Calabasas : Folk Lovers of Many Lands Join for Festival

Summer leaves stirred softly in the breeze as folk musician Rachel Brill Neal fingered her harp in the shade of an oak tree, singing wistfully of Ireland and of love lost.

Johnnie, an Irishman who has just immigrated to America, is pining for his lover, Maggie, the farmer’s daughter, “the pride of Stinsill Hill,” so the song goes.

One night, Johnnie dreams they are reunited and, just as he is about to kiss her, he awakens mournfully, as he realizes she is half a world away.

“It’s one of those Irish ballads that break your heart,” said Brill Neal after the song was over.

The Bakersfield resident was one of hundreds of folk musicians who journeyed to Calabasas this weekend for the 15th annual Summer Solstice Folk Music, Dance and Storytelling Festival at Soka University.

The California Traditional Music Society, which organized the three-day event, billed it as the largest teaching and participatory festival in the United States. With more than 300 workshops in three days, the estimated 5,000 festival-goers had the opportunity to learn about everything from bagpipes to Bulgarian dance.

“There is so much diversity here,” said Nicole Schenk of Costa Mesa, who was cooling off after trying to learn Greek dance. “You can walk 100 yards and find something new.”

She and a companion, Mark Parisio, were on their way to a performance of risque songs from the Middle Ages.

All day Sunday, music wafted through the air--from planned performances on several stages to spontaneous jam sessions off the beaten paths.

The festival, which was held for the last few years in the Santa Monica Mountains above Calabasas, is the equivalent of a convention, a chance for various artists to share songs, stories and crafts, organizers said.

“My husband and I are amateur musicians and, hearing the experts, it helps to build a repertoire,” said Lynn Ross, a kindergarten teacher from Fresno. “It also helps you get an appreciation for playing another kind of music.”

Folk-culture aficionados say such festivals help preserve traditional music, dancing and crafts from around the world.

“I’ve been coming here for 14 years,” said Leslie Broude of Ventura. Her daughter, Aleks, 9, she said, “has been coming with me since she was a little tiny baby in a basket.”