View Full Version : The American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront



Mainiac1957
08-24-2005, 04:01 PM
I'm just thowing this out to the population. I was wondering how many of you are coming to Bangor this weekend to enjoy the folk festival. I'll tell you before you ask, it's not all Peter, Paul, and Mary types singing Kumbya. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) I have gone extensivly to the National Folk Festival the last three years and have had the best time. It's all free to hear the artists perform, and the food and crafts are what you would pay at any fair. I would be interested in gettting together for a beer or whatever if your coming to town. Let me know.

Haffy
08-24-2005, 04:05 PM
Name the time and place and they will come.:)

noreasta
08-24-2005, 09:05 PM
yes i am planing on being there from mid day saturday on till evening, and yes i too have enjoyed the last three folk fests............. .....

cell.. 323-0689

WhereRWe?
08-25-2005, 07:31 AM
If Brad, Haffy and Noreasta are going to get together and sing Kumbaya, I'll DEFINITELY be there.

Othewise, I've got another event scheduled! :cool: :cool:

firefighterjake
08-25-2005, 08:07 AM
I'm not sure if I will go this year or not . . . hard to top last year when I got to see one of my favorite Irish singers/bands play -- Karan Casey. I have gone for the past three years though. If I do go the nice thing is my premium parking spot since I can see the folks setting up the tents right as I type this from my office! Danu is playing this year and I've seen them before -- not a bad group, but as I said it will be hard to top Casey. As you may tell I most definitely am a fan of Celtic music.

Beach Comber
08-25-2005, 05:23 PM
Planning to be there Saturday at some point. Do you have a time/place in mind? The beer tent perhaps - lol!! How about if you pick a the spot and when you will be there and I'll plan to join in the fun. Though I'm not sure about singing Kumbaya - I will have to pass on that!

Haffy
08-25-2005, 05:31 PM
Awww why not? We can all hold hands and sing in unison....lol NOT!!!!!

The G Team
08-25-2005, 06:18 PM
Awww why not? We can all hold hands and sing in unison....lol NOT!!!!!

when I went for my Camping Certification as a Girl Scout leader. I was me and 75 women camping for the weekend at Camp Pondicherry. And yes, we DID all sit around the blazing campfire and sing Kumbaya! At least I had a tent to myself! (and the Monkey Bread cooked in the Dutch oven was great!).

Michael

Beach Comber
08-25-2005, 06:32 PM
My days of singing Kumbaya are definitely limited to my days in the Girlscouts - lol

Kaching Karen
08-25-2005, 07:05 PM
Hey! Watch it! I just got back from a Girl Guide (Scout) reunion. The things that didn't change was the singing and laughing. The things that DID change was the color of everyone's hair, except two of us (we changed shape), and the fact that there was wine and beer! Got to love those leaders!
Keep your plans posted here..... I'm headed up to Bangor.
Ahhhh, Camp Pondicherry. My daughter and I went to a great Mother/Daughter winter weekend there. Great memory. Thanks.

Team2hunt
08-25-2005, 08:56 PM
Sounds like a plan. I will be coming up and picking up a cache or two along the way. Anyone want to be my navigator? Math skills required. hehehe :cool:

Beach Comber
08-25-2005, 09:14 PM
Well, employing math skills is more appealing that singing Kumbaya - lol - but I will plan to take my own vehicle as I am not sure what time I will be hitting the road. Caching on the way may or may not happen for me - not sure yet.

Kaching Karen
08-25-2005, 09:27 PM
I'll be your navigator. As long as I don't have to do any Math!"

FFFarmer
08-25-2005, 10:01 PM
I'll be working at the firehouse on sunday, so I hope you guys don't get out of hand in the beer tent.
Hopefully going to get down there Saturday night to ENJOY the event for awhile.

Mainiac1957
08-25-2005, 10:49 PM
If it's like the last two years I will be there most all day Saturday. The time we get together is up to you. Get me on my cell. Most of you have it and if you don't PM me and I'll get it to you by Saturday morning.

attroll
08-25-2005, 11:45 PM
I was going hiking this weekend but it looks likes those plans may fall through. I lost my hiking partner I think. So I am trying to talk Tink into going Saturday. But she is trying to talk me into the Windsor fair.

So can someone explain whats goes on at this festival I have never been to one?

firefighterjake
08-26-2005, 06:11 AM
I was going hiking this weekend but it looks likes those plans may fall through. I lost my hiking partner I think. So I am trying to talk Tink into going Saturday. But she is trying to talk me into the Windsor fair.

So can someone explain whats goes on at this festival I have never been to one?
Well there is a beer tent, but the real attraction is the music. There's three to four bands performing at any one time at four separate locations along the river front. The folk music, as mentioned earlier, is not Peter, Paul and Mary singing about "Puff the Magic Dragon" but rather music heard from around the world. My main thing is Celtic and this year they've got Danu playing -- and they're not a bad group . . . just not one of my favorites. They've also got Rhythm and Blues, bluegrass, Cajun, Rockabilly, ska, Swedish fiddlers, French Canadian music (which to me is pretty darn close to being as good as Celtic), jazz, flamenco and a whole bunch of other music . . . some of which you may never have heard.

In the past there has also been a great number of vendors serving some traditional fair like food, but the real fun is trying out new food that you might never have experienced such as real Greek gyros, Korean chicken, Indian curry and rice, Thai chicken kabobs, lamb shish kabobs, etc.

