Old Fort Dulcimer Demonstration Recap And New Dulcimer Brochure
The bunkhouse (aka Dulcimer Performance Building)
Last weekend, I played my dulcimer for six hours straight at the "Old Fort" - a reproduction of an 1815 fort located in the city of (you'll never guess this!) Fort Wayne, Indiana. Well over one thousand people heard a dulcimer, many of them for the first time.
The fort, from a distance
Actually, I probably played for four hours, and answered questions for two hours. The same questions, again, and again, and again. Good questions, smart questions, and worth asking. I wondered how many people had the same questions, but didn't interrupt the performance to ask?
Questions like, "What is that?" (pointing to the dulcimer in my lap) and "Is it hard to play?"
Part of the Folkcraft dulcimer display
Blacksmith (Norm of Eel River Forge) making belt buckles (part of Richard and Nick's costumes for the upcoming Fishers Renaissance Faire)
Dulcimer players get these questions all the time. Looking at my calendar for the next few months, I saw a LOT of dulcimer playing for non-dulcimer-specific audiences.
Yesterday morning I had an epiphany, so to speak. Make up a little one-page flyer, telling a bit about the dulcimer. I could pass these flyers out at church concerts, renaissance faires, old fort performances, and even to the casual visitor in our showroom.
Of course, my one page flyer grew a bit. It ended up with eight pages, and had lots of photos, interesting text, and even a mention of the Indiana Dulcimer Festival.
Yesterday morning, about 10:00, the project landed on Nick's desk. "Hurry, Nick!", I said. "Get it done soon!"
It takes our printer about two weeks to get a project printed and delivered to us, and I'm playing at a pumpkin festival later this month. (A solo gig. 45 minutes on stage. Alone.) (Yes, I DID say "pumpkin festival".)
A handout, to keep the mind busy, might be a great distraction for the audience members.
So anyway, just one day after giving Nick the basics (number of pages, general content ideas), the brochure is done, and has been sent to the printer. Click on the cover (below this paragraph) to download/view the PDF version of the new brochure:
http://www.folkcraft.com/214/2/2194/Folkcraft8pgFlyerWeb.pdf
Now, a totally new subject...
We could use a few good photographs of happy children playing Folkcraft dulcimers. Our winter catalog is nearing completion, and that's one of the things we don't have in our archive. If you want to share (and get a credit in the catalog!) - email us with your best photos (of happy children playing Folkcraft dulcimers) and we may well include the photo(s) in the next catalog.
Thanks for reading!
Richard Ash