Ok mandolin world, I hear you. You're all invited to my house sometime next week. I live in the first house on the left after you turn off of the black top. You might want to bring some gloves and boots as there may be some calf work going on. We're going to have a great time.
"Mongo only pawn in game of life." --- Mongo
Actually, Jim, I might be in a good spot for a local/regional gathering here in the NE/Mid-Atlantic region. I wonder if people would come? I couldn't do it this summer, but I could do it the summer of 2019.
I'm on a farm about 12 miles east of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. It's a fruit farm that also raises lamb and hay. It also happens to be a winery, which would add an obvious attraction to the event. If we did it right after early summer haying, the hay fields would be open for the event. I also have a large barn I could empty out for picking in, and a couple of smaller barns. What do you think? Would people come? Is this worth thinking through?
Last edited by Bob Clark; Mar-09-2018 at 10:01am.
Purr more, hiss less. Barn Cat Mandolins Photo Album
Maybe some of the Texas Café members could arrange a MC Gathering in Austin.
See if maybe Collings or Pava/Ellis would sponsor. Or at least get a shop tour.
Then there’s Fiddler’s Green Music Shop.
And there’s 6th street.
And of course it could be held right-before/right-after/during South By Southwest.
I know. My corner is requesting my company.
Could do it in conjunction with the annual Collings gathering in October-November
https://www.facebook.com/groups/152757115079629/
Looks like next one will be November 8-11, 2018
And add in a visit to Ellis/Pava, Fiddler's Green, Hill Country String Works.
I'd travel for that
TerraTrike (tadpole recumbents) has an owner map. Of course most owners are based in the Great Lakes area as Michigan is where they are located. Using the map as an example. Out our way there are like 2 of us.
• Seagull S8 • Weber Y2K6 • David Hudson Bloodwood Didgeridoo (C#) •
Has there ever been a UK meet? There are loads of Brits on here!
Eastman MD305 - set-up by Simon Mayor.
I've been to two Mandolin Cafe gatherings over the years. In May 2003 there was one at a New York State park outside Troy. Folks came from as far away as the NYC metro area. And in 2016, there was another at the Grey Fox bluegrass festival in the northern Catskills. Lots of fun both times-MC folks are fine company.
There's usually a cafe meet-and-greet at Grey Fox -- I've attended it at least once and got a chance to pick on some lovely instruments and meet some lovely cafe members! NJ is within fairly easy reach of me so i'd be interested if plans got that far.
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1920 Lyon & Healy bowlback
1923 Gibson A-1 snakehead
1952 Strad-o-lin
1983 Giannini ABSM1 bandolim
2009 Giannini GBSM3 bandolim
2011 Eastman MD305
I'm sure that one or two Cafe members are going to attend MerlFest in North Wilkesboro, NC the last weekend of April...
Does no one remember the Mandofests that Scot Tichenor and friends had for a few years? I think the last one was in 2005. They decided it was too difficult to pull off and stay friends, I believe. A big, scheduled get together is a lot of work. Maybe a "gathering place" thread could pull together some informal get togethers at festivals, camps and workshops. EX. I'm going to be at XYZ Festival, is any one else going? Let's meet at ? on Saturday, or whatever. We could trade contact info through private messages, or however, so we could make arrangements to meet. Or even, I'm going to be in Somewherefield, on these dates, any Mandolin Cafe-ers nearby want to get together?
Who's going to Rockygrass 2018?
Thanks, everyone! I learned a few things here. It is an amusing idea, a mega-Mando gathering unlike any seen before, that was frequently mentioned (by me) at A.O.M. meetings. The amount of work to pull something big off, I am sure, would wither the innards of most of the 8-stringers who would love to attend "someone else's big deal". I understand that. It only took doing two small bluegrass festivals at my farm to convince me that I was the only person there not having any fun. Perhaps--ya just never know--someone will step forward. Someone with little else to do and a burning desire to see it happen... maybe it could happen.
(That's exactly how every other big event happens. Some nut gets it in his head... and look out.)
Thanks for all the input, folks.
I've attached a pic I took at a 2009 "Mando Tasting" gathering in Virginia Beach. I don't recall if it was specifically a Mandolin Cafe event, but there were a handful of MC members (at the time) there. I believe the gent who hosted it was an active MC member and most of it was coordinated on the Cafe.
It can be done! I had a great time.
There were some righteous instruments in attendance!
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