It is always troubling when an institution has to suspend operations. Clubs, coffeehouses, festivals, record labels – any portion of our folk community that was once a vibrant link and can no longer operate is a cause of concern.

This note was sent out by the folks who run the NOMAD festival, an annual event held each November in Connecticut:

No NOMAD Festival in 2008

Due to a lack of sufficient personnel in key organizing-committee positions, the Board of Directors of NOMAD, Inc. regrets to announce that there will be no NOMAD Festival in 2008. We will continue working to fulfill the purposes and objectives of NOMAD. Current NOMAD memberships remain valid and will help us meet those objectives.

We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Please direct them to us at dance18thcX@aol.com (remove the “X” before sending).

Sincerely, the NOMAD Board of Directors

Alice Griffin, Chair
Fran Hendrickson, Vice-Chair
Tova Clayman, Secretary
John Mazza, Treasurer
Louise Foley, Records Officer
Kate Mahoney, Board Member At-Large

The NOMAD (Northeast Music, Art and Dance) Festival of Traditional Music and Dance has been an annual Connecticut event since 1988. Following the model set by NEFFA (the New England Folk Festival Association in Massachusetts); NOMAD was created to present a weekend family festival of music and dance. The event attracted enthusiasts of folk arts from across the region.

NOMAD was created by Fran Hendrickson who grew up in the Boston area and attended the New England event regularly. Fran had a dream to bring a similar event to Connecticut as a way of promoting and perpetuating traditional folk arts. Traditional dance and related music was the focus, but after a visit with Sandy & Caroline Paton in, folk music became incorporated into the event. Each year, NOMAD would take over several rooms in local high schools in Connecticut, and in recent years the event was at a high school in New Haven. Simultaneous workshops in dance, singing, jamming, and folk arts would fill the school with enthusiastic supporters.

Like any volunteer organization, it becomes a great deal of work for a small group of people. Folk music, folk dance and folk arts also speak to a “niche” audience of supporters, and to be perfectly frank, that audience is getting older. It becomes difficult to attract sufficient numbers of young people to take the place as older audience members step back.

Don’t get me wrong – young people are interested! However, their “experience” is naturally different than what those of us who grew up with the music have known. Think back on the reasons WE were first attracted to this music. We cannot expect another generation to have the needs and desires. The Folk Alliance is filled with “under 20” types who are making incredible music and learning the traditions in their own style.

I have witnessed some obscenely small turnouts for events such as Eisteddfod or even concert appearances at the Hurdy Gurdy. Not that he would complain, but less than 100 people turned out to see Mike Seeger – a man who had a huge impact on the folk revival and the explosion of old-timey and bluegrass music. Mike still gives an exciting performance, but audiences just aren’t coming out.

I have also witnessed the incredible amount of work that it takes, and how this work is accomplished by a handful of dedicated people. Speaking for the Hurdy Gurdy, I have marveled at how efficient and dedicated this group of volunteers has been. For over 25 years, this group has been keeping the traditions alive and giving hours of work, all unpaid, to provide acoustic music to Bergen County. I can count the years I have been involved with the Hurdy Gurdy on one hand and still have a few fingers left over, but my colleagues have given years of unselfish service to create an institution.

Without knowing any of the individuals, I can tell you that the same spirit that keeps the Hurdy Gurdy alive also kept NOMAD afloat for so many years. I know many people that attend and the reports have always been wonderful. Unfortunately, the event usually occurs on the same weekend at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, and my commitment has been with them. Still, I applaud and enthusiastically support the work of NOMAD.

I know other festivals and organizations are experiencing “issues”. Rising costs coupled with lower attendance will hurt any organization. There are always rumors circulating about the demise of the Philadelphia Folk Festival or the Great Hudson River Revival, but both manage to keep pulling it together. Yet, each needs help in order to continue the mission.

This is not a eulogy. I’m hoping that this is only a “time out” to re-organize and NOMAD will come back stronger than ever in 2009. Even if the festival is cancelled permanently, NOMAD had other reasons for existing. Besides the annual festival, the group was working on promoting folk arts and traditions, and collecting examples. Spreading the word and perpetuating the art does not require an annual gathering. A festival is snapshot of a moment in time; the real work goes on the rest of year.

I URGE anyone who may live in the Connecticut area to contact them and become involved. Visit their website at www.nomadfest.org. It’s never too late to get involved. YOU could be the person that makes a difference and helps the festival return in 2009, but even more importantly YOU can become a person that insures the traditions never are forgotten.