Best of the Past 4 Years (2019)

Elements of the Festival

Heritage Focus • Performers • Showcase Winners • Award Recipients • Honorees • Sponsors • Craft Vendors • Food Vendors • Children’s Activities • Program Book • Festival Committee • Heritage Area

Heritage Focus

The 45^th Annual New Jersey Folk Festival celebrates the best of our last five festivals, and in the Heritage Area and Seminar Tent, we are spotlighting artists representing themes of Turkish Traditions, Native Americans of New Jersey, and Maritime Traditions. This year’s festival also coincides with Rutgers’ centennial celebrations of Paul Robeson. In honor of African American folk arts, we have invited African American storyteller Yvonne Cesear and quilter Cynthelia Cephas.
Representing the arts of Turkey, Ylvia Asal and Zeynep Yurderi present Oya, lace needle weaving. Ms. Asal is a master artist who is passing on her tradition to Ms. Yurderi. To support this tradition, they have been awarded a Folk Arts Apprenticeship grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. We are also pleased in to welcome Ms. Dilek Demirors as an artist in residence alongside Ms. Asal at the Livingston Student Center during the week leading up to the Festival. Ms. Demirors demonstrates the Turkish Art of Ebru.
We are also happy to welcome back several of the tribal leaders from New Jersey’s Native American communities. Trinity Norwood will demonstrate corn husk doll and bone jewelry making, and will accept an award in honor of her father, Pastor John Norwood, the principal judge for the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. American Studies professor and specialist in Native American studies Dr. Jameson Sweet will lead a roundtable discussion with Vincent Mann, Turtle Clan Chief of the Ramapough Nation and Chief Mark Gould, chief of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation.
Finally, we welcome back audience favorites Mary May, South Jersey basket maker, Barry Griffiths, Duck Decoy Carver and Olga Kobryn Ukrainian Pysanky artist. The South Jersey Spinners and Weavers will demonstrate textile arts. Read more about our individual artists and take a moment to watch them at work.

Performers

SPOOK HANDY
Spook Handy performed alongside Pete Seeger at festivals and concerts more than 50 times from 2003 – 2013. He learned firsthand many of Pete’s songs and the stories behind them. Now, Spook is on a three year “Remembering Pete Seeger” World Tour bringing these songs and stories and Pete’s message to all 50 U.S states, all 11 Canadian provinces, and many other countries (as well as all 21 New Jersey counties). He can be heard at theaters, arts centers, libraries, universities, churches and anywhere else people gather to celebrate Pete’s life and legacy. His new CD “Pete, Woody and Me – Volume I” is due out by Spring 2016. Spook was named Best Folk Artist by Upstage Magazine, Gannett New Jersey, The Courier News, The Home News and About.com. He has written for theater and film and his original songs have charted as high as #6 on the International Folk Radio Charts. Spook is regarded as one of New Jersey’s torch carriers for folk music and singer/songwriter traditions.

FRANK WATSON (Piping Traditions)
An award winning Highland bagpiper for all occasions, Frank Watson has piped for 37 years. He has competed successfully as both a solo performer and with bands. Frank is a winner of the MacLeod Quaich and Sandy Davidson Memorial Trophy for Grade One solo piping, and first place, Grade One Piobaireached, Delco Games, as well as the 1984 “Award of Excellence” from the Chesapeake Bay Branch, EUSPBA. Frank is a piper for the St. Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia (founded in 1747), and has piped at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, and at Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden in New York City, as well as the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Frank instructed ABC Good Morning America’s Tony Perkins on the bagpipe for the 2001 annual “Job Swap.” His piping is currently featured in two TV documentaries: “Death on the Railroad,” a PBS documentary in the “Secrets of the Dead” series; and “The Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut,” a Smithsonian Channel documentary that was nominated for an Irish Film and Television Academy Award in the Best Single Documentary category, and a Celtic Media Festival award for Best Factual Documentary. Frank piped with classic rocker Bryan Adams on the song “Cuts Like a Knife” at the DuPont Theater in Wilmington, DE, on March 14, 2011, as part of Adams’ “Bare Bones Tour.” He also piped for the Mahoney Brothers Band on their CD “Rock and Roll Rodeo” for the song “Half the Man.” On March 9, 2012, Frank piped for the Duffy’s Cut burial ceremony at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA, and on March 2, 2013, he piped in Ardara, County Donegal, Ireland, for the Duffy’s Cut burial ceremony. On July 19, 2015 Frank piped at the burial of Duffy’s Cut victim, Catherine Burns, in Clonoe, County Tyrone. He is a 2014 inductee of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame. He holds a PhD from Drew University and is a student of the late Robert Gilchrist.

