Zimfest 2006 Thank You!

August 1, 2006
Eugene, Oregon

Hello, musicians, friends, family:

Another wonderful Zimfest has come and gone, hopefully with lots of good memories left over, some new songs and techniques to practice, some new and renewed connections to celebrate, some new merchandise to enjoy, some major laundry to do...

It is indeed a huge task to put Zimfest on, and we are thrilled so many people participated this year at the Oregon Country Fair site in Veneta, OR. We hope attendants enjoyed themselves, and we thank everyone for their patience and with the challenges we faced in creating a successful festival. The whole weekend the energy was unabashedly positive and loving, as always...

This year’s festival was an experiment, for the Zimfest Association Board, for Oregon Country Fair, and for all participants. We’d like to thank the ZA Board for encouraging this effort to go forward and for taking a chance on a different kind of Zimfest from years past. We’d also like to thank the Oregon Country Fair Board and staff for taking the same chance: Zimfest 2006 was the first time OCF has allowed a non-OCF-related event of this size to take place on this sacred site (it is the oldest archeological site in Oregon, over 11,000 years old). We hope we made a good impression and treaded lightly on the land!

The unexpected elements of record heat and record mosquitoes that Mother Nature gave us added a dimension to the festival that surprised all of us. We are grateful for the humor and patience and grace that everyone displayed under these circumstances. Amazingly, we had only one case of heat stroke the entire festival — parents and caretakers get a special round of applause for keeping their children hydrated and healthy.

We’d like to thank all participants who graciously signed up for volunteer shifts (often more than one shift) and showed up for their assigned tasks. We relied on all of you to help this festival run, and you all did a tremendous job. And a special thanks to the young people who helped in so many ways with their great enthusiasm and willingness to pitch in. It was a great pleasure to have so many children and young people at the festival.

We’d like to say thank you to everyone who came up to one of us during the festival or wrote a note on Dandemutande or email to thank us for our work or give us some encouraging words — although we did this work with pure love and joy, the acknowledgment and positive feedback touches us deeply. We’d like to thank all past organizers for their amazing efforts and successes with past Zimfests — it cannot be said enough, just how much work goes into putting this festival on, and how much we rely on each others’ extra efforts. Thank you to the 2007 (Olympia, WA) and 2008 (Seattle Area) Zimfest Committees who have volunteered to run the next two festivals. Please offer them extra help and encouragement before, during and after the festival. Unlike other public music festivals, this is a community-run festival — we can see that ALL OF US are responsible for the success of each Zimfest.

It is with pleasure that we again thank the people who put in countless hours to coordinate and run this festival:

