Walt and Marc, you've said it all. As a former key supporter of the event who's been "in exile" for past a couple and now into "several" years, you've hit at the heart of my own concern.

Which is "how does this event 'develop'?"

MSM has a "Development Office" which seems to measure its success by dollars raised divided by least amount of effort on its part.

That, to me, is not "development." To me, "development" is moving key cultural preservation events like the SMF to the next level.

Someone (Barry?) earllier on this thread said that he wished it were a while week. Well, why, then shouldn't it be? Why shouldn't the "Festival" as we know it now not be a culmination of a "Sea Music Week" under auspices of, say, the academic arm of the Museum (who by the way are the landlords of record of all those bedrooms scattered about the premises)?

If there was enough of symposia to run as a continuous event off-site this year, then why weren't those running through a week ON site?

And why isn't Louie Killen an "artist in residence" for a week at MSM prior to the Festival? We never had that opportunity with Stan Hugill, so what are we waiting for?

A couple of other notes--- Marc, you are right on when you draw some lines regarding choice of material, particularly by the experienced. As Jon Bernier once pointed out, the guy who knows (and does) all 153 verses of "The Flying Cloud" in the midst of a pub-sing is nothing but a self-indulgent ass. And what's worse, is he convinces a talented, but unpolished, young singer that it's a good idea to do something like "The Jeannie C" in the same setting. When he probably has "Hanging Johnny" or "Reuben Ranzo" down cold, instead.

Marc, you're one who can carry off anything, but will put the crowd before your ego. That's a chanteyman. A chanteyman doesn't launch off into "Haul Away Joe" when the job of work involves the capstan. Nor does he try to perform an a cappella "Mary Ellen Carter" in the midst of a pub sing. Neither works.

Walt, also spot-on. Bringing young people along involves helping them to understand the dynamic of a crowd of 50 or 100 or 200. Even if you have to take them aside and explain it. There are folks who, year after year, don't "get" that, largely because they haven't absorbed it on their own and because nobody whom they like and admire as taken them aside and said "Hey, mate, you've got a nice voice and all and probably could enjoy it a lot more if you'd just take into consideration that if you want people to sing with you, you've got to give them something to work with."

And again, that's being a chanteyman.

In an atmosphere where if you "get up and give a verse of Reuben Ranzo (Ranzo)" the "answer that you get" is guaranteed not to make you sick, well stick with Ranzo and leave "The Field Behind the Plow" to the YTB after hours, or the car on the way home. So give that verse of Reuben Ranzo.

For younger singers, something to note is just how MODEST the efforts of some of the great singers are. You don't see Don Sineti, Cliff Haslam, Marc Bernier, Frank Woerner et. al., launching off into self-indulgent ballads and such in a big group-sing. Their focus is on the group. And even when it doesn't seem to be, it is. Such as when Geoff will take off into "Grey Funnel Line." He knows damned good and well what will happen. Or when the singer whose name I don't recall from four years ago took the calculated risk of "Down to the Water to Pray." Wow.

The trick is that all these folks give the room (populated with some really great singers) something to glom onto. The result is magic.

Here's to keeping the lights burning brightly.