Singtime 2025 (Copy) - Portland FolkMusic Society

Home Singtime 2026

Singtime Frolics '26
Registration is Open!

We are happy to announce Singtime '26, Friday through Sunday, March 27-29, 2026, at Menucha Conference Center.

Our Guest Artist this year will be Tom May,

Please review all the information on this page, and then click on the Register For Singtime button at the bottom of the page. Problems? Questions? Write to Singtime@portlandfolkmusic.org

Guest Artist
Tom May

Tom May has been singing folk songs across the US and in many other countries for nearly five decades. He is a respected song writer, and equally known and loved for his covers of other people's songs. He has toured with and opened for many other artists, including Gordon Lightfoot, Alabama and Willie Nelson. He also produces and hosts his own national radio/TV broadcast, River City Folk, which airs weekly on over 100 radio stations. He has shared his knowledge and experience through books and articles. Finally, he is the creator and organizer of the annual Winterfolk Festival an annual live charity event in Portland which has become Oregon's largest annual acoustic music festival.

Tom's commitment to his music is clear in his impeccable musicianship and heartfelt singing. His songs often tell stories and strongly evoke places that perhaps you have heard of but haven't been. Tom will give a short concert and will conduct a workshop to share some of what he has learned in his extraordinary career.

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.

Schedule

It's way too early to share the schedule, because the schedule depends on YOU, the participants. We'll share the schedule in March - a draft version first, because there will be last minute changes.

Tuition

We have always had a scholarship fund available to allow everyone who wanted to, to attend Singtime. Last year, we made it even easier by instituting a sliding scale: we ask you to pay what you can, using the categories below as guidelines. 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. Choose the donation category 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've been blessed and I'm happy to share.	$500

Covid Policy

We want everyone who comes to Singtme to be safe, 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. 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 before Singtime starts on Friday March 27. (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 27 before you come to Singtime. You do not need to bring us the test kit nor a photo of your result. By arriving at Singtime, you certify that you had a PCR test on Thursday or a home test on Friday, and the results were negative.
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.

For the required Saturday test, please bring an extra test kit from home for Saturday.

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.

Refund policy: if you test positive on Friday, we will refund your tuition less 15%. If you test negative on Friday but positive on Saturday, we will refund half your tuition.

What Happens at Singtime?

The day at Singtime consists of big events that we all do together, and smaller events in breakout rooms. Together, we have breakfast, lunch and dinner - and the meals are a great time to meet the people you don't know. We also have some big events that everyone is invited to on Friday and Saturday evenings - a participant concert on Friday, and a song circle on Saturday.

Then we have smaller events: song circles and workshops led by participants like you during the day. There are usually three or four happening at any time, and you'll have a program showing you what is happening and where, and you can just drop in to any event.

But there are a lot of unscheduled events too. Many of us will grab some time to appreciate the beauty of the location and the views of the Columbia River Gorge. And believe it or not, Spring will be beginning, and we will see some of the first signs of warmer weather. And, in the evening, after all the scheduled events, there will be sessions for singers and players to make music and chat far into the night.

Of course, you are free to attend or not attend anything. We ask that everyone be together for the very first meeting on Friday - because we'll get a short briefing from the Menucha staff. But after that, it's up to you what you choose to participate in.

On the right, you can see some pictures from last year's Singtime.

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 worthwhile 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 Singtime@PortlandFolkMusic.org

...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. We hope everyone will volunteer for a task, big or small.

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 Singtime@PortlandFolkMusic.org and describe your problem, include your phone number, and we'll help get you unstuck.

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!

Register for Singtime!