Ohio Valley Filk Fest 26

Concerts

Our concert lineup begins Thursday night with an Old Fogeys of Filk (or Get Off My Lawn, You Young Filking Whippersnappers!) concert featuring Tom Smith, Judith Hayman, Bill & Brenda Sutton, Bill Roper, and Juanita Coulson. Friday beginning at noon concerts include Duane Elms, Heather Dale, Larry Warner and, of course, the phenomenal Pegasus Nominees Concert at 7:30 pm. Saturday’s lineup includes Margaret Middleton, Karen Anderson, Mary Ellen Wessels, and a special appearance by the FuMP (the Funny Music Project). One-Shots will be scattered throughout the weekend.

Pegasus Nominees Concert

On Friday night we will again host the Pegasus Nominees concert at which all of the songs nominated for the Pegasus Awards will be performed, giving everyone one last chance to hear them before voting.

Workshops

The lineup so far includes a Scared Heart Sing (lead by Ed Stauff), Methods of Harmony, Recording Your Own CD, Improvisation (with Seanan McGuire), Filk Operettas, Juried One-Shots, Song Writing Theory, Lyric Writing Practicum, a vocal workshop (with Mark Bernstein) and Rounds Construction & Sharing (bring your tape recorders, and possibly a couple of your favorite rounds), morning Yoga and maybe several more still in development.. 

Parties

“Mingle with the Stars” (wear something with a star!) at the mixer that officially opens the con Thursday evening at 7:00 pm. Our famous Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (and the Dormouse Tea Party for the kids) will take place 4’ish Friday afternoon. It’s a celebration of our Silver Jubilee (25th Anniversary) so come appropriately dressed in silver (or at least hatted). Prizes for best attire & hats will be awarded by our party hosts extraordinaire Mary Frost-Pierson and Elaine Richards. Special events in the consute include a book signing party by Seanan McGuire Friday during the dinner hour, an apple tasting late Friday night & the ice cream social Saturday evening. Rumor has it there may also be a CD release party sometime during the weekend.

Pegasus Awards Banquet

The Food! The Suspense! The Drama! The Speeches! (Well, maybe not the speeches.) Tickets for this Saturday evening event sell out fast (by early Friday evening the past few years) so buy your tickets early or even (gasp!) when you pre-register (and it’s cheaper too!). P.S. If you have special dietary needs or concerns we can arrange for the hotel to prepare a special meal just for you. But you need to tell us at least one week BEFORE the con. Send an email to banquet@ovff.org or a snail mail to the attention of Banquet Coordinator.

Songwriting Contests

It’s fun, it’s challenging, and the results can be spectacular! Our first contest is the traditional “write a song on a theme” which this year is: “Reach for the Stars.” Entries should be new material of limited distribution written between October 2008 and October 2009, original lyrics & either original or pre-existing music.

Our second contest is for all you Iron Filkers out there. We challenge you to write a song at the con itself on a topic announced at the opening of the con.

In both contests, the songs are to be performed before an audience and a panel of judges; but are judged on the writing quality, not the strength of the performance. If the songwriter is not a performer, the entry may be performed by a friend though the song writer must be present at the con. Please bring 3 copies of your song for the judges.

See the Contest Winners page for details of who has won in the past.

One-Shots/Twofers

Because of the limited number of slots and the number of people who want to have one of them, the slots will allocated by drawing names of those who sign up on the list at the registration desk. There will be a drawing at 8p on Friday for Friday Night Twofers, and at midnight on Friday for One-Shots on Saturday.

Open Filking

Open filking was rampant, as usual, througout the con. Some was scheduled, some was ad-hoc, some was themed, some was pure chaos, and all was enjoyable.

Interfilk Auction

It is difficult to describe this voice auction at OVFF. Where do we start? With the notorious Interfilk Wenches? With the chocolate? (There’s always chocolate.) With the professional auctioneer whose verbal speed you have to hear to believe? With the one-of-a-kind items offered at this event? With the running jokes? Don’t miss out on the frenetic fun and help support a Interfilk at the same time!

Theme Filks

Theme filks are circles with a particular topic, or theme. Most of the time slots can be signed up for on a first come, first-served basis at the registration desk.

Chamberfilk

Phil Textor has aranged popular filk songs as chamber music, and is seeking more people to play them at OVFF. You can contact Phil at textorpmt at yahoo dot com.

Farewell Jam Session

OVFF ends with the traditional farewell jam session.

Dead Dog Dinner Run

Following the Farewell Jam Session, the traditional pilgramage to BD's Mongolian BBQ for the "Dead Dog" dinner will be made.

Children's Programming

Kid Space is a playroom set aside just for kids. Stocked with games, toys & videos kids are welcome to hang out in this room anytime. Scheduled activities suitable for children include: two pool parties, a treasure hunt, cookie decorating, story time, several craft projects, a Boomwacker workshop and Movie Night. Special events include:

Dormouse Tea Party
The kids get their own tea party held at the same time as the Mad Hatter party for adults. Special Friends (such as stuffed toys) are encouraged and hats are required. (If you forget to bring your hat, stop in an hour early and decorate one before the party.)

Kids Pizza Party
This is a free pizza party for the kids while their parents are at the Pegasus Awards Banquet. Simply sign up at registration by Sat afternoon (so we know how many pizzas are needed), and drop your child off on your way to the banquet.

RPGing for Teens
Game master extraordinaire Bruce Coulson will run two game sessions designed with teen fun specially in mind Friday & Saturday evenings.