Story last updated at 4/14/2010 - 2:21 pm
SKAGWAY - The Alaska Folk Festival has come to a close, but Southeast Alaska's music scene is far from becoming silent. In Skagway, the summer season will kick off with the 24th International Folk Festival next weekend.
The festival has a history of featuring musicians in a variety of genres including folk, bluegrass, jazz, classical, blues and even rock.
"We don't turn anybody away because they don't play folk music," said festival coordinator Donna Snyder. "We figure everybody is folk of some kind or another."
This year's lineup will feature Skagway artists Barb Kalen (founding member of the festival), Nola Lamkin, Ashley Bowman, Ashlei Leggett, Chris and Kathy Wassman, and The Windy Valley Boys, including Michael Yee, Robert McCracken and Tony Scott Pierce. Visiting artists include Joe Bishop and Dennis Allen of Whitehorse, Art Johns of Tagish, and Rainee Godwin and Buddy Tabor of Juneau.
"A lot of musicians will join in on each other's sets," Snyder said. "A lot of them come for the fun of being able to play with other visiting artists that they don't see all the time."
Each act is allotted a time slot of approximately 15 minutes, depending on the number of entrants. Additional musicians are still in the process of being confirmed.
Performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 23 at First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Fifth Ave. and Main St. A donation of $10 is suggested, but admission is pay-as-you-can.
The century-old octagonal venue is known for its fabulous acoustics, Snyder said.
"Most of the performers don't need a microphone or anything," Snyder said. "The sound is really nice and projects toward the audience."
A fajita feed will precede the performance from 5-7 p.m. at the Elks Hall. The proceeds from the event will support the Skagway Arts Council, and musicians performing at the festival are invited to eat free of charge.
The following day, many of the festival's performers will travel over the border to participate in the Folk Society of Whitehorse Yukon Alaska Folk Festival. The festival will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 at Whitehorse United Church, located at 601 Main St. The cost is $5 for non-members of the society.
Those who choose to remain in Skagway on Saturday may choose to participate in Clean Sweep, an annual town trash pick-up event concluding with lunch and prize drawings.
For more information about the International Folk Festival, contact Donna Snyder at 983-3222.
