Date: Fri 13-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

NOMAD-Mazza-contra-festival

Full Text:

NOMAD FINDS ITS WAY BACK TO NHS

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

Music returned in all its forms to the rooms and hallways of Newtown High

School last weekend, when the 11th Annual NOrtheast Music Art & Dance (NOMAD)

Festival found its way back to its original site in Newtown.

There were concert and dance performances, participatory vocal and

instrumental workshops, dance workshops, and even an arts and crafts area --

with the emphasis on instruments and music-related ideas, of course

(emphasized, but not exclusively).

Musicians were heard and found all weekend in every nook and cranny, tuning up

for their workshops, or meeting fellow musicians and jamming. Jam sessions, in

fact, are encouraged at NOMAD. It is a weekend of music and harmony among

those who coordinate, present and participate in the festival.

NOMAD is a festival for doing . It is not meant to be visited casually, with

the intent of "just looking around." The first all-volunteer, participation

music and dance festival in the state, NOMAD's focus is on traditional and

international music experiences.

"The main focus of this festival is participation," festival chairman Ed

Potter wrote in this year's brochure. "This is a family festival with programs

designed for various age groups and levels of skill," he continued. "Our goal

is to have fun learning about and experiencing another's culture in a safe,

family setting, for very little money."

NOMAD '98 opened Friday, November 6, with a festival-opening contra dance in

Gym 1. Bill Olson and Reckless Abandon (Larry Unger, Nat Heritt and Lise

Brown) provided three hours of music to get the weekend underway. The music --

provided by hundreds of musicians from across the country -- didn't stop until

late Sunday afternoon.

Students in the school's Culinary Arts program provided the majority of the

food for attendees and the volunteers who kept the festival running all

weekend. Their popular offerings were supplemented by selections from The Chat

House of Newtown, and on Sunday the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of

New Haven added its own table of breakfast foods and baked goods.

"It's so nice to be in this building," Carol Mazza said Sunday afternoon. Mrs

Mazza was one of the festival's directors, along with her husband John,

Patricia Campbell, Louise Foley, Frank Hendrickson and Ed Potter. The high

school underwent extensive renovations for two years, so the ninth and tenth

annual NOMAD festivals were moved to Newtown Middle School.

"It's a bit difficult to keep track of the attendance because the building is

now so big," Mrs Mazza commented. "People come in the front door, and the

building just swallows them up." Events were spread along much of the main

floor of the building, with the cafeteria utilized for the eating area and the

majority of the vendors.

"I certainly think there was an overall feeling of enjoyment," Mrs Mazza said

a few days after the close of the latest NOMAD chapter. "We are always looking

to make adjustments, to make each year better than the previous year," added

John Mazza.

"Our biggest complaint," laughs Carol Mazza, "is we offer too many choices at

the same time."