Dear Friends,
On behalf of the entire student committee, I would like to begin by welcoming all of you to the 33" Annual New Jersey Folk Festival! For those of you who are returning to our festival this year and those of you who are joining us for the first time, I hope today is an exciting and memorable one.
The New Jersey Folk Festival is unique in that it is organized by a group of fourteen undergraduate students with the invaluable guidance of Executive Director Angus Kress Gillespie and Assistant Director Erin Clarke. Our festival is the oldest and largest continuously held festival of its kind in the state. This day-long event celebrates a semester9s worth of planning. Each year the festival showcases the traditional music, crafts, and cuisine from one of the diverse communities in New Jersey and its surrounding states. This year, we are proud to highlight the Dominican Republic. Joining us this year is the nine-member female a cappella group Yaya. Their voices are accented by the use of native drums as they express Dominican traditions through song.
We are proud and fortunate to have many other talented performers and artists this year. Fans of old-time mountain music will be delighted by the sounds of the Reed Island Rounders. Also joining us today are the Delaware Valley Celtic Harp Orchestra, Frank Watson and Son, the Latin Heat Dance Group, Mountain Heritage and a regularly returning favorite, Spook Handy.
If you are interested in a <hands-on= workshop, or if you just want to see musicians demonstrate their talents, stop by the Pinelands Stage. Also, be sure to stop by and check out the performances by the Singer/Songwriter Contest winners at our Shore Stage. And if you have little ones with you, please feel free to bring them over to the Children9s Activities Area where they can play games, make crafts, and get their faces painted.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the people that helped make this happen. To my dedicated and hardworking team that made up the "NJFF" team as well as the wonderful volunteers who came out to help us. This day would not have been possible without the amazing teamwork that you have done together. So, without further ado, it is my pleasure to present to all of you an exciting array of foods, crafts, music, and dance performances. I hope you enjoy the festival this year and have a chance to experience all it has to offer! Be sure to visit us again next year, Saturday, April 26, 2008 to celebrate German-American Traditions!
Once again, thank you for coming and have a wonderful day!
Marta Pateiro
Festival Manager 2007