Singtime 2025 - Portland Folkmusic Society

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Singtime Frolics '25

We are happy to announce Singtime '25, Friday through Sunday, March 21-23, 2025, at Menucha Conference Center. We are especially pleased that Shanghaied on the Willamette, the duo made up of Jonathan Lay and Gordie Euler, will be our guest artists.

Keep reading to find out about the program, lodging and food, costs, Covid safety, leading events, volunteering in other ways, and all the things you can do at Singtime!

Guest Artists
Shanghaied on the Willamette

Shanghaied on the Willamette is comprised of Gordy Euler and Jonathan Lay. They specialize in maritime music and songs of the sea. They have played together for almost 30 years, have performed at numerous festivals, opened for Gordon Bok, made four albums, and are loved by many fans in the Pacific Northwest.

They say, "We perform songs and tunes "plundered from land and sea," including traditional Celtic, English, and Old-Time American music, especially music of the sea and waterways. We accompany our vocal harmonies with a "fleet" of acoustic instruments, including fiddle, bodhran (Irish drum), guitar (6- and 12-string), mandola, tin whistles, harmonicas and banjo.

Menucha

We will get together again at the lovely, quiet, peaceful Menucha Conference Center. It's about as beautiful in the Spring as you can get, overlooking the Columbia Gorge. In addition to the Great Hall, where our big group events occur, there are breakout rooms for workshops and song circles, and lots of paths for walks in the woods. We will eat good food family style together, but please note:

If you have special dietary needs, go to https://menucha.org/dining/alternatediet after you register, and let Menucha's kitchen staff know. You don't need to inform PFS, nor will we be able to help you.

We will try to accommodate housing preferences as much as possible, on a first come basis. When you register, you'll have a chance to tell us about your needs and preferences.

Tuition

Traditionally, some people have paid more, others less, to attend Singtime, according to their means. This year, we have a sliding scale. Please note that we need to balance out any underpayments with extra donations, and we are very grateful for those who are able to pay extra. See the list of donation categories below, and choose the one that works for you when you register. Thank you!

It's all I can do	$100
I'm just getting by	$200
Member breakeven fee	$300
Non-member breakeven fee	$320
I can afford to pay a bit more	$350
Life's been good to me	$400
I'm blessed and happy to share.	$500

Covid Policy

We want you to be safe, and we want to be safe ourselves, and we don't want to ask people to sing through masks all weekend (unless they choose to), so we have established the following policy:

We require that you test before coming, and again on Saturday morning. We will have a team to check your test results on arrival, and help you test if needed. You have several testing options:

1. You can have a PCR test done on Thursday if you can ensure the results are ready and available for us to check before Singtime starts on Friday March 21. (Free drive through tests may be available at some pharmacies or test centers.)
2. You can do a home rapid COVID test on Friday March 21 before you come to Singtime and send or bring us a photo of your result, or bring in the actual test showing the result.
3. You can test when you arrive - if so, please bring your own test kit and be prepared to wait for results before you unpack your car and mingle.

To keep everyone safe, we will require an additional test on Saturday. Please bring a test kit for Saturday. We really don't want anyone to get Covid.

If you feel sick prior to coming to Singtime, please stay home. If you have any questions you can call Helene Rippey at 206-304-2188.

We will have a few extra test kits, but only a few. Please test yourself with your own test kit, and bring another one for testing on Saturday. We would greatly appreciate extras if you have them. If you have not already availed yourself of the free test kits offered by the US Government, write to www.covid.gov/tests (http://www.covid.gov/tests) right away and order yours.

Refund policy: if you test positive on Friday, we will refund your tuition less 10%. If you test negative on Friday but positive on Saturday, we will refund half your tuition.

Leading Events...

While we have wonderful guest artists, the participants who lead song circles and workshops are at the heart of Singtime. When you register, you can say if you would like to lead an event. If you do, we will help you prepare an event which is well organized and entertaining for the participants (if you want help). So, if you have something that excites you that you would like to share, let us know when you register. If you are not sure about this at this time, or if you have questions about leading an event, you can let us know later by writing to David Ingerson at ingerson9@gmail.com.

...and volunteering in other ways

Participants at Singtime pitch in to clear tables, move chairs around, and help people with special needs. If you know you are up to taking on a task at Singtime, you'll have a chance to tell us that also when you register.

Registration

There is a registration button below. When you click on it, it will take you to another page where you tell us who you are, select your tuition, tell us what you need, and let us know if you want to lead an event or volunteer in other ways. Then you will be registered!

If you are a PFS member, you will need to log in to the website to register. Go to the upper right hand corner of this page. If you see your name, you are logged in and you can go ahead and register. If you see Member Login please follow the instructions to log in, and then register. If your browser asks if you want it to remember your password, say yes to make it easy to log in in the future.

If you get stuck, quit everything and try again. If you are still stuck, write to PaulRippeyPDX@gmail.com, describe your problem, include your phone number, and we'll get back to you.

Ready to Go? Great! Click below to register for Singtime. We recommend that you keep this page open for reference while you are registering. See you in March!

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