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Hello from Steven Methot,
Water Valley Celtic Folk Festival June 18, 2022 Too Long; Didn’t Read? 1) If you’re interested in performing at the festival this year, reply to this email with: a. The name of the group(s) b. Name(s) and email addresses of the contact person(s) c. SEND NOTHING ELSE AT THIS TIME. Sign up is in March, I will not process signup requests sent before the official sign up. d. Check your junk mail filters regularly as some providers seem to arbitrarily reject emails for the festival. e. In light of the fact that junk mail filters seem to plague us, talk about this with people you know who also perform or might like to perform at Water Valley. 2) Read the rest of this email because you really need to. There’s information below that will no doubt answer questions you don’t know that you have. Invitation to Perform The Water Valley Celtic Festival is a one day lively and totally unique experience that features talent of all levels involving music, dance and storytelling performed by individuals and groups covering the range from amateur to professional level. This festival is patterned after the festival held at Feakle, Co. Clare, Ireland, the inspiration for our festival's founder Dave Settles. The festival is designed to promote traditional Celtic material and local talent. You will find performances in over 9 different venues including the historic church, schoolhouse, tents, the community hall and on porches, all in the picturesque community of Water Valley. The focus of the festival is to provide a fun day for musicians, singers, choirs and dancers. The concept is to hold a small, intimate festival that provides a venue for Celtic musicians to get together and perform; playing for ourselves as much as for the audience. We do ask that you consider the Celtic flavour of the festival when planning to attend. This is, and always has been a Celtic festival. That doesn’t preclude and has never limited performers of other musical styles and traditions from participating. There is enough time between now and the Festival for you to find jigs, reels or tunes from the Celtic traditions to add to your repertoire. We limit the performers to local musicians only. The way we define local is that the festival is open to anyone who pays their own travel and accommodations. We do encourage performers to invite family members that may be in the area for a visit to participate in the festival. The reason for this is that much of the music that we play was learned in family kitchens and living rooms, but families tend to get spread all over the world. So, if you have relatives coming for a visit and they are musicians please invite them to participate. The Process The process for scheduling performances at the festival has three phases 1) Contact – What we’re doing now! 2) Sign Up and Scheduling (March and April) 3) Confirmation of Information (April and May) About Scheduling Scheduling will take place in March. Choirs and excessively large groups will get first kick at the can for their performances. After that the sign up will be first come / first served with the understanding that there is NO NEED to wait up all night on the first sign up day, all requests received that day will be treated equally. Some have asked if there is preferential treatment accorded certain acts. I can say that there is not, but that after 21 years there are some established acts and established traditions that may take precedence in a collision over a particular spot or venue. Last year there were few collisions and most were addressed with a spot either before or after the time requested. Payment This is a small festival. There is an intimacy that both the audience and performers appreciate. This is not the festival for those seeking crowds of thousands, but the people that do come are attentive and appreciative. The pay is established by the Water Valley Community Association. This year it is budgeted to be: • $35 per performer up to 3 persons per group for a 30-minute set. (Max 105 per group per half hour set) • There will be a limit of 2 paying performances per group. You may sign up for more, but will only be paid for two sets of 30 minutes. In recent past, several acts have added a performer or performers to create another group that is substantially the same as the first in order to extend the amount of pay available to the performers. Please DO NOT do this as it reduces the number of venues available to other performers. You are, of course, free to seek additional un-paid performances once the first two rounds of scheduling have been completed. Performers receive complimentary tickets. Unfortunately, we cannot extend the same to spouses or family members, other significant others, even pets. Unless they are performers they have to purchase a ticket. |
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The Venues
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A sheltered performance stage which will be linked to a beer tent and protected from the elements. An ideal space for larger groups. Some space for dancers.
NEW for 2020: The Settle In Tent will be the MAIN STAGE for the festival. The special entertainment programmed in years past for the Community Hall in the evenings will be set here in the tent. |
The new community hall, a wonderful facility, big and bright and wired for sound.
The community hall has a food bar so this will be a added draw for people to come and catch your act. |
All will have access to an extension cord for power. These are smaller venues.
Chamber Tent: Tent with bleacher type seating, generally popular with the crowds WVCA Tent: Tent with chairs. [Your Name Here] Tent: Tent with chairs. Sponsorship naming rights are available! Ideal for workshops and learning sessions. |
The Upper School House is a premier location for acoustic acts, and there is electricity.
The Lower School House is an intimate location, great for smaller acts and new performers, again with limited electricity. |
The Church is a premier location for acoustic acts and choirs, and there is (limited) electricity.
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