ATTN: Joe and Nicole and the entire Victory Review Readership,
     As George Harrison reminded us, all things must pass. And so it is with my tenure as columnist with the Victory Review after 17 delightful years (And 26 1/2 as an all-purpose volunteer). I’ve enjoyed serving in this capacity and to have a forum for my ideas about the folk music culture and to feature some of our important and highly skilled practitioners. It’s kept me close to the action and our readership has let me know that I was appreciated. But at this time, and for a variety of reasons, I feel the need to let go of this association and to clear some space in my life for other endeavors. 17 years is a long time to do anything and there are other facets of life I would like to explore during the last quarter of my earthly existence. In thinking back on my Victory experience I feel a deep gratitude for all the dedicated and accomplished spirits I’ve had the privilege of working with and for all the good times we’ve had while keeping the folk music culture alive and well in Puget Sound. May all of you enjoy long, productive and contented lives.
      Namaste,
        Percy

Music at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival
The music schedule for the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival from July 4 to 7 has been announced and can be found below.  Maritime musicians are in bold.  This annual festival is held at Lake Union Park in Seattle.

Maritime Folknet will have a booth next to the music stage, selling CDs for Maritime Folknet and also for the performers.  I’m looking for volunteers to help me out from time to time, so email me at [email protected] if you are interested.  It’s light duty, and a great place to hang out and listen to the music.



Sound will be by Chris Glanister’s Pilgrim Media Services.  There will be music daily from 11 am to 6 pm, about 23 hours of music total (plus the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing on Friday night).  Of this, I will be allowed 3 minutes on Sunday afternoon during the Shanty Showcase to sing a song I wrote about the Wooden Boat Festival (you can find it at the end of this column, with some notes.)  The Shanty Showcase will have ten Northwest maritime singers.

Thursday, July 411:00am-11:45am Stephen Kaiser
12:00pm-1:00pm Piper Stock Hill https://myspace.com/piperstockhill
1:15pm-2:15pm Vince Martinez & the Wild Blue Yonder. http://vincemtz.com/
2:30pm-3:30pm Larry Murante http://www.larrymurante.com
3:45pm-4:45pm William Pint & Felicia Dale http://www.pintndale.com
5:00pm-6:00pm The Whateverly Brothers http://www.thewhateverlybrothers.com

Followed by fireworks after dark (10 pm?).

Friday, July 511:00am-11:45am Hounds@Bay http://www.reverbnation.com/houndsatbay
12:00pm-1:00pm Del Rey http://hobemianrecords.com/delrey.html
1:15pm-2:15pm Greg Paul http://www.nodepression.com/profile/GregoryPaul
2:30pm-3:30pm Steve and Kristi Nebel http://www.sknebel.com/
3:45pm-4:45pm Silver Lining http://www.silverliningmusic.net/Home.html
5:00pm-6:00pm The Hayburners http://www.thehayburners.com/

Followed by the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing from 7:30-9:30 pm, led by Broadside and the Handsome Cabin Boys.

Saturday, July 611:00am-11:45am Jim and Dave
12:00pm-1:00pm Allan Hirsch http://www.alleyoop.us/
1:15pm-2:15pm Watch The Sky http://www.watchthesky.net
2:30pm-3:30pm Burgundy Pearl
3:45pm-4:45pm Nancy K Dillon Band http://www.nancykdillon.net/
5:00pm-6:00pm Eric Miller Band http://ericmillersongs.com/

Sunday, July 711:00am-11:45am Time & Tide
12:00pm-1:00pm Spanaway Bay
1:15pm-2:15pm Mike and Val James http://mikeandvaljames.com/
2:30pm-3:30pm The Phinney Ridge Rumrunners
3:45pm-4:45pm The Lonely Coast http://thelonelycoast.com/
5:00pm-6:00pm Shanty Showcase 10 maritime singers

Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival
Broadside and the Handsome Cabin Boys will lead the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing on July 4 aboard the Adventuress at Lake Union Park.  Broadside’s lineup will include William Pint & Felicia Dale, back from their year-long East Coast Tour (as well as Kent & Carol Mesford, Trapper Graves-Lalor, and Steve Lalor.)  There will be plenty of room on the dock for those who don’t get there early enough to get a place on the boat.  This is a special date, not the usual second Friday, and there will be an early start time, at 7:30 pm, so that the sing will end at 9:30 pm, before dark.

On August 9, the sing will also run from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, on board the tugboat Arthur Foss.  Tugboat Bromberg will be the songleader.

Olympia Chantey Sing
The Budd Bay Shanty Sing in Olympia will be July 7 from 7 to 9 pm at Boston Harbor Marina if the weather is good.  If not, the sing will retreat to “storm quarters” at Apollo Pizza & Pasta (2302 Harrison Ave NW).  The following sing will be August 4.  Call 360-866-4296 for more information.

