A party for Pete

2009-05-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

A party without food? A soiree without a drink?! That's what it was last Sunday when we went to Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Party celebration.
There are reviews an views about what the event was like and who was there.

You have to hear alternative voices a lot sometimes for something to sink in, for there to be a shift. As songwriters we should be speaking up. But everybody, in whatever their work, has an opportunity to speak up. I think it's that cumulative effect that will put all of us together to make that change.

Ani Di Franco

One of the things that keep turning over in mind was the Folk Singing Club at Beaumaris High School and Beth Thompson who introduced me to Pete Seeger.
She had a Pete Seeger songbook and was a self-taught banjo player. I think it was on Tuesdays that we would meet in the music room- about 5 or 6 of us. I cannot picture anyone else other than Beth being there. She would flick through the book and we would have a gutsy sing along of Pete Seeger songs and then any other folk song Beth had the music for. She seemed to me to be so sure of herself- probably the fact that she smoked a pipe and played a banjo had something to do with the view that she was confident! I haven't seen her since school and I haven't really thanked her for the gift of joy she gave me. I really loved our folk singing club. Thank you Beth!

And so..... there on Sunday night was I..... sitting in Madison Square Garden singing along but this time with Pete Seeger himself and Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie and.... the event went on and on. How fantastic to be singing The Internationale with Billy Bragg a few days after May Day- then to cap his performance off he sang Union Maid!

Nothing like a night of protest singers paying homage to Pete Seeger.

All music is folk music, I ain't never heard no horse sing a song!"

Louis Armstrong

Come sit on the picnic rug

2009-04-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

The chance to sit around and enjoy fine food and company in a glorious garden setting!

The other thing is quality of life; if you have a place where you can go and have a picnic with your family, it doesn't matter if it's a recession or not, you can include that in your quality of life.

 Jim Fowler 

This weekend we gathered our provision from AQ Kaffe on Broadway. What a great way to picnic and because there were four of us sharing this part of the picnic we had great variety. We were working on the "Miss Piggy Principle of Picnicking Provisioning"

Never eat more than you can lift. 

Miss Piggy

Lounging around and enjoying each other's idle conversation, hearing the sounds of others in the park.

The menu: Three bottles of pop, a bottle of water, tuna salad sandwich, smoked salmon and avocado sandwich, turkey sandwich and salami and cream cheese. Potato salad, lettuce and pickled cuccumber. Cookies and rum cake.

I left before the picnic was over as.....

The picnic's not over until someone starts eating the blanket. 

  Hayden R

Celia's Sunday Soiree

A party for Pete

Come sit on the picnic rug