Hi Don, Those were great pictures, particularly the "mob scene" and "who might show up." I can vouch for those, I've seen them all in person. One of the best informal jams I attended during Folklife wasn't actually on the Folklife grounds. Some Alaska friends, staying at a motel just a block from the Seattle Center, secured a meeting room at the motel and we had a great jam with about a dozen people without having to set foot on the Seattle Center grounds. For some of us that was the biggest plus.

There will probably be a maritime jam one evening at a nearby Irish pub, but you'll have to wait until a few weeks before the Festival to hear details about that. There used to be an open stage in the room where CD sales took place, where anyone could sign up for 20-min slots. That room is now gone, as are other spaces due to more commercial interests and funding problems. It was a really nice way to meet other musicians and get your music heard even if you weren't on the program. But things change, and usually not for the better, but for worse.

However, if you want a very friendly, small, low-key traditional music festival, much like Folklife used to be when it began 40 years ago, try the Princeton Traditional Music Festival in Princeton, B.C., Canada (August 17-19, 2012). Jon Bartlett will probably be posting something about it on Mudcat soon - I just received an email today about it from him.

Cheers, S. in Seattle