OK, we are on for the weekend of April 27-29 (30). There will be another in the summer with a date yet to be set.

I am picturing arrivals bearing a dish to pass beginning on Friday afternoon or evening, possibly meeting up at our church with picking preceding dispersing to various sleeping locations. (Camping if warm enough will be at our place.) And so on from there until the last gasp of Sunday evening. (Fine to stay on til Monday AM as well.) We will set up locations once we know how many folks we are talking about. Our house is pretty big with great picking porches, rooms, trees, etc. But we have at least one more house and a whole church for backup, if weather is bad, and you may vote in favor of the church acoustics after checking them out. (Copier handy!) And the town green is across from it.

We will also be doing some calling around to flush the local pickers out of the woodwork. There may be quite a few and this may just be the thing to fetch them into our evil web (the Mudcat). We will have a computer humming prominently to dig up any songs needed! We'll put out a tip jar for $$ for Max too.

A word about drinking. I know some of you must be wondering. We don't, but we don't disapprove, either, as long as it occurs after any driving necessary; roads here are.... fraught with death curves, blind hills, and one of the nation's highest rates of drunk drivers. But it's your choice. Mi casa su casa. Just check with Sorcha, Amos, Dharmabum, or MMario if you are curious about the "prudeness" factor!

Please e-mail me for more information. And if you have either held or attended a good gathering, tell me what the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that I need to know. Such as, paper, plastic, or real plates. Practical stuff. You know-- how many people you think can share two bathrooms, or are we talking portapotties!

The rest I know will sort itself out just fine. And I have held large house-type workshops, etc.

(Click HERE to e-mail me. Subject line: MUDCAT GATHERING)

~Susan (AKA Praise)