To our incredible Zimbabwean teachers who were able to attend this year: Paul Mataruse and Rujeko Dumbutshena, both of whom did a lot of behind-the-scenes organizing and guidance, Irene Chigamba, Garadziva Chigamba, Musekiwa Chingodza, Sheasby Matiure and Alport Mhlanga. We were sad to hear of Lucky Moyo’s car accident and send him much love and support to heal. To all of you, thank you for your great contributions to this festival in every way. We cannot stress enough how fortunate we are to have all of you attend — the incredible level of musicianship, the excellent teachings, and your graceful and powerful presences made for a most memorable Zimfest.
All the people and communities who sponsor and host our Zimbabwean teachers: a year’s worth of coordination... Marilyn Kolodziejczyk, MyLinda King, and Erica Azim, to name a few, and all others who help make these visits possible.
As it was discussed in the village meeting, individuals and communities must take it upon themselves to sponsor a Zimbabwean teacher to come to North America for Zimfest. It was also suggested that as a community we strive to bring a greater number of Zimbabweans to Zimfest in the future. If you are interested in taking on this most worthy endeavor, contact a Zimfest Board member (board@zimfest.org) for more information on how to get started. It’s not too early to start planning for next year’s festival, and our gathering is enriched many times over with each additional Zimbabwean teacher who can attend.
To the hard, hard working Country Fair staff: Charlie Ruff and Carl Taylor, who juggled many roles and worked tirelessly throughout with countless details; Big Mike, Monty, Animal, Andy Strickland, Fire Bill and the fire safety crew, Palmer Parker, Doc, Tommy and all others. And to General Manager Leslie Scott and Site Manager Steve Wiznofsky of OCF for having us on this special site.
Angela Marie for an amazing workshop schedule which required lots of last minute juggling, and for graciously helping way beyond her intended roles during the festival; and Joe Keefe also for workshop and other coordinating tasks.
Bud Cohen, for putting together a kitchen and crew that fed our stomachs and souls with such love and fun, and his chefs, KayVaila Sun and Jamie O’Brian, and the entire fabulous kitchen crew; also John Pointer and Hay Bales! Farm for our fresh, organic produce.
Karen Howe, our resident artist, signage guru, green room assistant, and all around helper, and her assistants Alegria and Michael.
Our registration staff and helpers: Robert Gillespie, Toni Gauthier-Dickey, and Janese Olalde and all who gave extra time at registration, including Suma Elan, Jude Hobbs, Hope Fay, Petra S. and others...
Gary Spalter, our bookkeeper, last minute registration team member, and all around helper.
Guy Tauscher, who coordinated the admissions table, and graciously took on much more work than he had originally signed on for.
Julie Ishihara, one of last year’s main organizers, who coordinated our thriving marketplace with her assistant Pam Smith; and to all the vendors who made our marketplace a joyful and exciting place to be and shop. Please see the listing on the Zimfest 2006 Marketplace web page to continue to support them.
Our computer wizards, Ross Thompson and Larry Israel, both of whom helped out in many other areas as well.
Petra Siemion, our proofreader extraordinaire and registration helper.
Our amazing recycling crew, led by OCF Recycling Coordinator Lara Howe.
Mark Cohen for his playfulness and hard work documenting our festival on film.
Kelly Burke for her excellent childcare coordination.
Maggie Donahue and crew, for a glorious green room experience.
Chris Halaska for a fine job coordinating the performances and instruments.
Marilyn Mohr and Daphne Stone, Zimfest merchandise booth goddesses, and again Marilyn M. for the gorgeous fresh flowers everywhere.
Our awesome stage managers, Andrew Munson, Shannon Pointer, and Chris Halaska.
Wes Malquist and Patricia Wiley for instrument moving and non-stop go-fering, with assistance from Jerome Hobbs.
Bobby Brown and Patty Fergson and their crew for tending the showers with care and love.
Chris Steele for lighting magic.
Steve Ehrlich and Velvet Thunder for a great job on sound, with assistance from Chris Steele.
Andrea Olson, contract work/liason with OCF.
Mala Spotted Eagle Pope and friends from the non-profit community Nanish Shontie in Triangle Lake, for blessing and participating in our gathering on opening night, www.nanish.org.
Earth Decendents for their excellent fire dancing on opening night.
Kevin Dougherty, advertising guru.
Enthusiastic members of Hokoyo in Eugene, for their endless go-fering and helping out whenever needed.
Thadeus, for sound/recording equipment and guidance.
Justin Mayer, most skillful recording engineer.
Craig LaFollette for his assistance with instruments.
Jay Bird, for providing the beautiful canopy in front of the stage.
John Pincus, lighting coordinator and stage hand.
Jim Ennes and Robbie Manders and crew for security.
Rose Orskog, Kirsten Comandich, Billy and Francisco, Stephen Golovnin, and all other friends who did extra duty in various areas of the festival where they were needed.

In addition, many thanks to:

All the dedicated, talented teachers who participated in Zimfest this year and shared their years of experience
All bands and individuals who generously brought their instruments for use
All the performers for their priceless contributions on and off stage
All Zimfest Association Board members for their support and hard work

Our apologies if we forgot anyone.

Have a safe, fun summer, everyone, and we will see you in Olympia in 2007!

— OngKar Walen, Tim Mueller, Nel Applegate and Hilary Vander Veer
Zimfest 2006