NOMAD is usually held on or about the same weekend as NERFA - the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, and I've been heavly involved with that organization so I can't miss it.   I know that the NYC Eisteddfod also takes place in November, and coupled with the Getaway, perhaps there are too many choices that fragment our audiences.

Still, I'm a firm believer that you need a variety of events in order keep a "scene" healthy. You cannot point to a single club, venue or artist that created the folk revival - while there are a few that standout, the truth is everyone was working together. I think we need that.

The age old problem of "young blood" is also important. It is impossible to assume that youth will adopt old traditions, they need to make their own. I think organizations need to be open to such ideas.

I'm also the president of the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club in NJ. The organization has been around since 1981, and while I've been a "friend" of the group since the beginning, it is only in recent years that I've become directly involved in the operations.   The club operates by the hard work of a dedicated group that has been around for years.   Our biggest challenge is to find new bodies that can step in our shoes when we step back, and to allow them the creativity to determine the future.

I'm not sure if NOMAD is having the same issues, but when I hear that they cannot find "sufficient personnel", I worry that they might have unknowingly put up barriers to prevent new people from contributing. It is too easy to do.