2022 Maine Singing Weekend

 July 22-23, 2022

Cumberland Fairground in Cumberland, Maine

Friday evening: 6 pm Chili Supper, followed by Cooper Book Singing

Saturday: 10 am—3:30 pm: 19th Annual Maine All-Day Sacred Harp Singing. Please bring your own picnic lunch. Snacks to share (cookies, fruit, crackers) are also welcome. Please bring your own chair, if you can easily do so. Loaner books will be available

Sunday, July 24: Additional singing in Library Park Gazebo in Bath, Maine. Singing from The American Vocalist and other tune books that the class wishes to use. If there is a particular book that you'd like to sing from, bring what loaners you can. Please bring your own picnic lunch. Snacks to share (cookies, fruit, crackers) are also welcome. Please bring your own chair,

COVID: Please consider testing before you come to sing next weekend. With rising numbers and more asymptomatic cases, it is the only way to be sure you are not passing this along to your fellow singers.

IF you have not yet been vaccinated, we ask that you please follow CDC guidelines and MASK and DISTANCE yourselves for your own protection and for the love and care for your fellow singers.

IF you have been vaccinated but have any hesitation about the size of the crowd, the activity of singing, or our proximity to each other, please feel that you can also MASK and DISTANCE without any judgement on anyone else’s part.

IF you develop any symptoms of COVID, or are diagnosed with COVID after this singing, please get in touch with us at: health@mainesacredharp.org. We can notifying everyone at this event about the need get tested/quarantine. YOUR IDENTITY WILL BE COMPLETELY PROTECTED, anonymity is guaranteed. This will protect both the health and the confidence of the wider singing community in the coming months.

March 12 Sacred Harp Singing | CANCELED

Sacred Harp singing is a uniquely American tradition that brings communities together to sing four-part hymns and anthems. It is a proudly inclusive and democratic part of our shared cultural heritage.

We sing loudly together in very close proximity and also share food.

Many singing organizers are taking pre-emptive action and canceling upcoming events, whether they be annual conventions expected to draw a hundred singers, or small weekly and monthly gatherings of just a dozen or fewer.

The 40th Annual Vermont All-Day Singing has been canceled.

The CDC says, "Everyone can do their part to help us respond to this emerging public health threat:

• Individuals and communities should familiarize themselves with recommendations to protect themselves and their communities from getting and spreading respiratory illnesses like COVID-19.
• Older people and people with severe chronic conditions should take special precautions because they are at higher risk of developing serious COVID-19 illness."

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I don't feel great about exposing our singers, or other members of our community who share our singing space and who may be more vulnerable to coronoavirus due to weakened immune systems, to any unnecessary risk.

Therefore, I've decided to cancel tonight's singing. 



Stay tuned for information on our next singing, currently scheduled for March 26th at the Jackson Old Library.

In other news, I just stumbled upon perhaps the weirdest instance of "Sacred Harp as Art" I've seen in awhile.  Check out our Vermonter pals Scott, Moira, Elizabeth (I haven't met her before) and Kerry singing Idumea in a wind tunnel.  I think this is what it feels like when Goaty sings in your face.

Stay healthy, friends.  If you need hand washing inspiration, I recommend singing  verses 1 and 4 of page 341 in the Sacred Harp as you wash your hands with soap and warm water. 
"He met the contagion and sank to the tomb..."

Take good care!
Carly
 

4th Thursday Singing & Tamworth Traditional Arts Fest

We're not always great at keeping things updated over here.  Typically we sing every 2nd and 4th Thursday from 6-9pm at either Whitney Community Center or the Jackson Old Library, both in Jackson, NH.  If you are coming from out of town, or are ever unsure about our plans for the evening, drop Carly and Chris and email at singers@northcountrysing.com and we'll let you know what we're up to!

This week we have TWO opportunities to sing together!  Stay tuned to the weather though, because Thursday's snowstorm could change our plans.

Regular 4th Thursday Sacred Harp Singing!
Thursday, February 27: 6-9 pm
Whitney Community Center
Black Mountain Road
Jackson, NH
Right next to the Jackson Grammar School. 

We sing from the 1991 Sacred Harp and The Shenandoah Harmony.  Tune books are available for loan or for sale.   All you need to bring is you, maybe a friend, and a potluck snack to share if you can.