ROGER DEITZ
Sing Out! magazine columnist Roger Deitz is a notable figure on the folk scene. For more than 40 years, Deitz contributed a wealth of columns, feature stories, and reviews to Frets, Acoustic Guitar, Fast Folk, Billboard, and Sing Out! among others.
Roger’s humor column “RagTag” has graced the last page of Sing Out! magazine since 1995, collected into the book 15 Years of RagTag illustrated by Ed Courrier. Deitz is the primary author of the section on “New Jersey and Popular Music” for the Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World.  He is the author of The Folk Music Chronicles, a book of essays, articles, and short stories. Roger serves on the Sing Out! advisory board and is a founding member of Folk Alliance International. He was program director of New Jersey’s Closing Circle Coffeehouse, June Days Folk Festival, and the Folk Project’s special concert series.
A regular guest on Happy and Artie Traum’s Bring it on Home public radio program, Deitz has hosted and performed at musical venues of all sizes, including many main stage appearances at The Philadelphia Folk Festival. Roger is a recipient of the 2012 New Jersey Folk Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been tagged “A National Treasure” by such diverse admirers as radio host and blogger Ron Olesko and former Frets editor Jim Hatlo.

PETE MCDONOUGH
Pete McDonough, of Pennington, NJ, has been studying performing and writing about country, piedmont, delta and other forms of acoustic blues for more than 40 years. He has appeared with and opened for Woody Mann, Roy Book Binder, Honeyboy Edwards, Odetta, John Hartford, and a host of other artists at Café Lena, Godfrey Daniels, and the legendary On Patriots Stage series as well as other Northeastern venues. In terms of recent projects, Mr. McDonough contributed to the production of Harlem Street Singer, an award winning documentary film about the life and music of Reverend Gary Davis. He also prepared biographies of two-dozen masters of acoustic blues for music reader The Complete Acoustic Blues Method by Woody Mann. His first appearance at the New Jersey Folk Festival was in 2015.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC
Since 1998, three Philadelphia-area based Irish music teachers, Chris Brennan-Hagy, Dennis Gormley and Kathy DeAngelo, have led young Delaware Valley musicians in the celebration and practice of Irish folk music. Meeting once a month during the school year, the group gathers at the Irish Center of Philadelphia to learn new tunes and enjoy an Irish seisiún. At today’s Folk Festival, Next Generation presents a cross-section performance of fiddlers, harpers, and flute and tin whistle players to showcase the traditional reels, jigs and hornpipes of Ireland. Highlighting their talents at various venues, Next Generation has performed at the annual Irish-American Children’s Festival at the Garden State Discovery Museum, the Comhaltas Ceoltoíri Éirheann convention, the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh Cheoil and even represented United Stated in the All-Ireland.

DAN O’DEA AND EAGLE RIDGE
Dan O’Dea plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo, and stand-up bass, and also sings lead and harmony vocals. O’Dea has performed live on the radio with John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), has jammed on stage with Pete Seeger, Clarence Clemmons (E Street Band), Tony Trischka, Tom Paxton, Jason Hahn (String Cheese Incident), members of Railroad Earth, Vinx (Taj Mahal, Sting), and The Zen Tricksters, and has been billed with The Avett Brothers, Dickey Betts (Allman Bros), Levon Helm (The Band), The Wailers, Del McCoury Band, Rhonda Vincent, and Rain-The Beatles Experience.

