One More Trip Across The Bridge
Good Morning, Everyone & Happy Friday!
Good news about the shop move to Michigan: Richard emailed me a few days ago that they'd be making the final trip across the bridge this week. And plan to be operating out of the new shop in Northern Michigan by next week. How about that folks?! The Ash family can finally put the big move behind them and get settled into their new life. And get some much-needed rest, too, I hope.
For those of you who don't understand the significance of that final trek across "the bridge," the bridge we're talking about is the Mackinac Bridge - a.k.a. The Mighty Mac. It's a five-mile suspension bridge that connects Michigan's lower peninsula with its Upper Peninsula - a.k.a. The U.P. (P.S. The Mighty Mac is your newsletter editor's all-time favorite bridge. You can click on the photo of the bridge below to learn more about it.)
The Mighty Mac
So, with Michigan on your newsletter editor's mind this week, I decided to re-feature an ITS from mid-summer of 2023, which highlights a great dulcimer festival in northern Michigan (south and west of The Mighty Mac) which was founded by a group of dulcimer players - the Original Dulcimer Players Club - in the early 60s. The Evart Funfest is a one-of-a-kind festival traditionally held the 3rd weekend in July, in the little town of Evart, MI. The dates this summer are: July 16-18. You should go!
Ironically, Richard signed off the blog piece below three summers ago with these words: "Richard Ash, luthier-who's-spent-too-much-time-on-the-road-this-summer-and-is-happy-to-get-back-to-a-dulcimer-making-routine." Swap "this-spring" for "this-summer" and it's almost history repeating itself.
Toya, your-newsletter-editor-who's-glad-to-be-a-former-Troll-and-is-so-happy-the-Ash-family-finally-made-it-to-Yooper-land
(July 21, 2023)
Good Morning, Everyone!
I've spent this week in the shop, getting things cleaned up/cleared off the bench/removed from the various to-do lists. Why all the catch-up? Because it's been "go, go, go" the past month with preparations for Kentucky Music Week, then being away at the festival itself. Followed immediately by preparations for our Second Saturday Clinic with Bing Futch, then hosting the clinic. And lastly, preparations for the ODPC Funfest, then being away at that festival. Whew!
Dad, Cheyenne, and Dominic were busily working on instruments in my absence, and I have a small (ha! - hyperbole for sure!) backlog of dulcimers to lacquer, rub out, set up, and ship. I'm hoping to be caught up soon on repairs (instruments I brought back to Indiana from Kentucky and Michigan, plus dulcimers that have been shipped here directly), past-due instruments we've been building, and phone calls/emails I missed while on the road.
I absolutely couldn't run this business without the help of Dad, Cheyenne, and Dominic in the shop; Toya keeping the newsletters going; and Pam, with her organizational skills, plus all of the case-making, purchasing, and receiving she does every day. So, here's a huge THANK YOU to all of my behind-the-scenes folks. Many of you have met Dad and Pam in person (Dad at various festivals the past couple of years, or Pam if you've visited our shop in Woodburn, Indiana), but let me tell you this: They're all amazing at what they do!
Richard & Aly Ash at the 2023 ODPC Funfest
So anyway, last week was the final festival of the summer - the ODPC Funfest in Evart, MI. Evart is a couple of hours north of the capital city of Lansing, MI, and in a very beautiful part of the state. Aly and I arrived at Evart on Wednesday afternoon, set up the display, and then came back Thursday morning to open the display for vending. So we were there from 8 AM until 6 PM, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I mostly did repairs (adding frets, changing strings, fixing cracked tops, etc.) and Aly mostly took care of our visitors.
FOLKCRAFT vending space at the 2023 ODPC Funfest
Aly Ash (far right) holding down the fort at the 2023 ODPC Funfest
It is always nice to go to a festival, since we get to see so many of our "met-you-here-x-number-of-years ago" friends, plus make some new friends. A lot of folks commented on how much they enjoy the newsletters every Friday morning. And quite a few of you brought your Folkcraft dulcimers for new strings, new frets, and even for "show-and-tell" time.
Here's a dulcimer that we built in March of 2007. Keep in mind that I bought Folkcraft from founder David Marks in January of 2007, and we had quite a bit of "set-up-the-new-workshop" down time in January and February... This was one of the very first dulcimers we made in Woodburn. It is a beautiful instrument and it was neat to see this one again. And, to note all the changes and improvements we've made to our dulcimer lineup since 2007.
