Everything You Need to Know About Rockland County's Borderline Folk Festival

For many years, Sol Zeller, president of The Borderline Folk Music Club would travel to Port Washington,  Long Island to attend a special summer event.

It was the annual singing party and pot luck put on by the Folk Music Society of New York, (aka Pinewoods Folk Music Club).  In Jean Ritchie’s garden, the iconic singer of Appalachian mountain music and virtuoso on the Mountain Dulcimer would perform. Everyone who attended would participate, singing, playing an instrument or requesting a song from someone else. It was a fantastic event because everyone was encouraged to sing even if they were not professional musicians.

Four years ago, when Jean Ritchie could no longer host the singing party because of advanced age and deteriorating health, Pinewoods decided to discontinue the event.  Zeller would have none of this and prevailed upon the good folks at Pinewoods to move the singing party to the New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps in Rockland County and co-sponsor it together with The Borderline.  Over 300 people showed up that first year at the event which became known as The Borderline Picnic.

The following year, The Borderline Board of Directors decided that what they really needed was a guest of honor that would not only be present at the event but would also be able to perform as well.  They decided to reach out to the legendary Si Kahn from Charlotte, North Carolina, and ask him to be the guest of honor.  Si Kahn is a giant in the world of folk music who recorded 16 albums, and wrote hundreds of songs.  He is even more famous as an author, a union organizer, and a crusader for justice and human rights.  Si Kahn graciously accepted the offer and The Borderline went about securing the necessary grants to fund the event.   Mara Levine, a folksinger who has played The Borderline in the past and has since become a card carrying member, volunteered to organize the entire program for the afternoon around the music of Si.  All 19 performers would be required to perform a song written by Si Kahn in addition to their own material.  Also part of the program was a workshop led by Si on the topic,  “ The Influence of Folk Music on Immigration & Organized Labor,”  two themes that are close to his heart.

The following year, The Borderline Board of Directors decided that what they really needed was a guest of honor that would not only be present at the event but would also be able to perform as well.  Zeller asked his friend, Mara Levine, a folksinger who had played The Borderline that year and had since become a card carrying member of the club, to reach out to her very close friend, Si Kahn from Charlotte, North Carolina, and ask him to be the guest of honor.  Si Kahn is a giant in the world of folk music who recorded 16 albums, and wrote hundreds of songs.  He is even more famous as an author, a union organizer, and a crusader for justice and human rights.  Si Kahn graciously accepted the offer and The Borderline went about securing the necessary grants to fund the event.  In addition to approaching Si Kahn, Mara Levine also volunteered to organize the entire program for the afternoon around the music of Si.  All 19 performers would be required to perform a song written by Si Kahn in addition to their own material.  Also part of the program was a workshop led by Si on the topic,  “ The Influence of Folk Music on Immigration & Organized Labor,”  two themes that are close to his heart.

On the day of the event, Hurricane Irene struck the region with all her fury forcing The Borderline to cancel altogether for the sake of public safety.  The Picnic could not be rescheduled immediately because of Si Kahn’s busy schedule so it was decided to postpone it to the following year when Si and all other 19 performers would again be available on the same date.

Fast forward to Sunday, August 26^th of this year when it will all come together, starting at 12:00 noon at the New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps, 200 Congers Road, New City, NY 10956.

Here is the schedule:

12:00 Noon – Anne Price

12:15 PM – Bob Conroy

12:30 – PM – Arlon Bennett

12:45 PM – Robin Greenstein

1 PM – Backroad Joe McKay

1:15 PM – Risky Business Bluegrass Band

1:30 PM – SI KAHN

2:00 PM – Loretta Hagen

2:15 PM – Terry Kitchen

2:30 PM – Josh Joffen

2:45 PM – Michael Scolnick

3:00 PM – Maggie Seligman

3:15 PM – Steve Suffet

3:30 PM – WORKSHOP on THE INFLUENCE  OF FOLK MUSIC ON IMMIGRATION & THE LABOR MOVEMENT

                   (Led by Si Kahn, with Anne Price, Steve Suffet, Dan Schatz, & Mara Levine as panelists)

 4:30 PM – Great Blue

4:45 PM  - Mara Levine

5:00 PM – Mark Miklos

5:15 PM – David Goldman

5:30 PM – Dan Schatz

5:45 PM – Elaine Romanelli

6:00 PM – SING ALONG & GRAND FINALE  (All performers led by SI KAHN)

In addition, any audience members wishing to perform may do so at our special jam area which is conducted by the award winning banjo virtuoso, Roger Sprung.

Our guest celebrity MCs for this event are as follows.

BILL HAHN of Orangeburg, NY.  Bill appears weekly on Radio WFDU (97.1 FM) as host of “The Sunday Simcha” and “Table Talk”.  He has also been the co-host together with Ron Olesko of the folk music program “Traditions” for the past 15 years.

MICHAEL KORNFELD is president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington on Long Island and vice president of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA). He coordinates the annual Huntington Folk

Festival and organizes and hosts song-swap-style artist showcases at conferences and festivals. Through his online publication, AcousticMusicScene.com, and associated Facebook and LinkedIn groups, he shares news, information and commentary with the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities. An award-winning communications and PR strategist, he counts a number of independent recording artists among his clients.

DIANE CROWE of Leverett, Mass.
Music of the People, DJ, WMCB 107.9 LPFM, Greenfield, MA, Tuesday 4-6 pm
Playlists at: www.wmcbmusicofthepeople.blogspot.com  -  Streaming at: www.wmcb.net/Listen.html

People's Music Network, Coordinator, www.peoplesmusic.org

BARBARA & GRAHAM DEAN – Folk Singers and DJs for the program “Common Sense Songs”, aired on Wednesdays from 8 to 10:00 PM on WBCR-LP (97.7 FM) Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

The organizations who are co-sponsoring The Borderline Picnic are Folk Music Society of New York (aka Pinewoods Folk Music Club), Folk Music Society of Huntington, and AcousticMusicScene.com.

Funding for this event was made possible by grants from Orange & Rockland Utilities, Stop & Shop Supermarkets, Country Dance & Song Society (CDSS), LeCroy Corporation and Conan Limousine & Car Service.

Sound is being provided by Gary Hagen of Bearfort Sound Studios of West Milford, NJ. 

Video is being provided by John Lippincott of Wesley Hills, NY.

This event is FREE to the entire community but reservations are required so that The Borderline volunteers can know in advance how many people will be attending and prepare accordingly.  To make reservations one can e-mail solz1@optonline.net  or call Sol Zeller at (845) 354-4586. 

The website for The Borderline is www.borderlinefolkmusicclub.org