STEPHEN SANFILIPPO
Stephen Sanfilippo, Brooklyn native, U.S. Navy veteran, and activist, has been researching and performing historic songs of maritime trades since the early 1970s.. He has performed at historical and cultural venues from Virginia to Canada and is a frequent presenter at Mystic Seaport’s Music of the Sea History Symposium. Stephen performs both unaccompanied as well as with Anglo concertina, 5-string banjo and guitar, and plays “fiddle style harmonica.” Founder and past president of the Long Island Traditional Music Association, he now organizes the monthly Chantey Sing at the Pembroke Library, in Pembroke, Maine. He received his PhD in History from Stony Brook University, and recently retired as Assistant Professor of Maritime History at Maine Maritime Academy. With Susan, his wife of nearly 50 years, he divides his time between Southold, New York and Pembroke, Maine. Together, they compose the Seasongs: from Sunrise to Sunrise newsletter. Seeking the obscure and forgotten, Stephen’s repertoire includes songs of schooner fishermen, eel spearers, clam diggers, shipwreck looters, and rum-runners.

BOB WRIGHT AND HARBORTOWN

Harbortown was born nearly 20 years ago when award winning songwriter (and a former NJFF singer songwriter awardee) Bob Wright wanted to celebrate, and bring attention to, the great waterways and environs of New York Harbor. At that time there was little real awareness of its history and the still significant role it plays in peoples lives. The local and state arts councils of New York agreed and after much support from them in the way of grant money over the years, the band is going stronger than ever and still writing about the places they love and expanding their mission beyond their home waters.
Bob recently completed several years as a Folk Fellow for the Working Waterfront Initiative sponsored Staten Island Arts and funded by a New York State grant. The initiative celebrates the people who have worked the harbor and kept those traditions and cultures alive.
He is joined at the New Jersey Folk Festival by long time Harbortown members: Jan Christensen, who worked for many years with Pete Seeger and the Sloop Singers; Bob Conroy, a founding member of the group Stout, who also toured extensively with Dr. Dan Milner in the states and in Europe; Bill Doerge, a well known sideman on the New Jersey folk scene. Joining them for the Festival is Liverpool (UK) folk legend, Hughie Jones.

AMIR VAHAB
Amir Vahab is considered one of the most celebrated and distinguished composers, performers and vocalists of Sufi and Middle Eastern folk music. The New York Times calls him the “ambassador for a silenced music.” Honored as a peacemaker, Amir Vahab’s virtuosos weave fiery instrumentals and songs of the historic lands of the Middle East and Central Asia; his work transcends political boundaries while maintaining traditional sensibilities in a way few artists can manage. His music is rooted in tradition, but has been influenced by contemporary sounds. Like Amir himself, his music symbolizes diversity-in-unity. His performances have been recognized worldwide and have inspired many music students. Amir Vahab is currently teaching and lecturing private and group classes in universities, libraries, museums and cultural centers, while also organizing music therapy and sound healing workshops.