Port Townsend Shanty Sing
Mark Olson will lead the Port Townsend Sea Shanty Song Circle and Sing-Along on July 4 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the Cotton Building on Water Street.  The theme will be “Singin’ Shanties Aboard American Tall Ships”.

On August 1, Matthew Orr will lead the sing at the Uptown Community Center.

Richland Shanty Sing
The Second Saturday Sea Song Singing Session in Richland will be July 13 at 7 pm at Round Table Pizza on 1435 George Washington Way.  The next month, it will be August 10.

Pint & Dale Are Back!
While Felicia’s mother was ill, Pint & Dale held off on touring for quite a while.  After she passed away, they went on a lengthy tour of the East Coast for a year or more, since their fans there had not seen them for a long time.  Meanwhile, we have missed them here in the Northwest.

This is a joyous occasion, because William & Felicia have returned!  After playing at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, as a duo and as part of Broadside & the Handsome Cabin Boys, they will have a show at The Couth Buzzard on July 13 at 7:30 pm.

The Whateverly Brothers
Besides their appearance at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, The Whateverly Brothers will perform at Hazel Miller Plaza in Edmonds on July 11.

On July 21, they will play at the Lavender Festival in Sequim.

On August 10, they’ll be part of the lineup at the Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival.  More about that below.

Hank Cramer
Hank Cramer will be playing various cowboy concerts in early July, then going to Maine for a Sea Shanty Cruise aboard the schooner Isaac Evans.  On August 2 & 3, he’ll be at the Galway Bay Irish Pub in Ocean Shores.  After that, he will resume more non-maritime music with a series of ‘One Trail, Many Voices’ concerts (songs & stories of the Oregon Trail), sponsored by Humanities Washington.

Shifty Sailors
On the evening of July 16, the Shifty Sailors will appear at Ebey’s Landing, a National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island, as part of the Discover Washington Youth Heritage Project.

On July 27 at noon, they’ll be at Greenbank Farm on Whidbey Island for the annual Loganberry Festival.

On August 4, they’ll play at Peace Arch State Park near Blaine.

Brownsmead FlatsBrownsmead Flats will play at the Astoria Sunday Market on July 7 and August 4.

They have a long string of free library concerts:

Ilwaco Timberland Library on July 11

South Bend Timberland Library on July 17

Westport Timberland Library on July 17

Elma Timberland Library on July 18

Centralia Timberland Library on July 23

Oakville Timberland Library on July 24

Salkum Timberland Library on July 24

Chehalis Timberland Library on July 25

Winlock Timberland Library on July 25.

They are playing several concerts in parks:

Astoria Community Concert in Lindstrom Park on July 10

The Long Beach Downtown Gazebo on July 14

Huntamer Park in Woodland Square in Lacey on July 23

This certainly makes them the Northwest’s most active maritime band!

Cannery Underground
On August 3, Cannery Underground will perform at Deception Pass for the Washington State Parks Centennial Celebration.  This event starts around 10 am and goes until 5 pm.  There will be music, food, and fun throughout the day.  Cannery Underground will play from 11 am to noon, just before the officials give their speeches.

“The all day festival is the second of two signature celebrations marking the 100 years of State Parks and the beginning of a second century of memories.  Event activities include live music performances, games for kids, local displays, demonstrations, a Volksmarch hike, a sailing regatta, an old-fashioned quilting bee, history display and more.  Guest speakers will be talking about the value of the state park system in today’s world at 1 pm at the east end of Cranberry Lake, near the main park entrance.  Food is available for purchase during the event.  Presented in partnership with the Deception Pass Park Foundation.”

Piper Stock Hill
Besides playing at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, Piper Stock Hill will play at the Owl & Thistle Irish Pub near Pioneer Square in Seattle on July 12 from 9 pm until midnight.

Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival Announces Final LineupThe Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival on August 10 will provide five hours of free music in a wonderful outdoor setting.  This classic Northwest mill town is a National Historic Landmark District, filled with vintage clapboard buildings, green lawns, shady trees, and a view of the water.  Tania Opland and Mike Freeman, with their world music, will be the headliners.  Spanaway Bay will be the emcees and fill in with music between sets.  The rest of the lineup is strong, with the humorous and harmonious Whateverly Brothers, and a Bainbridge group called Time and Tide.  Mary Garvey, the prolific and popular songwriter, will complete the lineup.  (Tyler Morgan returned to the East Coast and had to cancel his tentative booking.)

