NEFilk 21: Contata 6

Over 8 Hours of concerts,
13 hours of children's programming
Two theatrical productions
And as much open filk as you can stand!

Or in a bit more detail...

Programming Highlights:

Judi Miller - Guest of Honor Concert Judi, accompanied by her band, We're Not Koi, will perform for half of the program, and for the other half, Judi will sign favorite East Coast songs and some of her favorites too!

Tom Smith - Toastmaster Concert The unbeatable combination of Tom playing and Guest of Honor Judi Miller signing. Prepare to laugh and cry. Tissues will be available at reg.

Deb Wunder - Listener Guest of Honor Concert Come and help us honor Deb Wunder, as she takes us on a tour through her excellent taste in music, with an all-star cast.

Pavlov's Duck - Interfilk Guest of Honor Concert Come and hear wonderful songs imported all the way from Germany, courtesy of our friends at Interfilk. Come to the Interfilk auction beforehand to show your thanks!

Celebration of Life Come help us start the Friday night filking with a circle to honor our friends, present or absent, and to celebrate that we have made it to this time together. (Hosted by Debbie and Jonathan Baker)

The Rocky Horror Muppet Show Long anticipated in song and story, the intersection of everyone's favorite subversive television show, the cult classic musical, and the inventive, fermented brain of our beloved Tom Smith.

Walk in the Day - A Science Fiction Musical The NEFilk debut of Ben Newman's completely original musical about first contact with an alien planet. Featuring a fabulous bi-coastal cast.

The Song Cycles Concert A concert focusing on excerpts from longer works, with explanations from the authors about how the song cycle came about, and how they envision full performances of the cycle. (Featuring Ben Newman, Tom Smith, and I Abra Cinii)

Joe Bethancourt Benefit Concert As many of you know, Joe and Cher were burned out of their home earlier this spring, and we're going to have a jar at registration to collect money for them. This concert is just a way of saying thank you for your donation. We'll also be passing the hat at the concert.

Featured Concerts We have some really wonderful performers coming to this convention, check out concerts by Blind Lemming Chiffon, Ian Hanley, M'liss Garber and Roger Clendening II, and Peter Alway.

Lots of Out of Town Guests A lot of filkers have come from as far away as Atlanta, Reno, England, Germany and Seattle to be with us. If you see an unfamiliar face in the crowd, go up and introduce yourself.

Panel: Sociology and Circle Politics From the 'how many instruments make a circle' rule to how the chairs are set up, everything we do or fail to do in creating our space influences our experience and how we remember our evening together. What can we, as a community, do to make every circle more inviting, and teach others methods of inclusiveness and gentle moderation? (Mark Berstein, Aya Esther Hayashi, Mabel Liang)

Panel: And Then She Pulled Out Her _____ and Played It! What's the most fascinating instrument that someone has pulled out and used at a filk circle? What would you like to see? Bring your exotic instruments and show them to the others at this storytelling and instrument sharing session. If you don't play an instrument, tell stories about what you've seen, and what you want to see more of. You might inspire someone who's already planning to take up a new instrument. (Blind Lemming Chiffon, Hillary Sherwood, Peter Alway)

Panel: Is BNF a Dirty Word? No convention goes by without someone saying 'if only I were a Big Name Fan like so-and-so'. If everyone else is here to have fun, just like you are, why do we need labels? A look at how everyone starts as a new fan, and why there is no winning condition to being a happy, active filker, other than sharing your music and yourself, and being a good listener. A serious and drama-free zone to discuss this growing concern in filk. Name calling, labeling and saying mean things will be discouraged by a kazoo chorus of your peers. (Mark Bernstein (moderator), panelists to be announced)

Short attention span circle Only songs less than 2 minutes long. Pull out your show stoppers, and brief schtick. This must be the place! (Hosted by Aaron Davies)

Bawdy Circle The grand NYMFO tradition lives on in NJ. Timid or raunchy, all inappropriate material is welcome. (Hosted by Rennie Levine and Marc Glasser)

Ecumenifilk Celebrate the divine in the every day, whether it's the wonder of science, or of personal revelation, all religions and creeds are welcome here.

Kidtrack A sheaf of programs run by our own Paul Grossman, to entertain and amuse children from ages 2-12. Children under 6 must be accompanied by a parent unless otherwise stipulated.

Chocolate Feast The ever popular midnight chocolate banquet will take place Friday and Saturday night in the Con Suite. Don't forget to say hi and thank you to Con Suite Mama Debbie Baker, who makes this and every Contata, fabulous.

Crafting Meet-Up and LiveJournal Meet-Ups Check the schedule to meet up with filkers you've only met online and to find out where group crafting meet-ups will be happening.

Move Better, Perform Better - Workshop Stretching exercises that free up your body and your voice (Taught by I Abra Cinii)

One-shots and Hat Bands and Theme Circles! Want to perform? One-shot sign-up sheets are available at registration, as are sign-ups to join a hat-band, a band formed of you, and other people pulled out of a hat. Check the schedule for times and places!

Alternately, sign up for a theme circle and host like-minded filkers on a topic of your choosing. Get 'em while they're hot!

Full Schedule