Another comment on the RenFaire scene. I'm only a dabbler in folk though my interest grows daily, and it is due to the exposure I got 20 years ago at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Festivals of this sort are found all over the country (TRF being one of the hugest and the oldest currently running one) almost any weekend of the year. If you are interested in them there are numerous sites on the web. is one of the more comprehensive or you can just do a search for renaissance festival or faire. It's an experience everyone should try once and for $8 to $20 depending on the faire not too expensive...unless you get hooked.