Date: Fri 31-Oct-1997

By Previous Employees

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

NOMAD

Full Text:

NOMAD Anniversary Will Deliver Old & New Features (preview)

(with photos)

In addition to the traditional singing, dancing, revelry and general good

feelings that mark each weekend of the annual Northeast Music, Art and Dance

Festival, this year's NOMAD Festival will provide one more reason to

celebrate: the festival's tenth birthday.

NOMAD has brought a world of folk music and dance to Newtown on a fall weekend

in each of the last ten years. NOMAD `97 will take place next weekend,

November 7-9, at Newtown Middle School. The weekend's festivities will include

over 150 dance demonstrations, concerts and participatory dance and music

sessions... something to appeal to every taste.

Remarkably, NOMAD is a non-profit, fully volunteer event. All performers,

workshop leaders and musicians donate their time and talents for each weekend,

as do those who work behind the scenes to make the festival happen.

MOMAD features dance activities for spectators and participants alike.

Performances on the school's stage will include Middle Eastern dance, English

and Scottish country dance, and Appalachian clog dancing. Participatory dance

sessions range from Scandinavian Hambos and Schottisches to Irish dance styles

and Balkan and Israeli folk dances to ragtime and swing.

Contra and square dance enthusiasts are invited to dance to their favorite

callers and bands. Attractions include performances by two popular bands: Hot

Under the Caller, from New York's Hudson Valley, and Scrod Pudding, led by

Bill Olson of Bowdoinham, Me.

Concerts will include gospel, Eastern European harmonies, English folk songs,

Turkish village music, Georgian Republic choral music, cowboy songs, humorous

songs and others. Musicians can enjoy workshops and demonstrations in such

folk instruments as bagpipes, bones, concertina, bodhran, fiddle and dulcimer.

Newtown's own Roger Sprung will conduct a banjo workshop followed by an open

jam Saturday morning. Musicians can also meet and jam informally, a perpetual

favorite at NOMAD.

Instead of using the cafeteria as a performance space, as has been done in the

past, NOMAD organizers have decided this year to leave the cafeteria an open,

unamplified jam/practice space for musicians for most of the weekend. On

Saturday afternoon at 5, a "Name That Tune! Jam Session" will be held in the

cafeteria; otherwise the room will be open on Saturday. On Sunday, gentle

"Songs For A Sunday Morning" will be presented.

New this year will be a special Family Area, filled with activities for

parents to enjoy with their children. The Family Area will offer

story-telling, family concerts, singing games, a magic show, a balloon-animals

workshop, an origami workshop and family dance activities.

A special treat this year will be a session entitled "Meet Jane Austen,"

featuring English country dancing as seen in recent Jane Austen movies. Other

attractions include a folk bazaar and craft area with unique gifts and useful

items for dance and music-related activities, and foods prepared by Newtown

High School's culinary arts program.

NOMAD will open Friday, November 7, with sessions from 7:30 to 10:30 pm. The

festival will continue on Saturday, 10 am to 11 am, and then Sunday, 11 am to

5 pm.

On Sunday morning, the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of New Haven will

sponsor a special Sunday Breakfast event, running 9-10:30 am. Breakfast

offerings will include juices and coffees, and bagels and muffins. The

Breakfast will allow festival participants time to visit with friends and

family before Sunday's activities begin. Also on Sunday, the official NOMAD

Birthday Party will take place, with birthday cake from 1-4 pm.

Adult admissions range from $9 for six hours to $30 for the entire weekend.

Admission to Friday's sampler session, featuring participatory dance only, is

$9. Light refreshments will be available. Friday's events will end promptly at

10:30; the building will be closed completely by 11 pm.

Rates are lower throughout the weekend for seniors and those under 18;

children five and under are admitted free with adult admission. Parking on

Friday will be at the middle school. On Saturday and Sunday, because parking

at the middle school is so limited, continuous shuttle busses will be

operating for those attending the festival.

Indoors, the NOMAD Hospitality Booth in the school's front lobby will be able

to offer help and information on locations of programs, area restaurants and

lodging, and emergency phone numbers. NOMAD Festival workers will be easily

located at all times by their turquoise T-shirts, and will also be on hand to

help with most questions. A full schedule of events will be posted.

For a complete schedule of NOMAD performances and events, there is a NOMAD

home page on the Internet at http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/8797/

To contact organizers, write to nomadfest@juno.com or call 372-3890.

Track And Field Teams Compete At Masuk

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Nighthawk Baseball Team Beats Conference Opponents

Late Goal By Ruddy Lifts Nighthawk Lacrosse Team To Victory, Showcases Chemistry In Midfield

Reed Intermediate Presents Sold-Out Performances Of 'Willy Wonka Jr'

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 31-Oct-1997

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