Interested in learning to play the saw?

This past weekend Greg and I went to the Glendale Folk and Heritage Festival. Glendale is a city within the Greater Phoenix area, and is not too far from our current house sit in North Phoenix. More about the house sit in a later post.

One of the many groups of musicians & singers

The festival was held on the beautiful grounds of the Sahuaro Ranch Historical Area. It was a large open-air festival, taking advantage of the many buildings and the park-like areas of the property. The festival was free - always an attraction for me - and was billed as having 250 volunteer performers over the two days of the festival. It included folk and blue grass music, as well as storytelling. Here's a sample of Saturday's lineup in one of 13 venues.

You'll see a wide range of musical interests displayed just in this one hall alone.

The online program also promised various workshops. Here's a sample from just one area.

We saw a circle of about a dozen people with dulcimers. We watched as two volunteers explained how the various sections of the group would harmonize a particular piece. Greg noticed the range of instruments; from rudimentary to ornate, and their combined sound was enjoyable. Here's the leader of the group, with an instrument that looked more basic than many others in the group.

There were many informal "jam sessions" around the grounds. I particularly enjoyed the fiddlers.

Notice the lady sitting down, to the rear on the left, behind the boy in the striped t-shirt. Although she wasn't standing with the group, she also played along with them.

This was yet another jam session. Notice the orange/red in the middle. This type of cart was being wheeled by so many people in the park. It was almost like a uniform "worn" by musicians, carrying their musical instrument(s) and/or cases, as well as their personal items.

These days, most festivals have a selection of food trucks, and this one was no exception. I wasn't hungry so Greg went ahead and was drawn to one of my least-favourite foods - hot dogs. He said it was really good.

With above-average temperatures in the low 90s, and having forgotten our hats, we only stayed an hour or two, but nevertheless we both really enjoyed it.

Sunday's schedule showed a workshop to learn to play the saw. Never heard of such a thing? Then check out this YouTube video. I was tempted to return, but didn't. If I want to learn to play the saw, I guess it will need to go on my bucket list, right next to persevering with learning to play piano. I still can't play Happy Birthday, after many years of lessons!

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Location: North Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Weather: High 91ºF (33ºC), low 59ºF (15ºC)
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