I was there most of the weekend during the day, Mostly at the celtic and maritime/shanty venues. Got my mudcat stickers early but and they were hard to see, even though the lady at the desk put a couple on my hat for better visibilty. She asked what mudcat was all about cause she wanted to relay the info to her son in western Tennessee who is a singer/songwriter but having trouble meeting like minded folks where he's living. Hope we can welcome aboard a new 'cat. I was listening to a band called Crooked Mile introduce a set of tunes they were about to play, and they mentioned a hornpipe written by Carter Bannerman,who lives,as most of them do, over on the Kitsap peninsula west of Seattle. Carter is a fine mandolin picker and friend who frequently plays on the ferry commuting from Bainbrige Island to Seattle. The intro served as a swift kick in the pants for me,since I hadn't seen Carter for a while; so was reminded to call and get together for a session soon. A pleasant benefit of this year's folklife. The French Canadian group " Matapat" was doing a Quebecoise dance 'workshop' on saturday, and I got a seat close to the stage so I could watch their box player. Didn't get to, though. A partnerless lady coerced me onto the dance floor...well,she didn't have to work too hard....and I haven't danced in twenty years! She somehow managed to keep me from looking too foolish and I gotta tell ya, I had a great time. Got a new friend, too. Had a great Folklife and will be back next year for sure!!!

Mike