During the last three years there were also display tents where folks would show traditional folk work being done . . . such as how cedar shakes were made by hand, Penobscot basket making, etc. I don't know if they're doing that this year or not though.

There's also a craft/vendor tent . . . but don't look for a whole lot of cheesy Christmas ornaments made out of popsicle sticks and clothespins . . . there's authentic bird carvings, turned wood bowls, hand-made wooden chairs, braided rugs, quilts, stained glass, hand-made clothing, pottery, etc. This is classy stuff.

The three years that I went in the past for the National Folk Festival were actually a lot of fun if you like music . . . there's something there for just about everyone's musical tastes . . . even if you are a traditional rock and roller or a country fan chances are you might suddenly find yourself surprised to actually enjoy listening to some authentic cajun/creole tunes, celtic melodies or even some far-flung, never-heard of music from Afghanistan.

For more info Rick here's the link:

http://www.americanfolkfestival.com/index.php?cat_id=222

covefarm
08-26-2005, 07:15 AM
I was a counselor at Camp Pondicherry for many many years. It was my second home. Wow it brings back memories..................we sang for hours. Want to hear a watermelon song while it is still summer????

The G Team
08-26-2005, 10:59 AM
I was a counselor at Camp Pondicherry for many many years. It was my second home. Wow it brings back memories..................we sang for hours. Want to hear a watermelon song while it is still summer????

I can't remember all the other songs--something about a moose (complete with making antlers), lot's of others--it was pretty funny--one lone male voice--It wasn't a bad time, though, and I did learn some things. We did baking in a cardboard box oven, and cooked sausage and eggs on our burner buddies--also the arm-pit fudge was excellent.

We're taking our Cadette troop camping on Mt. Desert in October--plan to do a cache or two with them if time allows.

firefighterjake
08-26-2005, 03:00 PM
Well for you possible American Folk Festival folks I can tell you two things. A) It's 2:45 p.m. and I've just got back from inspecting the festival and it looks just as good as last year if not better. Looks like there's a lot of interesting food booths for those with daring palates (or not-so daring palates) and the craft tent is pretty impressive looking -- saw some hand braided rugs and wood carved birds that would look mighty fine in my house and B) The bands have just begun warming up and it looks like there's some good talent -- there was a rockabilly band (Wanda Jackson) that was rocking . . . didn't last very long unfortunately.

Ordinaryshark
08-26-2005, 09:59 PM
So did someone say where we were going to meet?
Tha's assuming we get up there.
LEt me know here or via e-mail
-

attroll
08-27-2005, 12:09 AM
We will be heading up to Bangor in the morning. I have not heard anything about a meeting time and place yet. Sometime around 1 or later would be great for us. I have Mainiac1957's cell phone so I guess I will call him when I get close and see what is going on. Steve is you and your wife want my cell phone number I will send it to you in a PM just let me know.

Mainiac1957
08-27-2005, 07:49 AM
I was at the festival from 5:30 to 11 last night and it looks like the local grown one will not dissapoint. I got to listen to Irish, Creole, Canadian fiddle as well as Rockabilly last night. The crowds are mellow as thay have been in the past. But there are crowds to be sure.Anyway, hit my cell and we'll grab a cold one or just say hi. Have fun and be cool.

Beach Comber
08-28-2005, 09:46 AM
Great music + great food + great friends = great time!!

Team2hunt
08-28-2005, 05:32 PM
Great music + great food + great friends = great time!!
We had a great time. Filled ourselves with lots of good food. Some stuff I can't even pronounce. ;) The crowd was huge, and the music superb. It was all about sharing the day with 30,000 friends. It really was about the company we keep. Only next year they should have more beer tents. Or move them closer together. This was a great idea. Thanks for the idea. Can't wait til next year.

WhereRWe?
08-28-2005, 07:18 PM
Only next year they should have more beer tents. Or move them closer together. This was a great idea. Thanks for the idea. Can't wait til next year.


No... Next year this should be a GEocaching EVENT! LOL!

Team2hunt
08-28-2005, 08:27 PM
No... Next year this should be a GEocaching EVENT! LOL!
That was discussed, along with a really strange kayaking event idea. hehehe :p

noreasta
08-28-2005, 08:40 PM
had a great time at the folk fest with all the fellow geocachers....nice to share some moments with you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ordinaryshark
08-28-2005, 11:55 PM
I was at the far end of the table. What exactly WAS this odd kayaking event?

attroll
08-29-2005, 12:51 AM
I did not catch all of the conversation because I was towards the end of the table also. I heard Karen or Gary saying something about a co-ed kayaking naked event.

WhereRWe?
08-29-2005, 06:17 AM
I did not catch all of the conversation because I was towards the end of the table also. I heard Karen or Gary saying something about a co-ed kayaking naked event.

Seems like I have seen a Coed Naked Geocaching Team sweatshirt somewhere...

:D :D :D :D

firefighterjake
08-29-2005, 08:37 AM
No... Next year this should be a GEocaching EVENT! LOL!
It's funny that you say that . . . while out inspecting I was looking over several spots and thought to myself . . . you know I could easily set up some virtual and physical caches in here and I bet some of my geo-caching buddies from geocachingmaine.org would really get a kick out of it . . . maybe something for me to do next year. I think I could do it fairly easily since this all happens in my "front yard" at work.