Craobh Dugan October Update

Notes for this month presented to you by Craobh Dugan Chair Chris Hoke

A chara!

With the very warm (hot!!) September we have had, it is very hard to believe it is going to be October....but here we go.  I think there is a lot of news this month, so read carefully and take notes if you have to!! 😀

September was busy!

• We played two performances of The Irish & The Erie, one in New York Mills and one in Oneida.  Both were well-attended and well-received. 
• The UNYAIC group had a booth at the first ever "I Love Utica International Day" at Hanna Park on Sept 16th.  Attendance was sparse but our booth was great as was Craobh Dugan's performance. 
• UNYAIC (mainly Craobh Dugan) also hosted a sean-nós dance workshop on September 24th.  There were 9 attending and it was taught by Rebecca McGowan of Boston.  We hope to have her back again to build on the momentum from this class. 

Many thanks to all who came out, participated and helped with our September activities!

Coming up in October

The group will be presenting The Irish and the Erie program on Saturday, October 21st at the Oneida County History Center at 1:00pm. The center is located at 1608 Genesee Street in Utica. This program is educational, musical, and entertaining.  If you have not seen it, you should come to the History Center on the 21st.  The program has received GREAT 'reviews'!! 

​The Craobh Dugan Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Friday October 13th. Note the change of date from last month's update. It will be held at 6.00pm at the Seton Center at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Utica.  We will have a pot luck supper, our annual meeting, and then a session and dance.

Here are the particulars:  The branch will supply the meat, soft drinks and paper products. Each person/couple/family is asked to bring a dish to share. We NEVER lack for a great variety of delicious foods!! Bring a family member or friend and come hungry!! Don't forget your adult beverages (if you wish), your instruments and dance shoes. Please RSVP to Chris by the end of the day, Tuesday October 10th.

Election of Officers:  At our meeting, we need to elect our 2017-2018 officers. All offices are up for election. The offices and people who are interested in running (in parentheses):  Chair (Chris Hoke); Vice Chair (no one running yet); Treasurer (Mike Hoke); Secretary (Colleen Martin); Public Relations Officer (Sue Romero); Language Officer (Tom Malley); Auditor (Mike Carroll); and Youth Officer (need to check with one of our under age-25 members!).  Just because these people are running does not mean no one else can be nominated for an office. We also will elect 2 Convention Delegates. Gracie Schell and Tom Malley have indicated a willingness to run for branch delegates. Please consider running for an office, and let me know before October 13th.  Nominations will also be open at the meeting.

And....Dues are Due:  The Comhaltas branch operating year goes from  November 1--October 31. Dues should be paid by the date of our AGM, which makes it much easier for Mike to do the books and paperwork. Thanks you in advance for paying your dues on time. It really helps!!

Samhain (say 'SOW in') is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Ryan Troy shared information on a Samhain event to be held in Syracuse on Saturday Oct 14. Check it out the Facebook event here. It looks like a great time!!

Caitlin & Ciaran in Concert!
Craobh Dugan is hosting another small-venue concert. This husband/wife duo from Ireland is on a tour of NY, VT, MA and on Sunday, October 15th, Caitlin & Ciaran will perform for us at the Turning Point Church (Skip's Church) on Columbia Street in Utica. The concert will begin at 2:30 and you will not want to miss it!!!!! Ciaran plays fiddle and Caitlin plays concertina and step dances. From what I have seen and heard they are AWESOME!!  You can check out clips of them on You Tube or on Google and read more about them on our blog post here.  Tickets cost only $10 each and can be purchased on Eventbrite.com.  If you are a person who does not want to order on-line, you can contact Chris Hoke for tickets (hoke84@gmail.com). Seating is limited to 40 so get yours early - maybe even today.

Our Regular 'Stuff': 

• We continue to host our monthly sessions on the first and third Tuesdays each month. Join us at the Nail Creek Pub on Varick Street in Utica on first Tuesdays and at Stockdale's in Oriskany on third Tuesdays. Both sessions begin at 7:30pm. Come for a beverage and a listen. You will be glad you did!!
• Also our Ceili dance classes continue most Friday evenings at Seton Center behind Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Utica.  Dancing begins at 7:00pm. There is no charge for the classes, and you do not need a partner or special shoes. It is great exercise. And you will have FUN!! Come on and give this a try.

Last, but not least, we have Raffle Tickets!!!!  The Comhaltas Big Draw Raffle is in progress now and we have tickets to sell. The cost is $5 each and the prizes are 5000 euros; 500 euros; 250 euros; a luxury weekend at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann; 4 Dinner and Show tickets to Bru Boru; 150 euro gift card; a collection of 10 Irish music CDs and DVDs. These are great prizes, especially the cash prizes!!  And, our branch keeps 80% of what we sell. That is $4 out of every ticket that we sell. So, PLEASE help us out with this. Buy some tickets or better yet, take a book of 10 to sell to you family, friends and co-workers. (You know you always buy their tickets, right???). This is a great opportunity for Craobh Dugan to raise some money for our next project (recording a CD) or to help us send members to workshops and the annual Convention.  THANK YOU for buying and selling these tickets!! The drawing is December 9th. We will need to send the returns to Ireland November 1st. That gives  us a month to sell these tickets. Let's get busy!!

Here is our October Calendar:
3---Nail Creek Pub Session, 7:30pm
6---Ceili Dance Class Seton Center, 7:00pm
10--Musicians Practice, 7:00pm, Place-TBD
13--ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 6.00PM,  Pot Luck Supper, Meeting, Session/Ceili  ***RSVP by end of day Tues. Oct 10th.
14--Dancers at JusticeArtMusic (JAM) at DeSales Center in Utica.  Starts at 11.00am. Contact Gracie for more info.
Samhain Celebration Kellish Hill Farm, 3:30, Manlius
15--CAITLIN & CIARAN CONCERT, 2:30pm, Turning Point Church, Columbia Street, Utica. Tickets on Eventbrite.com.
Only $10 each (limited to 40 seats)
17--Stockdale's Session, 7:30
20--Ceili Dance Class, Seton Center, 7:00pm
21--The Irish and the Erie, Oneida County History Center, Utica, 1:00pm
24--Musicians Practice, 7:00pm, Place-TBD
27--Ceili Dance Class, Seton Center, 7:00pm
31--Musicians Practice-TBD

I believe that is all for now.  When I started writing this update, it was 90 degrees and humid. Right now it is 57 degrees and oh-so comfortable!! I do hope to see you at The Irish and the Erie program, the Caitlin and Ciaran concert or one of our sessions. Until then,  take good care!

Slan,
Chris