:30pm. Entertainment starts around 7:00

 and goes until 9:00ish. As always... admission is by free-will donation 

towards the Society's work. All proceeds from the sale of baked goods and beverages from the Spencer House kitchen will go to help support the operation of Spencer House.

Virus-free. www.avg.com

WTF Karma

WTF: What the Folk 

Unplugged open mic

Friday, May 26, 2017 

7-9 pm (6:30 seating)

Spencer House

5596 Morris Strett, Halifax

"What goes around... comes around"

One of the most interesting concepts that we all stumble across in our lives sooner or later is that of KARMA. In fact, Karma is such an important teaching tool that it features in many of the world's major religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism. 

*Karma essentially means that this happened because that happened. 

In other words... karma is the law of cause and effect. 

Karma can also be neatly defined through Newton's third law: 

every action has an equal or opposite reaction.

Join Guest Host JIM SMITH as we sing songs and tell stories wherein the protagonists get what they give. If they're mean... they get bad karma ~ bad things willhappen. If they're kindly and nice... they get good karma ~ good things willhappen. You might also want to consider songs or stories wherein karma is deserved but has not yet been doled out. And if you are completely stumped... you can always go with songs and stories featuring cars and/or dear old ma.

. 

According to the great philosopher Mick Jagger...

 "You can't always get what you want but... if you try sometimes... you might find you get what you need." 

KARMA

No need for revenge.

Just sit back & wait. 

Those who hurt you 

will eventually screw up 

themselves 

& if you are lucky... 

God will let you watch.

courtesy of  www.lonerwolf.com

Xo Margo

Like us on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Helen-Creighton-Folklore-Society/112710842101216?ref=ts&fref=ts

WTF! is an artistic outreach program of the Helen Creighton Folklore Society. 

Now in its 8th year, WTF!

 is primarily an acoustic unplugged open-mike session for performers of all ages in the traditional & folk music vein... singers, instrumentalists and storytellers in particular.

Co-hosted by the ever-jovial Cindy Campbell-Stone & Margo Carruthers with occasional guest hosts, WTF!

 

meets every second and fourth Friday of the month at Spencer House Community Centre, 5596 Morris Street in Halifax where sing-a-longs are known to spontaneously erupt and laughter is always a given. 

Come anytime after 6:30pm. Entertainment starts around 7:00

 and goes until 9:00ish. As always... admission is by free-will donation 

towards the Society's work. All proceeds from the sale of baked goods and beverages from the Spencer House kitchen will go to help support the operation of Spencer House.

Parking is available on site behind the building after 6:00pm, and on some of the neighbouring streets. Avoid areas displaying Permit Parking signs.

Helen Creighton, Folklorist

www.helencreighton.org

Virus-free. www.avg.com