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Music to move the masses at Millpond |
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Friday, 14 September 2007 |
 Scores of residents and visitors turn out each year for the Millpond Music Festival where local and visiting bands perform a wide array of music, from celtic to folk to jazz. Photo by Jon Klusmire By Mike Gervais
Register Staff 9-13-07 After a year of planning, booking talent and recruiting vendors, organizers of the 16th annual Millpond Music Festival are ready this week to unveil one of their best celebrations to date, with an eclectic mix of music and entertainment for the whole family.
According to Inyo Council for the Arts, the 2007 Millpond event will have a variety of offerings to suit many different tastes, from traditional Celtic tunes to art vendors to a bounce house for the youngsters. But the focus is on music, and that’s why there are more than 15 unique bands that will be performing on the main stage and in several workshops.
Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14 with the Eastside Five.
Throughout the weekend the main stage and the workshop tent at Millpond will have regularly scheduled performances, and games and activities for youngsters will be organized on the sprawling grounds of the Millpond venue.
“It’s really a laid back and intimate family event,” said Inyo Council for the Arts Executive Director Lynn Cooper, noting that aside from the live performances lined up this year on the main stage and in the workshop tent, festival-goers can take in the sights, sounds and smells found elsewhere on the festival grounds, where there will be food booths, art sales and more.
“We have about a dozen art vendors that will be set up,” Cooper said, and in addition to the Millpond Concession Stand, the Inyo Council for the Arts has arranged for about five other food booths to attend the event, serving everything from crepes to Chinese food.
Millpond organizers, for the past several years, have been sure to include opportunities for youngsters to get in on the fun at the event. This year, Cooper said, Millpond has a bounce house that will be open for youngsters on Saturday. There will also be someone on hand to do face painting for the kids on Saturday and Sunday and four hours of crafts each day of the event.
Also, Grace Lohr will once again be in attendance with her now-famous llamas.
All Inyo and Mono county students in grades K-12 are welcome to enjoy the festival for free.
Even with all the other activities set up at the festival each year, the majority of the annual 1,200-plus person crowd shows up for the music.
There will be a total of 18 main stage performances at Millpond this weekend, with 11 groups booked to perform in the workshop tent.
“The workshop tent is a chance for people to get to know the performers better, in a less formal setting,” Cooper said.
The workshop tent puts the performers and fans face to face. In this setting, musicians take requests and discuss their musical tastes and history.
“Sometimes,” Cooper said, “the performers pick one instrument” to play with and discuss at the workshop. “I figure they know what they do best, and what people want, so I just let them go,” Cooper said.
This year, Joe Craven and Idle Hands will be hosting a jam session in the workshop tent“teaching jamming etiquette for shows,” Cooper said.
The workshop tent also opens each day with an open mic session, where festival-goers can take the stage and play their own songs. Some of the performers have been known to sit in on the open mic to see what the fans can do.
On the main stage, Millpond organizers will have a guest spot for “Annie’s Orphans,” the very same youngsters who performed in Playhouse 395’s production of “Annie” this past summer. Annie’s Orphans will be performing on the main stage at Millpond on Sunday, Sept. 15 from 9:45-10:05 a.m.
Annie’s Orphans is just one of the Millpond performers that exemplify the variety of music available at Millpond.
“We actually have two Latin bands, a Scottish Celtic group, African music, bluegrass, folk, blues and gypsy jazz,” Cooper said.
Sage Romero, a local favorite, will also take the main stage, kicking off Sunday’s performances at Millpond. Romero plays the flute and performs authentic Native American dances.
Weekend passes for Millpond are still available and there are plenty of camp sites open. Day passes will be sold at the gate for anyone who does not wish to attend all three days of the event.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 26 October 2007 )
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