It’s not too late to get in an entry for the songwriting contest.  Entries are due July 12.  If you haven’t already picked up a flyer, check the web site or email me at [email protected].  The theme is ‘Maritime Work’, which leaves room for a pretty broad interpretation.

Northwest Maritime Songs:  Wooden Boat Festival SongHere’s a little song I wrote about the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, which this year will be July 4 – 7, Thursday through Sunday.

Wooden Boat Festival Songby Alice WinshipChorus:

There’ll be good times where we’re bound,

A wooden boat reunion.

Keep your engine turnin’ round,

We’re bound for Lake Union.

Wooden boats and ships are on their way to visit Lake Union for the festival.  Over 100 wooden vessels of all sizes will be on display during the festival, and many of the larger vessels will be open for the public to tour at dockside.

Lake Union was named by Thomas Mercer, who in 1854 predicted that canals would one day link Puget Sound to Lake Washington.  Unlike some Seattle place names based on predictions, like University Street and Capitol Hill, this one actually came to pass.  The Duwamish had just called it ‘Small Lake’.

We’ll gather on Adventuress

And at the stage for music

We’ll quickly voice our tunefulness

The songs will ring, join in and sing

Hey!

The Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing will be held on the evening of July 5, on board the schooner Adventuress, and on the dock next to the ship.  There will be music on stage daily from 11 am to 6 pm throughout the festival, including a Shanty Showcase at 5 pm on Sunday (at which you can hear this song).  There is a full listing of the music earlier in this column.

You’ll see boats built in a day

The Quick and Daring Boat Race

And in a wink, we watch them sink

The winning boat floats all the way

Hey!

Contestants in the Quick and Daring Boat Race have only 24 hours to build their boats.  Then they are launched for a race.  To the delight of the spectators, they don’t always make it to the finish line.  Life jackets are required, and boats are standing by in case anyone needs to be pulled from the water.  This year, a new race will be added, in which contestants power the boat of their choice with a cordless drill.

The food is swell and Farmboat sells

Those tacos made of fishes

Delicious smells and ringing bells

Historic ships, and boat ride trips

Hey!

There will be a number of food booths at the festival, but the fish tacos sold by Farmboat at a dockside boat are a stand out.  Farmboat is a non-profit organization that runs a farmers market on Thursdays, usually aboard the steamer Virginia V.  They’re looking for musicians to play at the Thursday markets.  If you are interested, contact them through their web site.

You can inhale not only the food smells, but the smell of freshly-cut wood at the boatbuilding demonstrations.  Some people like the smell of old boats, and even like the diesel engine smell on the tugboat Arthur Foss.  It’s one of four National Historic Landmarks at the Historic Ships Wharf.

The best view is from out on the water.  Sign up early at the Center for Wooden Boats to get on one of their free boat trips.

I thought I heard Dick Wagner say

All ages learn together

A boat can change your life today

Get in a boat, away you’ll float

Hey!

Dick Wagner is the founding director of the Center for Wooden Boats.  He grew up in New Jersey, but was attracted to the can-do, pioneering spirit of the West, and to Puget Sound as a place where you didn’t have to be a rich yacht owner to enjoy boating.  He worked as an architect until 1968, when he and his wife Colleen started renting wooden boats from their houseboat on Lake Union.  This grew into the Center for Wooden Boats.  The classes and boat-rental opportunities found there can be a life-changing experience for youth at risk, and for people from all walks of life.

Dick and Colleen began the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival in 1977, and this will be its 37th year.

You can come and disembark

From Captain Larry’s ferry

Don’t bring your car, ‘cause you can’t park

The fireworks start when it gets dark

Hey!

Ever since the big parking lot was torn out and planted with grass, parking has been almost impossible.  Now, with the construction on Valley Street, access by vehicle to Lake Union Park is like negotiating a maze.  You can park somewhere on the streets to the west of the park, and walk for many blocks.  Better to park elsewhere and take a bus or the trolley.

Seattle Ferry Service, run by Captain Larry Kezner, will be running a ferry service from Fremont to Lake Union Park during the festival, using the small passenger ferry Fremont Ave or a smaller launch.  There is a possibility that Larry may run a ferry service from Fishermen’s Terminal to Lake Union Park during the festival – check the CWB web site for more information.

Thanks to a last-minute scramble, enough donors and organizers were rounded up to put on fireworks over Lake Union on July 4 this year!  And the music for the festival looks great.  I’ll be there at the booth next to the stage, selling music CDs.

Alice Winship has been promoting maritime music events as an unpaid volunteer for various non-profit organizations, and generally advocating the cause of Northwest nautical music and maritime preservation, since 1996. She is the president of Maritime Folknet, a new non-profit organization devoted to encouraging maritime culture, especially music.

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