CHIEF VINCENT MANN
Chief Vincent Mann is chief of the Turtle Clan of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation. He recently won the Russ Berrie Award for his work on preservation of land issues in the Ramapo Mountains.  He is leading a dwindling number of people.There used to be more than 80 homes in their neighborhood next to a Ford Motor Company Superfund site in Upper Ringwood. “Now there are 47 homes and 140 souls living there,” Mann said. “Hundreds have died,” he added, “but hundreds have left in search of a better life for their children. One 10-year-old boy was diagnosed with two rare cancers.” New Jersey has recognized the Ramapoughs as a band of the Munsee — Native American Lenapes who settled in North Jersey thousands of years ago. Theirs has been a long story, starting with the taking of lands in the 18th century, racial prejudice and the separation of the people. Mann, 47, finds himself chief during a disturbing 60-year chapter in the history of the Ramapough. Their lands and water, he said, have been contaminated by toxic paint sludge dumped by Ford in the mountains of Upper Ringwood and lower Rockland County. The Ford plant operated on what is now International Crossroad in Mahwah from 1955 to 1980. “People come from everywhere to visit these beautiful mountains without knowing what has happened here,” he said. “There have been so many deaths. A lot of our culture has been stripped from us. We don’t have the elders we used to have.” It used to be common for a Ramapough to live past 100, he said. Today, there are some in their eighties. Mann, whose grandfather also was a Ramapough chief, has a twofold agenda. The first is to see the complete excavation of the Upper Ringwood Superfund site and a water filtration system installed. “It’s a 500-acre site,” Mann said. “To this day, only 60,000 tons have been removed.” Along with others, he wants all 166,000 tons dug up and carted away, as opposed to the plan currently in place: capping the O’Connor Disposal Area, off Peters Mine Road, and building a recycling center atop it.

Showcase Winners

DAVE VARGO
Dave graduated from Berklee College of Music with honors and went on to become a touring sideman and session player. He has had the privilege of working with a number of notable talents including Whitney Houston, Phoebe Snow, Vonda Shepard, and Rupert Holmes. Dave currently performs both solo and as part of an acoustic duo (Kim and Dave). He is also an active session player and songwriter. His debut album, Burning Through, was released in October 2016. On December 4, 2018 Dave pre-released two songs from his upcoming album. The full length album is expected to be released in April of 2019.

LISA & LORI BRIGANTINO
Lisa and Lori Brigantino regularly perform Lisa’s original songs at clubs, coffeehouses, house concerts and festivals.  The sisters are known for their tight sibling vocal harmonies and musicianship – often juggling a number of different instruments including guitars, banjo, accordion, ukulele and more.  Lisa recently released her 3rd full length album I’ll Waltz Before I Go.  The Daily Country says “Throughout the thirteen tracks, Lisa seamlessly blends genres from Folk to Americana, Country, Rock, and Old-Time, even incorporating some Gypsy-Jazz for good measure.” Lisa is a former original member of Lez Zeppelin, the world’s first all girl Led Zeppelin tribute band and toured internationally with the band for a number of years playing bass, mandolin and keyboards at A-list venues and festivals around the world. Lori Brigantino, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, can be heard singing and playing on I’ll Waltz Before I Goand her vocals can be heard on Lisa’s previous albums Wonder Wheel and A Brooklyn Night.  In addition, Lori is a trained actor with Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, TV & film credits.

DYLAN HARTIGAN
Dylan Hartigan seems to be a bag of contradicting surprises that his audiences can’t get enough of. He’s a Jersey dirty softy whose only goal is to create music that makes him cry. He mixes indie folk acoustic songs with a rough humor and his shows feel more like a conversation with his audience than a far away performance. He is rightfully known for his performances as an NBC’s Season 14 finalist of “The Voice” – just another side of him that’ll surprise you. He has worked with names like Kelly Clarkson, Hailee Steinfeld, Blake Shelton, Bette Midler, Nicole Kidman, and more. He recently opened a few shows for Maggie Rose and performed his song “Stop Look and Listen” at Kelly Clarkson’s Meaning of Life tour. You can find him on Instagram @dylanhartiganmusic + Twitter @dylansmusiq + Spotify as “Dylan Hartigan.”

MELANIE BRESNAGE
Hailing from New England via Nashville, TN, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Melanie Bresnan has spent the better part of her life studying and performing music. Her varied background in classical vocal technique, jazz, choral music, rock, and Irish traditional music carry into her songwriting which blends these influences with country and pop to create songs that are catchy and singable but still rooted in traditional folk music. Melanie graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2014 with a focus in songwriting and audio acoustics and electronics. When she’s not working in the studio or on stage, Melanie can be found feeding her coffee addiction, perfecting her banana bread recipe, and debating the true parentage of Jon Snow. 

