Hundreds Attend Traditional Folk Music Festival

More than 50 world class traditional performers packed up their instruments and polished their clogs to gather at the Fall Equinox festival in Northridge on September 12.

An Encino-based organization called the California Traditional Music Society (CTMS) has been hosting festivals like the Equinox for more than 30 years. The society originally began as a small folk music club in 1978, but when concern began growing that traditional arts would disappear, founders Clark and Elaine Weissman focused on organizing events that would promote and immortalize these traditions. They felt it was essential to keep the very diverse forms of music, dance and storytelling here in Los Angeles alive.  

"Each culture is trying to keep its own traditions alive and CTMS is trying to stimulate that," Lisa Richardson, the executive director of CTMS, said.

The Equinox festival had 8 workshops where musicians could sit and get a hands-on learning experience with the masters. Mandolin players, guitarists, percussionists, dancers and storytellers were able to sit down together and share their knowledge.

"It's all traditional music. It's not something you learn at a school, it's something you learn on grandma's knee or on the back porch," Richardson said.

The emphasis on teaching these arts is unique and vital in CTMS's mission to preserve such rich traditions, she said. The society has recently partnered with the city of Los Angeles's Department of Cultural Affairs to create curriculum for local schools here in the valley.

Although CTMS's headquarters are located in a small building at Encino Park they need a much larger facility to host their events. In the past, their folk festivals have taken place at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, California State University, Northridge and SOKA University in Aliso Viejo. This year's Equinox festival took place at Rancho Cordillera Del Norte in Northridge and provided the necessary space for two stages, an outdoor dance floor, individual workshops and food stands.

"We were aiming for about 500 people to show, but ended up being quite pleased with the turnout of roughly 600 to 800 people," Richardson said.

The outdoor and indoor stages showcased a variety of performers from African drumming and dancing, to Irish fiddlers, blues singers, string trios, jug bands, Appalachian old time, Balkan music and more. The event featured artists such as Foghorn, Irish Super Session, Missincinatti, Brother Yusef and Zadonu. The energy was high and you didn't have to know the difference between a mandolin and a fiddle to know that the festival and its music were special.

 "I really like this kind of music, but I didn't know you could find it in L.A.," Samantha Minton, a recent graduate of CSUN, said.

The music has stopped for now, but with such an excellent turnout and vibrant performances there is no sign of traditional arts disappearing.

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