We arrived in Barrow last night, a day late after missing the plane in Anchorage on Sunday as we were misinformed that it was delayed when, in fact, it left on time. As a result, we've missed one set of school programs, but today we were able to present to the high school, and were very well received. Tonight we do a public show at the Heritage Center.
We arrived last night in the dark at 7:30 PM to a temperature of -21 degrees. This morning at 8:00 AM it was a balmy -7. At 10:10 AM we arrived at the High School in darkness, but emerged to daylight at 11:30. Our hosts say they have about four hours of light now, and gain about 15 minutes a day. It's now 2:20 and should be getting dark soon. We're getting a tour tomorrow during which we hope to see polar bears and perhaps some caribou.
What a weekend! It started on Long Island with two daytime programs and an evening concert at Hewitt Elementary School in Rockville Centre. Great kids, great teachers and an especially great Principal, Joanne Spencer. The 4th grade got a musical perspective on American history (1699-1880) from a mostly nautical point of view, and the 5th grade heard about the Civil War through song. The evening show included some songs about and from the Erie Canal in honor of an exciting project, headed up by two very bright and poised young ladies, Leah and Kathleen, to raise money for the restoration of a lock in Cohoes.
Then it was on to Woodstock, NY to be part of a Saturday concert of
Catskill Folk Songs with Rich Bala, Joanna Cazden, John Herald, Joe Hickerson,
Pete Seeger, Happy Traum, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, Mickey Vandow, and Eric Weissberg. This show came out of a CD we (most of the above along with Bob and Louise DeCormier, Abby Newton and Ronnie Gilbert) produced in the Spring of 2000 to celebrate the songs collected from Camp Woodland outside of Phoenicia, NY in the 1940s and 50s. It was a wonderful night of great songs and great playing, but Id say the highlight was Pete talking about learning Guantanamera(adapted from a poem by José Marti) from Jose Fernandez Dias at Camp Woodland. He said that the campers insisted he listen to the song, and he quickly understood its power, a song he has now sung in forty different countries. The spirit of Camp Woodland infused all of us on Saturday night, even those like myself who didnt experience it directly. I hope to find a way to help keep that spirit alive, and will, undoubtedly, talk more about here on other occasions.
Now, its off tomorrow to Alaska with the Trade Winds storytelling tour sponsored by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. Once Ive caught my breath, Ill report on the doings there!
Home again, home again, and too busy to finish the story! Well, after a
thirteen hour trip from Honolulu on 5/5-6 (we left at 5:30 P and arrived at
7:30 A in Boston), we coordinated with Merry Glosband from the Peabody Essex
Museum in Salem, and headed for Martha's Vineyard. We got out there in time
for an evening meal and a much needed sleep! Next day we rallied for a school
program, a tour of native lands and an evening performance for the Wampanoag
tribe in Aquinna, part of an evening "social." The next morning we did
another school, and then headed off island to New Bedford for their AHA (Arts,
History and Architecture) Festival. Next morning we were off to a dedication
on Boston Common of traditional Wampanoag fish weir dug up during the 1940's
& 50's. Both Vineyard and mainland tribal members conducted the ceremony in regalia, and it was a memorable event. We then proceeded to Salem for the final leg of our episodic three week tour.
Our Salem experience for me was also episodic. I was so near home (after two weeks away) that I could almost taste the New London salt air, so after a performance at the Phillips Library on Saturday afternoon, I headed back for a church event and a night in my own bed with my very tolerant wife. I went back up on Sunday night to be ready for two school programs on Monday and for the final dinner. We've had three of those, in Alaska, in Hawai'i and here, but I must say that this goodbye had me tied up in knots. I had traveled with some of these folks, Tobias, Tom, Nohea, Natalia and Lella for three weeks. Others I had met before in Alaska, or had just met for the last week during which some close relationships had evolved. I would mention here Riley, one of the Inupiaq dancers from Barrow, Alaska who had lost a family member since he headed out on this trip. His sincerity to his tradition did not allow him to dance on the day of that relative's funeral. Before I knew of his relative's he'd talked about his four-year old daughter's missing him, and I'd sung to him a snatch of "Riley, Riley, where are you." I sang that to him just about every time we met, and definitely at our parting. I hope that I may see his home, and that of all the Barrow Dancers we met, sometime.
I would add here that the inspired efforts of those at the Peabody Essex Museum to pursue this project must be applauded. I know that many were involved in creating the New Tradewinds project, but I have to give my thanks to Merry Glosband who administered this particular evolution of the project. As busy as she was with many other things, she, with the able assistance of Margaret Sweet, managed an enormous task.
I may have more to say on various particulars at a later date.