The Woods Hole Traditional Music Stroll returns live and in-person on Saturday, May 14, from 10 AM to 6 PM, with a baker’s dozen of musical groups playing and singing lively Native American, Celtic, old-time, folk, roots, and early music at various locations: Woods Hole Community Hall, the Woods Hole Historic Museum, Martha’s Vineyard Bank, Pie in the Sky, Quicks Hole Tavern, Coffee Obsession, and the Woods Hole Market & Provisions. All events are free and open to the public.
The Artisans Market
The Artisans Market opens at 10 AM and runs to 5 PM in the Old Fire Station, 72 Water Street. Local vendors will offer an array of handmade paintings, prints, jewelry, fiber arts, and more.
Participating vendors include Sandra Faxon of Local Colors Gallery, who offers giclée prints and watercolors of marine life and local landmarks; Mike Adams, who handcrafts unique wooden bowls from found wood; Diane Precourt of Buddha Buns, who sews meditation cushions and related items; Joe Freedman who takes photos of Falmouth and mounts them on canvas.
Also at the Artisan Market will be Nancy Sawyer of Goin’ Fishing, an artist and photographer who draws fish prints them on T-shirts and other items; Judy La Cava of Octopus’s Garden, who creates intricate woven “mermaid’s purses” using sea glass and silver wire; Vivian Dreishbach, who knits scarves, hats, and other warm and cozy items; and Abby Volkman, who creates her own style of beaded jewelry and hair ornaments.
The Stroll
The Eighth Annual Woods Hole Trad Stroll, presented by ArtsFalmouth, takes place rain or shine. Unless otherwise noted, performances are about an hour in length. For performances in Woods Hole Community Hall, COVID precautions apply: Proof of vaccination and masks are required, social distancing is in effect, and attendance at the Hall is limited to 45 people at a time.
Trad Stroll performances begin at noon with Kim Moberg at Martha’s Vineyard Bank, 2 Water Street, and L’Esperance Mandolin Ensemble at Woods Hole Community Hall, 68 Water Street.
Kim Moberg is an award-winning singer/songwriter and self-taught finger-pick style guitarist. She is known for her heartfelt vocals and her songs that evoke feelings of melancholy, heartbreak, healing, and social consciousness.
L’Esperance Mandolin Ensemble, led by Josh Bell, is 15 members strong. They perform music ranging from classical to contemporary, Celtic to Klezmer, and rock standards to baroque.
Ganivelle performs at 1 PM at the Community Hall, playing lively French dance music on fiddle, mandolin, crumhorn, cornamuse, recorders, bagpipe, hurdy gurdy, accordion, and concertina.
Three performances take place at 2 PM. The Falmouth Fiddlers play bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, country, and folk at 2 PM at Woods Hole Historical Museum’s Small Boat Museum outdoor patio, 579 Woods Hole Road.
Stanley & Grimm perform at 2 PM at Quicks Hole Tavern, 29 Railroad Avenue. Award-winning fiddler Nikki Engstrom and singer/guitarist Sean Brennan offer old and new interpretations of traditional jigs, reels, and songs, as well as original tunes, on fiddle, guitar, and voice.
Also at 2 PM, the Solstice Singers, directed by Lore Loftfield DeBower, perform at Woods Hole Community Hall offering Renaissance style merry making in song, catches, madrigals, and verse.
At 2:30 PM, the Rum-Soaked Crooks play at Pie in the Sky Bakery and Café’s outdoor patio at 10 Water Street. The Crooks, Tom Goux, Jacek Sulanowski, and Dan Lanier, perform a mix of sailor’s chanteys, ballads, and ditties.
There are two performances at 3 PM. Heather Swanson and Don Gauland are at Woods Hole Community Hall, playing traditional and contemporary Celtic tunes on fiddle, bodhran, and rhythm bones. Cat’s Melodeon plays Irish traditional music for two hours on Coffee Obsession’s outdoor porch, 38 Water Street.
There are two performances at 4 PM. The Sonnay Fiddlers take the stage at Community Hall. Led by Nikki Engstrom, the Sonnay Fiddlers range in age from 5 to adult and perform a large repertoire of Celtic tunes.
Also at 4, Morgan Rattler performs at the upper-level waterfront deck at Woods Hole Market & Provisions, 87 Water Street. Jacek Sulanowski, Barbara Blair, and Ron Geering play traditional American, Irish, Scottish, English, and French seafaring music on fiddle, whistles, hurdy-gurdy, concertina, melodeon, and bodhran.
Closing out the day at 5 PM at Community Hall is the Woods Hole Folk Orchestra, who will provide a freewheeling musical journey from their repertoire of over 40 years of contra, square dance, English country, and international folk music. COVID-19 precautions prevent dancing at this event, but listeners are invited to come and enjoy the lively music.
But that’s not all. The Vineyard Swordfish and the Nobska Lights will be dancing along Water Street from about 5:15 to 6 PM. A lively way to celebrate the day.
Funding for the Woods Hole Trad Stroll has been provided by the Falmouth Cultural Council, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Woods Hole Foundation.
Event parking is available at WHOI’s Shiverick, School Street, and Dyer’s Dock lots and at the MBL lot behind Cornelia Clapp (formerly Lillie) Auditorium.
For more information on the Woods Hole Trad Stroll and other ArtsFalmouth activities, visit artsfalmouth.org or email info@artsfalmouth.org.
Notes on The Arts 