These events are all free!
Friday, October 19 – Urbana Free Library Busey-Mills Reading Room
6:30pm – 7:15pm – Sam Payne and Cody Jensen
Sam and Cody are two of Urbana’s busiest music makers. Together, they form a fun and energetic duet of old time, bluegrass, folk, and calypso! Great for the whole family.
Friday, October 19, Sipyard (inclement weather: Cohen Building)
7:00 – 8:30 pm – Chantey Singalong with Chris Maden
Sing chanteys (sailors’ work songs) and forebitters (recreational songs), songs of the oceans and inland waterways, songs of fishing, of the docks, of the taverns, and of home, songs both traditional and modern. Lead a song, sing along, or just listen.
Saturday, October 20 – Community Center for the Arts (C4A)
10:00am – 11:00am – Morning Music with Robin Kearton
Children and their caregivers are invited to join the Community Center for the Arts regular Music Morning session. Adults can enjoy refreshments while their kids engage with each other and enjoy live music performed by our faculty musicians. Although there is not a set curriculum, our teachers engage young audience members with spontaneous low-key musical interactions to suit the mood of the moment.
11:15am – 12:15pm – Little Folkers Puppet Party with Miss Hanna Rae
Entertaining the whole family through singing, movement, playing instruments, and puppets!
12:30pm – 1:15pm – Deep Fried Pickle Project, followed by the Musical Mayhem Parade
Armed with a Frankenstonian array of homemade monster instruments, The Deep Fried Pickle Project recipe is flavored with Jug Band, Hokum and Honkeytonk spices. You’ll relish the Pickles!
1:15pm – Musical Mayhem Parade, led by the Deep Fried Pickle Project
Bring your instruments, imaginations, costumes, and free spirits and celebrate on the streets of downtown Urbana. Costumes are optional, but free spirits are required!
Saturday, October 20 – Urbana Free Library Lewis Auditorium (lower level)
12:00pm-12:30pm – Storytelling, with Dean Dempsey
Native American Stories and folk tales.
12:30pm-1:30pm – Storytelling, with Linda Dust and Kim Sheahan
Linda says that the stories she enjoys the most are the ones that also include music and ballads. She finds that each new story brings new understanding of the traditions of the cultures that have produced these marvelous tales. Kim performs folktales and one-woman shows at storytelling festivals, school assemblies, city-wide celebrations, and gatherings of all kinds. Her enthusiasm is both unmistakable and contagious.
1:30pm – 2:30pm – Storytelling, with featured storyteller Dan Keding
Dan Keding, storyteller of international acclaim, is well known for his telling of traditional world folktales, personal narratives of his boyhood in Chicago, ghost stories and dark tales, and superbly crafted original pieces. As a child he learned the traditional stories that his grandmother brought to this country from Croatia. A well-respected ballad singer, he accompanies himself on guitar, banjo and spoons. This combination of dynamic storytelling and powerful ballad singing has made him a festival and concert favorite throughout the US, Great Britain and Ireland, endearing him to audiences of all ages.
4:00pm – 5:00pm – Make-n-Take Instrument Making, with the Deep Fried Pickle Project
Construct a DoodleBass! Build a Cigar Box Banjo! Make a Kazoo, or how about a Janglestick? The Pickles will show you how to build and play these zany, multicolored music-makers.
Saturday, October 20 – First United Methodist Church lower level
2:30pm – 4:30pm – Dance Try-Its, with Jon Hanson
Your chance to try out some simple and fun traditional dances. These might include English Country Dance from the Renaissance, a Scandinavian waltz, Contra dance from the 1800s, or a simple modern line dance. Some of the dances will be with partners but the session will be pretty gender free and easy enough for kids or adults. If you would like a sampling of dances you can do with recreational dance groups in the Champaign-Urbana area, don’t miss this!