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Sacred Harp is a uniquely American tradition that brings communities together to sing four-part hymns and anthems. It is a proudly inclusive and democratic part of our shared cultural heritage.  Check out fasola.org for general information and for singings around the world.

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Tamworth Traditional Arts Fest!
Saturday, February 29: 9am-2pm
Tamworth Town House
The Sacred Harp singing portion of the day is from 9-11 upstairs.
There will also be a song circle, contra dancing, and of course, the Tamworth Farmers Market downstairs.  The Fest was begun in Tamworth's 250th year to celebrate the town's singing and dancing traditions, and people enjoyed it so much that we have kept doing it pretty much exactly the same way.  Admission is by donation.  More info here.

This event is a benefit for the Arts Council of Tamworth.

2nd Thursday Sacred Harp Singing

JOIN US THURSDAY, AUGUST 8TH
2nd Thursday Sacred Harp Singing
6-9pm

Whitney Community Center
Black Mountain Road
Jackson, New Hampshire

All are welcome.  No experience necessary.
We have Sacred Harp and Shenandoah Harmony books for loan or for sale.

Bring a friend and a potluck snack to share.

Mark your calendars.  We sing on the second and fourth Thursday of every month.  Give us a shout at singers@northcountrysing.com if you're not sure if we're meeting.

Sing Tonight at The Old Jackson Library

6-8pm
125 Main Street
Jackson, NH

See you tonight!

Sing Tonight at the Old Jackson Library | No Singing April 11

Join us for singing from the Sacred Harp and the Shenandoah Harmony tonight
Old Jackson Library
TONIGHT, Thursday, March 28. 6-9pm.
125 Main Street in Jackson, New Hampshire.  

Bring a potluck snack to share or just bring yourself!
Beginners warmly welcomed.

Vermont All-Day Sacred Harp Singing

Saturday at 10 AM – 3:30 PM
Irasburg Town Hall

118 Park Avenue

Irasburg VT

The singers who gather in Derby Line, Vermont will be hosting the 2019 Vermont All-Day Sacred Harp Singing . Derby Line singing organizer, Julia (Troad) Richmond secured the historic town hall on the Irasburg town green for this singing. Registration will open at 9:30 with singing commencing at 10. We will have dinner on the grounds about noon after which singing will continue till about 3:30 when we will take the Parting Hand. All are welcome regardless of experience.

Our next Jackson singing should be Thursday, April 25th, but please stay tuned for updates as our schedule and venue for this spring are both subject to change.

Regular Second Thursday Singing PLUS Tamworth Traditional Arts Fest!

Two chances to sing this week!  Thursday in Jackson.  Saturday in Tamworth. Thursday, February 14 | 6pm Whitney Community Center Black Mountain Road Jackson, NH Come on.  We know you don't have a date on Thursday night.  If you do... cancel it and come sing!  We sing from The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition, and occasionally from other sources, without instruments or audience.  Tune books are available for loan or for sale.  No experience necessary. Bring a friend!  We break for potluck snacks.  Bring something to share if you can, but if you're busy just come hungry and we'll feed you. Saturday, February 16 | 9am 4th Annual Tamworth Traditional Arts Fest Tamworth Town House 27 Cleveland Hill Road Tamworth, NH  A mid-winter chance to come out and sing and dance during daylight hours—all while getting your grocery shopping done—and to participate in traditions that have been a part of Tamworth for generations.  Shape note singing from 9-11 am, a break for lunch, then contra dancing from noon-2. Shape note singing will be led by Arts Council of Tamworth Executive Director Carly Goss and her partner Chris McKnight of North Country Sacred Harp. Dancing will be taught and called by Lucy Gatchell, with music by White Mountain Ceili Band with special guest Mitch Alden.  Admission by donation, all proceeds will go to support programming for the community by the Arts Council of Tamworth. Shape note singing is an old form of New England hymn singing designed for the enjoyment of the singers rather than for performance.  Beginners are welcome. Sit with the singers in the hollow square whether you want to participate or if you’d prefer to just listen. There is no audience and you can hear better in the square.  The dance will be welcoming and fun for all ages and levels.  Thank you to sponsorsSunnyfield Brick Oven Bakery and Tamworth Farmers Market.

See you Thursday night, February 14th and Saturday morning, February 16th! LOVE, Carly & Goat