Belmont sing tonight, FSSGB potluck Sun, Lexington and GC sings Tue, and more!

[Jeff Keller]

NOTES:

1. The NEFFA schedule is live: https://www.neffa.org/festival-schedule/
2. NEFFA volunteer registration is open!  NEFFA runs on volunteers and has many job openings.  If you sign up in advance for six or more hours, you can get in free for the whole festival, and they also offer training sessions for sound, video, and zoom: https://www.neffa.org/volunteer/
   
3. We're having another FSSGB potluck/meeting Sunday, this time with cats!  Details below.
4. If you're in Salem and don't want to zoom into the FSSGB meeting, there is, at the same time, what looks like a fun maritime/historical performance at the Peabody Essex Museum: https://www.pem.org/events/sons-of-town-hall
5. Sat 3/7 is the Growing Center's 27th annual Maple Boil Down; details below.
6. Emma Azelborn is doing an album release show at Passim on 3/11!  Details on the calendar (https://www.bostonsongsessions.org/).
7. On Sat. 3/21, 2pm, What the World Needs Now singers and Newton Folk Music are having a "community gathering for justice and peace" in Newton.  I haven't been to any NFM sings, but WtWNN are very good.  Again, details on the calendar.

Thu Feb 26, 7-10pm: Belmont pub sing
Where: Odd Fellows Hall - Friendship Lodge #20 IOOF, 16 Maple St, Belmont, MA
*** BYO food & drink. Must be 21+ to partake of alcohol. *** Come sing with us! Trad folk music of (mainly) America, Canada, & The British Isles. Sea shanties, drinking songs, mining songs, farming songs, all sorts of songs! Good choruses and great harmony abound. Emphasis on group participation and an inclusive atmosphere. Hosted by Red Kovatch.

Sun Mar 1, 2-5pm: FSSGB discussion potluck

Where: Porter Square, Somerville, MA

RSVP to bethk...@gmail.com for address.
Note: There will be cats!
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85721605189?pwd=u2PneTu6UM5dMO6LZ2bUgCrP5fYnzh.1
This is the 2nd in an ongoing series of  hybrid meetings to figure out how we want to take the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston (https://fssgb.org/)  forward and get the work started.  (Note that attending does not commit you to anything!)
Feel free to invite others you think might be interested.
After the meeting, a bunch of us will hang out, eat, and then walk over to the BIDA dance.
You can join the mailing list for this here: https://groups.google.com/g/fssgb-nublood/about

Tue Mar 3

1-2pm: Bring a Song (to Lexington)
Where: Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Rd, Lexington, MA
A pilot daytime song circle with Deborah Anne Goss.  RSVP: 781-698-4840

Sing a song or lead a sing-along -- with or without instruments; solo or with a group.  Songs may be of any kind, but please nothing too rude or scary.  Feel free to request a song or ask for help singing one.

6-8pm: Growing Center Outdoor Pub Sing
Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave, Somerville, MA
If you don't have a Somerville parking permit, you can park on Highland Ave and walk down. Come sing in-person, outdoors, in a beautiful setting! We'll have a propane fire pit and marshmallows to toast. Other snacks are welcome.
COVID PRECAUTIONS: Because singing is a relatively high-risk activity, we ask that people attend only if vaccinated, boosted, and symptom-free. Anyone may lead a song, but no-one is obliged to. Drinking songs and sea chanteys always go over well, but anything with a good, singable chorus will be appreciated.

Sat Mar 7, 11am-2pm: Maple Boil Down at the Growing Center
Where: Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave, Somerville, MA

The Somerville Community Growing Center's 27th annual Maple Boil Down:
https://www.thegrowingcenter.org/maplesyrupproject

Sun Mar 8, noon-3pm: Violet Pub Sing at The Sea Hag

Where: The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar, 49 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA
"Join us for an afternoon of traditional a capella folk singing over brunch!  This pub sing... is a welcoming social folk sing—we are excited about building community and singing songs that are easy for everyone to join in on. Pub sings are all about enthusiastically raising our voices together."  https://sites.google.com/view/violet-folk-sings/home