Darcy Fair, PhD
Folklorist, Musician, Teaching Artist, Hertiage Consultant
Lectures
Tunes and Tales with an Irish Harp
presents stories of the Irish harp, those who played it, and those whose tunes have come to us through oral tradition within the context of the music, and the tunes themselves.
.jpg)
Harvest Home Series ...
I'presents the ethnic, civic, religious, and community lore, history, customs, and traditions of the seasonsas seasons change from Summer into Fall and Fall into Winter. The in four sessions include Turning Leaves, Boo!, Gobble!, Lights in the Dark Night. Each sessions can be presented as a series, or individually. The audience is always invited to share their own traditions with us at the end of discussion.
Turning Leaves
... begins by noting the importance of the harvest season all over the world. With a nod to changing seasons we begin to look at harvest festivals that appear in our own culture throughout the growing season, and into the waning year by focusing on harvest activities in late Summer and Fall. We also discuss the importance of the a seasonal cycle in our own lives.
BOO!
...continues our discussion through October, focusing on Halloween, All Hallows, and Day of the Dead celebrations in religious, ethnic, and civic lore and custom and how noting how some of these October traditions slide into November, and even beyond. Guests may come in costume, and will be asked to tell about their favorite Halloween.
Gobble!
... is the traditional response to the end of Harvest. Exhausted farm folk need to celebrate the end of their backbreaking labor and replenish their energy with a feast! Our own Thanksgiving is part of that tradition, and preparations for it often begin in the summer! How our "quintessential American Holiday" came to be is a story in itself, with religious and civic roots that are far deeper than the Mayflower's 1620 landing in what became Plymouth, Massachusetts. That so-called First Thanksgiving set the stage for one of our own American founding myths, and even some protest from our indigenous communities. We're not mythbusting, but looking at tradition as it changes. Guests are welcome to share a Thanksgiving story of their own: best, worst, funniest, saddest ..... or a recipe.
Lights in the Dark Night
Fall slips into winter as November nights lengthen to into the December solstice. Our lights go on a few minutes earlier each day until the Solstice, the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Each succeeding day adds a few minutes of sunlight. We celebrate the end of the growing season by continuing our feasting holidays as we anticipate the return of the sun's warmth. This is reflected spiritually, culturally, and historically in December's holidays, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve. Share your thoughts, your celebrations, your traditions with these holidays.
Caroling Through the Town
Do you like to go Christmas Caroling? Ever wonder where all those Christmas carols came from? And how carols, and the practice of caroling have changed through the centuries? It's a community folk musical tradition that has roots deep in the history of Christmas tradition. Join me while I play some very old favorites from different traditions and tell the stories of how these beloved songs came to us through the centuries.
For further information on any of these presentations please feel free to contact me directly by telephone or email.