KATE MILLS
The music of Kate Mills is like taking a drive with Dan Fogelberg, Grace Potter and Brandie Carlile through Laurel Canyon California in the early 70’s. Her sound is rooted in the classic songwriters she grew up listening to, and inspired by modern powerhouses in the Americana genre. Kate has forged her own style through the fires of NYC, playing many shows at some of the city’s legendary venues such as Pianos, Rockwood Music Hall, and The Bitter End. Recently Kate has been performing around the country at well-known venues, such as Hotel Cafe in LA, as well as at numerous private house concerts and colleges. After completing a very successful Kickstarter Campaign, Kate is now recording her full-length album, due to be released this year. She recently released her newest single from the album, “What Did You Think” on the main stage at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC.

ALEX WINSHEL
Alex Winshel is a 22 year old senior at Rutgers University. He’s performed around NJ and Philly, at venues like the Stone Pony and The Stanhope house. His musical roots are rock and blues, and is also heavily influenced by bluegrass, reggae, and jazz. In addition to acoustic folk performances, he plays with a blues jam band called 81 Rich.

AWARD RECIPIENTS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Chief Mark Gould
The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation

AWARDS OF RECOGNITION
The Reverend John Norwood
The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation
Vincent Mann
Ramapough Turtle Clan Chief
Past President Bennet D. Zurofsky
The Folk Music Society of Northern New Jersey celebrating the 50th Anniversary in 2019
Robert Nowicki
Chairman of the Board for The Bluegrass & Old Time Music Association

HONORARY CHAIR
The Reverend David M. Rider
President and Executive Director of The Seamen’s Church Institute

GRAND MARSHAL
Ercan Tozan
Executive Director of Peace Islands Institute of New Jersey

Honorees

UPDATED INFORMATION COMING SOON.

Sponsors

UPDATED INFORMATION COMING SOON.

Craft Vendors

Food Vendors

Children’s Activities

PAPER ORIGAMI BOAT
A simple craft that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages, we give the option of making a simple paper boat hat or a slightly more advanced paper boat. Children can decorate their boats with all types of stickers to make it their own!

CLOTHESPIN BUGS
Using clothespins and googly eyes, make cute clothespin bugs! Children can spend time crafting these bite sized bugs and have room in their paper purse to bring them home!

POPSICLE/CLOTHESPIN AIRPLANE
Using nothing but a clothespin, popsicle sticks, glue, and paint, children will build their own planes as they let their imaginations soar!

PAPER PLATE BANJO
Using a paper plate, paint mixer, and rubber bands, children will be able to embody the spirit of bluegrass folk music at home! Have fun with this year’s musical craft, the Paper Plate Banjo!

PAPER PLATE FISH
Use paper plates and paint to build and decorate an adorable fish!

BEAD ART
Wampum beads (purple and white decorative beads) were traditionally used to signify agreements between tribes. We provide not only purple and white beads, but beads of all colors, so children can make their own bead art, using pipe cleaners. Children will have fun crafting while learning about a traditional part of Native American culture.

FACE PAINT
Children will have lots of fun getting their face painted by a volunteer!

SPIN ART
Using salad spinners and card stock, children will make creative and beautiful spin art!

SAND ARTIST
Robert Ambrose will help your Children make beautiful sand art! Bring your children to this fan-favorite event!

GAMES HOST
Heather Jessurun is a certified physical educator at the Freehold Learning Center. She will host various games for children to enjoy, such as hula-hoops, horse-shoes, can jam, and many more. Children can also enjoy a pie-eating contest at 3:45!

PONY RIDES
For a small cost, the Honky Tonk Ranch will provide children with an incredibly fun experience, pony rides! A yearly favorite, pony rides will make any child’s day!

