Last year was the 50th anniversary of Music in the Valley, which is free for musicians entering with an instrument. Located at Hale Farm and Village in Bath, Ohio, the event is typically held on the second weekend in July. Saturday is usually the busiest day, but I went on Sunday last year. Sadly, nobody I recognized was there and no one was playing old-time music. I walked through the grounds and right back to my car. What a bust.
However, what stands out from that milestone year was how the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS), which operates Hale Farm, was forcing music-playing guests to sign a "code of conduct" agreement before entering the festival. This seemed laughable as I don't believe those attending the wine tasting portion of the event were asked to sign such a contract. I've never seen a folk music patron behave in a disorderly manner at Music in the Valley, but those wine drinkers have been known to get a little squirrely. But alas.
While the wine tasting part of the event was only added in the last 10-15 years, Music in the Valley has remained free for those only interested in playing music, with a special side entrance helmed by the volunteers at Folknet, a Northeast Ohio-based collective who organize the "Folk" segment of the festival, as well as other concerts and musical outreach programs in the region. Those who wish to partake in the wine must enter through the main gatehouse and pay for the appropriate wrist band (~$35).
Hale Farm has always separated the music festivalgoers from the wine tasters, with various groups of musicians situated on the "farm" side near the welcome center and Hale homestead, while the wine vendors were located across the street on the "village" side. This year, however, the WHRS announced that they were flipping sides. This alteration came just two weeks before the festival, forcing Folknet to send out a flurry of notices to alert musicians about the sudden change. Not only were the folk music patrons being relocated to the village side, they also had to park in a totally different area and enter from what can only be described as the back door of the property.
Music in the Valley has endured other odd changes over the past few years. While the folk music festival portion of the event is still organized by Folknet, the involvement from Hale Farm has been inconsistent at best. Back in 2023, there was a concerted effort to include an educational aspect to the event, which included a fiddle workshop focused on Ward Jarvis, among other presentations, and these programs truly seemed to inject some positive energy into the event. Musicians could learn some new skills, while the wine patrons could learn more about the music and its history. However, the next year, all that went by the wayside, with those presenters receiving no responses from Hale Farm about organizing future programs.
Once upon a time, Hale Farm allowed on-site camping for those musicians who were planning to attend both days of the festival or were traveling from afar, but that is no longer allowed.
From the inconsistent communication to making the musicians feel like troublemakers with the whole code of conduct snafu last year and now moving the folk musicians to the back lot, it seems like the people who run Hale Farm are trying to edge out the music festival patrons. And sure, I understand that the wine tasting is what brings in the money. However, you can't tell me that those folk musicians aren't helping to promote the event. Just check out this year's flyer:
The musicians themselves may not pay to enter the festival, but they still bring business to Hale Farm. Although I don't think many of them partake in the wine, they do patronize the food vendors. From talking to people who have been involved with the event in the past, it seems that turnover at Hale Farm has resulted in regular changeover in whom Folknet and other musicians are dealing with to organize the event. Sadly, they seem less interested in making the event more welcoming to musicians.
My first time attending Music in the Valley was in 2014, when I carted around my then-infant son in a stroller. It was our first big solo father-son outing. The festival always conflicts with two important family birthdays (my wife and father), so there are years I haven't been able to attend. However, it is one of the most important folk music festivals in Northeast Ohio, considering its long running history and legacy of inclusivity and accessibility. I hope the WRHS and those at Hale Farm recognize what a gem they have and continue to support this event in the future.
I was back again this year, and I have to admit the new location was enjoyable for playing music. They had signs directing musicians to the Folknet entrance, and there was more shade available than I realized (although not as much as on the other side). My biggest gripe is that the food vendors were very far away. Thankfully, I ate at home beforehand and brought a large water bottle to stay hydrated. However, it would have been nice to have a food truck on the village side, as there were plenty of wine drinkers making the rounds to listen to the different musicians.
Fiddle presentation
Fiddler Paul Kirk and his student Mark McNulty gave a presentation at Music in the Valley related to the Ohio Arts Council Tradition Arts Apprenticeship program. I stopped over for a few minutes to listen to some tunes and hear about the program. Here's a photo from their presentation.
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I was the one who helped organize and implement the scheduled activities at MITV back in 2023 with a staff person HF/WRHS had recently hired. The idea was to do more for the musicians to show our appreciation for them. After all, there would be no Music in the Valley if there were no musicians making that music. We also wanted to make things more organized and educational for musicians and people coming to hear the music. HF has always been known for this facet. We had scheduled jams for those who may not have known anyone to jam with. Every OT music festival I know of has a communal jamming area for beginners or where people can comfortably mix. Newbies don't always feel welcome approaching private jams. We also offered short talks, instrument highlights, and demonstrations about various folks instruments including fiddle, dulcimer, and banjo. I gave a fiddle workshop that year, too, which had decent attendance, specially for the first year offering this at MITV. From our perspective, it was a great year. Attendance was very good, and a lot of positive comments came our way from people who attended. It all helped the public feel less of an intrusion and more of a part of the festivities. We planned to discuss what went well and what could've used improvement. We had built a good, solid foundation for the coming years.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the staff person I was working with left under mysterious circumstances, but before leaving, she sent an email to all involved, including WRHS, HF, and FolkNet people. The message was clear. We started something very good to infuse more life into MITV, with hopes of a really wonderful 50th anniversary celebration. The work we put in deserved to have follow-up. Nobody reached out to me as suggested . In fact, the entire email, as well as everything we had done, was completely ignored.
I must say that during all of this, we were only met with resistance from people at the FolkNet table. I was given a hard time by them for absolutely no reason. So bad, in fact, that my boss had to step in and tell them to be team players. I felt this was completely unacceptable coming from FolkNet, the organization that is supposed to advocate for the musicians. This is why I don't believe anything they tell us. I don't understand their role, other than admitting musicians into the venue. A FolkNet person was asked where the restrooms were during MITV 2023. Their answer, "I don't know. Somewhere over that way." (pointing). We all know the restrooms are in the Visitors Gatehouse, so why the dismissive response loaded with bad attitude?
In short, I felt I needed to share this, not to speak ill of anyone, not to gripe for no reason, but to clarify some things people might have been wondering about. The back-story is still incomplete, and I don't feel as welcome there as I once did.
Paul Kirk
Paul, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and for shedding more light on some of the issues involving MITV. It's a shame that nobody followed up with you regarding future scheduled events. I agree that 2023 was a strong year and seemed to help revive the event following the pandemic. I don't know what the solution is, but in the end I think MITV belongs to the people who attend and keep it going. I appreciate the work you put into our community. Keep it up.
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