Catskills Folk Connection

On Sunday, November 18 at 2 p.m., Catskills Folk Connection is sponsoring "Catskills Bluestone: It's Geology and History," a presentation by scientists Bob & Johanna Titus.  It will take place at the Gilboa Museum and Juried History Center,  122 Stryker Rd., Gilboa, NY  12076. This is the first Catskills Folk Lyceum lecture for 2018. Each year Catskills Folk Connection sponsors the Lyceum, inviting scholars or specialists to speak about subjects related to our programs such as Traditional Music and Dance or New York Foodways or Vernacular Architecture or Folk Painting. The present lecture is offered to go along with an exhibit called "Folk Art in Stone," originally intended for 2018 that has been postponed to spring, 2019. The Gilboa Museum plans to be open an hour before the lecture so audience members can view the museum's displays.  This is a special opportunity since the Museum is officially closed for the winter.  Admission to the lecture is

The American Folklore Society's annual national meeting was held this month in Buffalo, New York.  The local organizers were the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Folklore Society and a number of local organizations that focus on New York's folk art and folkways.  In addition to all the on-the-ground logistics, the local organizers were asked to invite a sampling of New York State folk artists the present their creations in person. A Mexican-American artist, Leonel Rosario, created a Dia de los Muertos altar of flowers, produce and baked goods, and Day of the Dead symbols.  There were performances of Algerian and Burmese dance, Korean drumming and dance and Mexican percussive dance called San Jarocho.   There were makers and players of uilleann pipes (Irish bag pipes) and musicians from Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eieann.  There were demonstrations of Polish wycinanki (ornament making with cut paper), traditional Seneca basket making, and Panamanian tembleques (beaded

Tonight, Tuesday September 18 at 7 p.m. on WIOX Radio, 91.3 FM and wioxradio.org, Catskills Folk 's guests will be Catskill Mountain Quilters Hall of Fame members Pat Cumming and Eileen Buel.  They will be talking about quilting in general, their own quilting, and the different types of quilts that you may see at the biennial quilt show this weekend at the Roxbury Arts Group.  The exhibit will include sixty quilts by Hall of Fame members and others, from traditional style quilts to contemporary modern quilts.  The show takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 22 and 23, 10 am to 4 pm, at Roxbury Arts Group, 5025 Vega Mountain Road, Roxbury, NY.  Admission $3. Here are some quilts from past years that Ginny Scheer, Catskills Folk host, will be discussing with Eileen and Pat: Baltimore Album Quilt Flowers For My Wedding Ring Long Arm "Free Motion" Quilting Daily Devotional WaYa  Waya: Wolf Head with fine quilting called "

Join Catskills Folk Connection in celebrating the life of Stella Kelly, renowned musician and keyboardist for Hilt Kelly & the Sidekicks, the Catskills' best known square dance band.  Hilt passed away in 2015 and Stella last May.  The Kelly family has requested the Halcott Grange for the event which will take place on Sunday, September 23 from 2 to 5 pm.  Admission is free and refreshments will be available.  Beginners are welcome so all dances will be taught with fiddling, calling and instructions by John Jacobson accompanied by the Tremperskill Boys, plus Peter Blue, guest caller. The Halcott Grange is located north of Fleischmanns, NY, in the town of Halcott, on Greene County Route 3, number 264 (the posters are wrong!).  From State Route 28 follow Main Street in Fleischmanns to the gas station.  If you enter Fleischmanns from the east, turn right; if you enter from the west, turn left on the County Route that passes immediately beside the gas station parking area.  The st