Join us this Sunday, April 3, 2011 for SCVFA's monthly jam from 1:00 to 5:00 PM at the Hoover Middle School, 1635 Park Ave (at Naglee), San Jose. Details are at the Santa Clara Valley Fiddlers Association's website: http://www.scvfa.org or http://www.fiddlers.org. Trustee Dave Williams is the jam manager. 

BEGINNER CIRCLE (Slow Jam)

Our Beginners Circle (Slow Jam) begins at 2:00 PM. The slow jam leader is yet to be determined. 

MAY 1 SILENT AUCTION 

If you would like to donate an item for the auction, please see me or any trustee at the April jam. 

On May 1, we will hold our first “silent” auction for donated items. They include a fiddle, VHS tapes, books, catalogs, and a new guitar capo. In a silent auction, an item is accompanied with a sheet of paper that has a place for a name by the starting bid and the incremental bids. People bid by writing their names on the paper. When the auction ends, the name by the highest amount or incremental bid wins the item for that amount.

JUNE 5 FEATURED PERFORMERS South County Special 

On June 5, the SCVFA is honored to have the bluegrass band South County Special as our Featured Performers. All of them are SCVFA members: Curtis Leslie (guitar), Dave Magram (banjo, pedal steel), Mark Wardenburg (fiddle, vocals), and Linda Maki (bass, vocals). They were inspired by the abandoned railroad yards and rural back roads of southern Santa Clara County. South County Special plays an eclectic mix of traditional bluegrass, country and soulful original music.

ROSE GARDEN PARK in July and August

The jams in the in the Rose Garden Park have been a huge success for members and the community. It is located about 1 1/2 blocks from the school on Naglee. The Board of Trustees approved having the July and August jams there. The September jam will be back in the Hoover Middle School cafeteria. 

DONATIONS HAVE REALLY HELPED

Those who made donations because of the theft of our sound equipment just before Christmas last year have really helped us out. Every donor demonstrated their support of our mission and our activities. Deserving special recognition are (in first name order): Ann Whitesell, Bill Avellino, California Bluegrass Association, Dave Magram & Cathy Loughman, Jim and Rosalie Dinkey, Karen Misenhimer, Maria Nadauld, Marylou Brooks, Paul and Laura Barnett, Richard Pizzorno, and Susan Muston. 

AMAZON BUYERS

If you purchase from AMAZON.COM, please use the link on the SCVFA website (lower left side) to access Amazon. The SCVFA gets a small referral commission on all purchases that cost you nothing extra, and it really adds up. The Amazon link is at the lower left side of the SCVFA website (www.scvfa.org).

THANK-YOU GIFTS FOR DONATIONS

We have 8 CDs from our 1993 archives and a DVD of the twin fiddling performance of Arthur Kee (a Weiser champion) and Jack Sadler accompanied by John Lytle, Norio Kawato and Jim True. These are given as gifts for a modest donation. See the table near the check-in desk for details. The complete list of the musicians on the CDs is at http://www.scvfa.org/SCVFACDs1-8.pdf.

Fiddlingly yours, 
Richard Brooks (email: (President@scvfa.org) President (at) scvfa (dot) org)