I am unable to attend, but I commend you Northwesterners for keeping the flame burning for so many years. My home area, Fresno, CA, has a very active folklore/folk music scene. San Diego, my home for the past 41 years, also has its share. But there was always something about the northwest music scene that was special and different. I was only able to experience it for the two years I spent there in the service, but it stays with me still. Perhaps it is because of people like Don Firth and Bob Nelson, whose careers and lives have spanned nearly the entire period of the northwest "folk scene." Few other places have such a core of folks who have "seen it all" and who can share their experiences with succeeding generations.