Maritime Folknet Programs:
Maritime Music Monthly
A list of events emailed to several hundred subscribers. Frequency: roughly monthly. Location: About a third of the events, are in King County, the rest are throughout the Northwest. Cost: Free
Musicians on the Historic Ships Wharf at Lake Union Park in Seattle
Frequency: Three afternoons per month from June through September on weekends and ‘Free First Thursdays’ when MOHAI has free admission. (12 events per year). Audience: about 500 people per day, 6000 total. Admission: Free
Music at the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival on the Historic Ships Wharf
Maritime Folknet puts up part of the funds to pay musicians to supplement the Center for Wooden Boats’ reduced budget. Frequency: 2 to 4 days annually in September. Audience: about 10,000. Admission: Free
Music at Family Fun Day & Classic Workboat Show at the Historic Ships Wharf
Maritime Folknet puts up part of the funds to pay musicians at these events put on by Northwest Seaport. Frequency: Annually, May and October. Audience: about 500 at each event, 1000 total. Admission: Free
Greet the Season at Lake Union Park
Maritime Folknet books local performers and youth choirs to perform aboard the historic steamer Virginia V, and organizes crafts for children and adults. Frequency: Annually in late November. Audience: about 1,000. Admission: Free
Songs of the Northwest Workshops
With free lyric and history sheets for about 50 songs
Frequency: 3 times a year. Locations: Rainycamp (Seattle Folklore Society) near Seattle, January. Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle, May. Tumbleweed Music Festival, Richland, September. Audience: About 100 total. Admission: Free
Workshops – Maritime Music for Pay
Training musicians to take the step to performing professionally
Covers stagecraft. song choice, stage presence, sound systems, booking, etc. Frequency: Once a year. Location: Dusty Strings Music School in Fremont or Home Street Bank Community Room in Greenwood (Seattle). Number of people: 10 to 20 per workshop. Admission: Free.
Panel Concerts at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle
Frequency: Annually in May. Audience: 60. Admission: Free
Selling CDs at the Maritime Showcase at the Northwest Folklife Festival
Maritime Folknet sets up a table and sells CDs for the maritime performers at no charge to them. We sell CDs to about 70 people on behalf of about 10 music acts. Between 150 – 300 people are in attendance. Frequency: Annually in May.
Music CDs: Northwest Tugboat Tales, Tales from the Bar, Making the Cut, The Songs of Alice Winship
Maritime Folknet has produced four compilation CDs of Northwest songs from maritime acts and songwriters. The songs relate to Northwest maritime history and the current maritime industry. For example, “Making the Cut” arose from a contest to reflect on the Centennnary of the Ballard Locks and digging the Lake Washington Ship Canal – winning songs were recorded professionally by a local recording studio. As of 2016 we had distributed about 1,350 copies. And “The Songs of Alice Winship: From Land to Sea” is the life’s work of our founder, recorded by Northwest musicians.
Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival
Frequency: Annually in August. Duration: 5 hours. Location: Port Gamble. Audience: about 300. The only West Coast festival devoted solely to maritime music. Admission: Free
Robert Kotta Memorial Songwriting Contest
Encourages new maritime songs from Northwest songwriters. Extra credit for songs that celebrate today’s Northwest maritime industry. Winners get cash prizes. Location: Open to anyone. Winners may perform at the Port Gamble festival. Contest entry: Free.