Program Book

UPDATED INFORMATION COMING SOON.

Festival Committee

UPDATED INFORMATION COMING SOON.

Heritage Area

YLVIA ASAL
Ylvia Asal was born in the Black Sea area of Turkey. Her formative education was followed by an intensive arts program in Istanbul, focusing on technique and design, along with accounting. Her greatest passion is Turkish Oya, which is a centuries old technique of creating hand-made lace. The skills required to master this art have been handed down from generation to generation. A decade ago, Ylvia began creating one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art in this age old tradition. The result is a beautiful collection celebrating this unique fusion which has culminated in her own business, Anatolia Art and Crafts Studio.

ZEYNEP YURDERI
Zeynep Yurderi is a Turkish native and apprentice to Master Ylvia Asal. She came to the USA in 1997 right after graduating high school to pursue a business education. After working as a director for a pharmaceutical marketing company, she hung up her business suits to pursue her passion of designing fashions. Zeynep’s work aims to embody the ancient designs of Central Asia while modernizing them to create tomorrow’s fashions. She admires the level of detail in the designs of the ancient Ottoman Empire and the Central Asian arts and works to incorporate them into modern day fashions through her ZEYZANI line.

CYNTHELIA CEPHAS
Cynthelia Cephas – more commonly known as Cindy – developed a love for quilting during her formative years. She often watched her aunt construct intricate works of art by hand, using just scraps of fabric, a needle, and thread. Her interest was ignited when she became a member of the Nubian Heritage Quilters Guild of New Jersey and her hobby developed into a small business, C.C. Quilts. She is best known for made-to-order family picture quilts, which feature transposed photographs stitched onto the fabric. Her work has been displayed at various quilt shows and art galleries in New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia. Her quilts have even found her way to famous celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Aretha Franklin.

OLGA KOBRYN
Olga Kobryn has been decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs, the ancient art of pysanky, since she was ten years old. This Easter tradition, with its pagan origins dating back to before 3000 B.C., has been handed down through the generations. Her aunt who emigrated from Ukraine to America in the early 1900’s taught her this ancient art and traditional Ukrainian cross-stitch embroidery. Since those early years, Olga has shared her love for these Ukrainian traditions, by teaching her family, friends, and students, enabling her to share her cultural legacy. She has held annual Pysanky Workshops since 1999, participates in ethnic festivals, presents and conducts pysanky and embroidery workshops in various venues, and for many years has mentored the Ukrainian Easter Egg Club at the middle school where she taught. 

MARY MAY
Based in Forked River, NJ, Mary May is a specialist in white oak basketry and other basket-making traditions of South Jersey who has been making baskets for over 20 years. Ms. May’s baskets are both strong enough to be used for their historical purposes (carrying berries, fish, eels, etc.) and to be put on display, as they have been at Tuckerton Seaport and the New Jersey State Museum. Ms. May has also demonstrated her craft at New Jersey Forestry Interpretive Center and the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, as well as on television programs such as Ebru TV’s “Blank Canvas.” In an effort to preserve and promote white oak and other traditional forms of basket-making, Ms. May teaches workshops regularly at the Jersey Shore Folklife Center, where she serves on the advisory board. Her extensive research and mastery of her craft landed her a 2016 Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant and title of Master Artist of White Oak Basketry from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

BARRY GRIFFITHS
The New Jersey Folk Festival announces Barry Griffiths of the Cedar Run section of Stafford Township in Ocean County as a 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner for his outstanding work as a duck decoy carver. The New Jersey Decoy Collectors Association (NJDCA) has recognized his work. The President of that organization, Jaim Lloyd, said, “Barry Griffiths joins a long line of outstanding New Jersey decoy carvers and collectors that our association has honored each year over the past 25 years. Not only does Mr. Griffith’s pedigree of blue ribbons distinguish him, but he is one of our carvers and collectors that can trace his love of decoys to a long line of ancestral baymen and boat builders.”