Hi, Art! Come to think of it, you did have your star on, but I didn't notice it until after you noticed mine and introduced yourself. The little gold stars--especially on a yellow participant badge or a multicolored button--are hard to see unless you're practically on top of someone. But (re my original query in the "Who's going to Folklife" thread) you COULD identify a mudcatter wearing one if they were sitting next to you.

The Seattle Song Circle session was very good (again), but I think it could have benefitted from one small mic for those who wanted to lead a song but couldn't be heard readily. For some of the other group-singing sessions, the leaders were miked, but not amplified so much as to overpower the group in the sing-along parts. E.g., Gina Sala's chants from diverse religious traditions was fantastic--and the "Random Acts of Singing" one, and the Yiddish sing-along were also excellent.

I can't comment too much on acts I saw from the audience because I gravitate to participatory events (formal or otherwise). I'm happy to say that there were LOTS of these every day at any time. Jamming on "Bluegrass Hill," band scrambles, folk, contra, and swing dancing, sing-alongs, workshops and spontaneous jams in the hospitality suite took up most of my time. There was a whole evening devoted to swing dancing in the Center House (bad floor, but not as bad as Mercer Arena's bare cement) plus some hot swing bands in the Roadhouse. Good news is: the bands were excellent. Bad news: so popular you could hardly find a square yard to dance in.

Looking at the program, though, and going on recommendations from friends, I know that there was a lot of really excellent stuff that I missed (by not having figured out how to be in four places at once).

BTW, another excellent show I caught was a duo (from Eastern Washington, I think): Matt Price and a woman whose name I can't recall (except her last name was Cohen, I think). They did original material of what I describe as a mix of folk, country, blues, and soft rock and were far better than a lot of commercially successful artists.

BTW, Reggie Miles' saw would make a great accompaniment to Hawaiian song and dance!

Genie

mg, I think the weather was perfect because it was cool & cloudy enough, with enough threat of rain, to keep the crowds at a tolerable level