| September 21, 2008 | | | | | Feedback | | | Calendar | | | Archives |
Our Commonground family was missing a few people this year. Lou died earlier this year. It was good to have David here and Lou in spirit. The Dionnes were absent. Jennifer has a back injury. It was different without our social director. But it was good to have everyone assembling at our house each night after the fair. The Folk Arts crew makes bean hole beans each day of the fair. Around 2 pm in the afternoon, the two big bean pots (with beans, onions, maple syrup, salt pork or bacon) are put into the fire pit in the ground and taken out at noon the next day and served to people who line up for them. I wouldn't be surprised if we make ourselves a small scale fire pit at home this year.
Life in the Folk Arts area where Melissa was co-coordinating. Besides boat building and weaving and quilting and blacksmithing, there was music.
Shapenote singing is a relic from the 1700's that is still practiced by several groups in Maine.
The lyrics are from old hymns full of images of monarchy and angry gods; the music all sounds like Handel, but the sound is full of comfort. The people who sing it mostly ignore the lyrics or treat it like an historical movie. I can't do that. I can't sing or say things I don't believe. Someone needs to write some new lyrics, hymns to change and to the one earth. My camera didn't capture the populist harmony very well. |