The Falmouth Fiddlers performed at the Woods Hole Historic Museum’s Small Boat Museum. This year The Fiddlers will perform at 3 PM at Community Hall, and Morgan Rattler will be at the Small Boat Museum at 3 PM. (Photo: Kirsten Karplus)
Woods Hole will be alive with music, song, and dance on Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM, as the Woods Hole Traditional Music Stroll returns to the village. The event features 10 musical groups, a contra/square dance, and an Artisans Fair. All events are free and open to the public.
The Stroll, presented by ArtsFalmouth, takes place rain or shine at Woods Hole Community Hall and other venues. Performances are one hour long, unless otherwise noted.
Trad Stroll performances begin at noon with Jay Michaels at Martha’s Vineyard Bank and Ganivelle at Woods Hole Community Hall. Jay Michaels is the harper of the Harper & the Minstrel duo. He will perform medieval and Renaissance music featuring historical harps, viola da gamba, and Baroque guitar. Ganivelle performs lively French dance music on fiddle, mandolin, crumhorn, cornamuse, recorders, bagpipe, hurdy gurdy, accordion, and concertina.
At 1 PM, Rare Ould Times Irish Band takes the stage at Community Hall, while Black Whydah performs at Pie in the Sky Bakery & Café. Members of Rare Ould Times are Kevin McGeough, Jack Dolan, and Amy Larkin, who play traditional and contemporary Irish pub favorites, including ballads, rebel songs, sea chanties, and more. Black Whydah is Jean Sagara, Cathy Hatch, and John Best, who perform Irish, old-time, bluegrass, folk, and original compositions on a variety of string instruments.
At 2 PM, you’ll find the Sonnay Fiddlers at Community Hall and Cat’s Melodeon at Coffee Obsession’s front porch. Led by their teacher, Nikki Engstrom, the Sonnay Fiddlers, ages 5 to adult, perform a large repertoire of Celtic tunes. Cat’s Melodeon, led by Bill Black, is a multi-instrumental group performing authentic Irish traditional music—the “pure drop,” as it is known in Ireland. Cat’s Melodeon will play from 2 to 4 PM.
Morgan Rattler performed last year at Woods Hole Market & Provisions. This year they will be at the Small Boat Museum at 3 PM, and The Rum-Soaked Crooks will be at Woods Hole Market & Provisions at 4 PM. (Photo: Kirsten Karplus)
At 3 PM, Morgan Rattler performs outside at the Woods Hole Historical Museum’s Small Boat Museum, while the Falmouth Fiddlers play at Community Hall. Morgan Rattler offers music from the golden age of piracy—the 17th through the 20th century—traditional American, Irish, Scottish, English, and French seafaring music. Jacek Sulanowski, Barbara Blair, and Ron Geering perform on a variety of instruments. The Falmouth Fiddlers play bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, country, and folk music on fiddle, mandolin, Irish whistle, guitar, banjo, cello, and string bass.
The Rum-Soaked Crooks performed last year at Pie in the Sky Bakery and Cafe. This year they will be at Woods Hole Market & Provisions at 4 PM, while Black Whydah performs at Pie in the Sky at 1 PM. (Photo: Kirsten Karplus)
At 4 PM, the Rum-Soaked Crooks are at Woods Hole Market & Provisions’ upper-level waterfront deck, while the Woods Hole Folk Orchestra performs for dancers at Woods Hole Community Hall. The Rum-Soaked Crooks are Tom Goux, Jacek Sulanowski, and Dan Lanier, offering what they call a pungent mix of sailors’ chanteys, ballads, and ditties. Meanwhile, dance leader and caller Chris Ricciotti will be calling contra and square dances from 4 to 6 PM. Dancers of all ages and abilities are welcome; no experience is necessary. Vaccinations are recommended; masks are optional.
The Artisans Market opens at 10 AM and runs to 6 PM in the Old Fire Station, 72 Water Street, where local vendors will display and sell their wares.
Participating vendors include Sandra Faxon of Local Colors Gallery, who offers giclée prints and watercolors of marine life and local landmarks; Vivian Dreishbach, who weaves and knits scarves, hats, and other warm and cozy items; Joseph Freedman who offers photographs of Falmouth printed on canvas; Nancy Sawyer, who creates her own original artwork of local fishes and whales for her T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other items; and Katerina Bresko, who creates pottery bowls, mugs, and other items.
Also at the Artisans Market are Seascapes, Etc., offering art jewelry and painted scenes of Cape Cod, Maine, and other locations; Pine Island Studio, which features concrete planters with live plants and macrame holders; and Abby Volkman, who makes beaded jewelry, hair clips, flower fairies, and rope bracelets.
Parking is provided by WHOI and Marine Biological Laboratories. Attendees may use the WHOI Shiverick Lot at 11 School Street, the WHOI School Street Lot at 49 School Street, and the WHOI Dyer’s Dock Lot (Water Street by the drawbridge), as well as the Cornelia Clapp Auditorium Lot at 7 Mbl Street. See posted event parking signs.
ArtsFalmouth thanks the Mass Cultural Council, the ArtsFoundation of Massachusetts, the Woods Hole Foundation, and the Cape Cod Melody Tent for their financial support of this and other ArtsFalmouth events, as well as the Falmouth Art Center, Falmouth Community Television, and the Enterprise newspapers for their in-kind contributions, as well as the many volunteers that make these events possible.
For more information, visit artsfalmouth.org
Notes on The Arts 