A 2007 Folkcraft dulcimer
I often get the question: "How do you get this huge display" (especially huge at KMW where Nancy lets us have lots and lots of display space) to a festival? Here's the answer:
FOLKCRAFT van & trailer. How it all gets from here to there.
Our displays all measure 2-feet-deep by 4-feet-wide. I can fit eight displays in this trailer, plus the big 18-inch by 42-inch tool cart. The Evart festival is limited in available space, so I don't bring the full selection, but I did have the room to bring a good representative collection of instruments, cases, strings, and other items.
Next week I'll share a few more photos of the Funfest, then it'll be back to things going on in our workshop.
Thanks for reading, and have a great dulcimer-filled weekend!
Richard Ash, luthier-who's-spent-too-much-time-on-the-road-this-summer-and-is-happy-to-get-back-to-a-dulcimer-making-routine
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JAMES STREET
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
James: I love all kinds of folk music, and have been aware of the Mountain Dulcimer for many years. However, I am a very new player, and have only been playing for a few weeks. Good instructors are hard to find in my area, and so I hope to improve my skills with online lessons.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
James: I acquired my first Folkcraft dulcimer in March, 2026. Although buying on eBay can sometimes be problematic because you can’t actually lay hands on the instrument, I was quite fortunate to pick up a lovely FolkRoots mountain dulcimer, beautifully handcrafted on October 5, 2015, by luthier Steven J. Ash. It has a walnut body and mahogany top, with a 27" VSL. The California-style body produces a warm, mellow sound, and I particularly love the soundboard design of sun, moon and stars on this instrument.
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
James: I play at home, sometimes for friends, and for an audience on my YouTube channel. Feel free to click the YouTube link and have a listen. You can also Click This Link to hear and see me play "The Lark in the Morning." Enjoy!
Folkcraft: What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
James: Music is my main hobby. I enjoy listening to various musical genres, particularly folk music and popular music from the 1960s and 1970s. I have an extensive collection of guitars and...
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE WANT TO INTERVIEW YOU!!
Joy of joys! We have a new player to add to our online dulcimer community today, Mr. James Street. Welcome, James! And thanks for sending a couple of links to your live dulcimer music to share with us. There's still plenty of room for more of you, folks! Maybe we could feature you and your Folkcraft dulcimer(s) next week?
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep The Family Growing?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Send an email to: newsletter@folkcraft.com
2) With the answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to receiving your submission & featuring you in our newsletter real soon!
1. How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
2. When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
3. Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
4. What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
WE'RE OFFERING A $25 FOLKCRAFT GIFT CARD TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS THE FOUR EASY QUESTIONS LISTED ABOVE, AND SENDS IN A PHOTO (OF YOU WITH YOUR FOLKCRAFT DULCIMER). IT'S REALLY SO EASY TO DO!
WE JUST LOVE HEARING FROM Y'ALL!
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week, Mandy shows you how to use chord inversions to vary your playing! This is a fun and easy way to use chord voicings. Click on the image below to listen & learn.
We have a slew (that's a fancy luthier word for "bunch") of videos for you to watch on our YouTube channel. Click here to see the full list. Be sure to comment on a video, and subscribe to the channel - either action helps us a LOT with YouTube's suggestion algorithms.
With Memorial Day weekend and Independence Day celebrations coming up soon, we have not one, but two books of patriotic tunes for mountain dulcimer for you today. Both volumes are available for download, or to order in print form from Folkcraft.com
PATRIOTIC SONGS OF THE U.S.
by Judy House
The first one is by Judy House and it's a book of 14 superb mountain dulcimer arrangements - some with multiple parts. This fantastic collection includes many of the very best (and historically important) songs from the American patriotic repertoire. (33 pages)
This book is published by Judy House, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
BAKER'S DOZEN #13 - PATRIOTIC TUNES
by Shelley Stevens
Shelley has outdone herself with this awesome collection of tunes. For starters, she's included 15 (I thought a "baker's dozen" was 13) arrangements of service songs (Army, Navy, Air force, etc.), old-school patriotic (Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, and more) and traditional American "feel good" songs (America, Battle Hymn Of The Republic, to name a few). Her arrangements are very accessible, all in DAD tuning.
No capos required. Five of the arrangements use the 1+ fret. And they're all songs you should know, and be able to play, on your mountain dulcimer. You'll have fun with this one! (27 pages)
This book is published by Fingers Of Steel, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
