FESTIVAL HONORS ITS LATE FOUNDER MUSICAL TRIBUTE IS STAGED IN WEISSMAN'S MEMORY.Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer CALABASAS - Hundreds of people attended a special memorial ceremony at the Summer Solstice Festival Solstice festival may refer to:
Weissman died this year of cancer, and crowds of festivalgoers at Soka University Soka University (創価大学, Sōka Daigaku) is a private university located in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. The school was founded in 1969 and opened to undergraduate students in 1971 and opened a graduate school in 1975. gathered in a tribute Saturday to sing songs in her memory. ``We're trying to make this weekend a celebration of Elaine's life,'' said Chris Warber, the festival's new executive director. ``We're trying to keep it upbeat as much as possible. Elaine wanted it that way.'' The tribute at noon included one of Weissman's favorite songs, ``Turn, Turn, Turn,'' with lyrics that Pete Seeger Noun 1. Pete Seeger - United States folk singer who was largely responsible for the interest in folk music in the 1960s (born in 1919) Peter Seeger, Seeger adapted from the Bible's Ecclesiastes. The idea for the festival came out of intimate gatherings of musicians at the home of Elaine and Clark Weissman that began in 1976. The first official Summer Solstice Festival was held in 1980 as a one-day event one-day event a contraction of the three-day event but like that contest is aimed at selecting the best all-round horse and rider. The events usually contested are show-jumping, dressage and cross-country. at the Graystone Mansion in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. . Organizers said they expect more than 5,000 people over three days this year at the 23rd annual Summer Solstice Festival, which started Friday evening and continues today from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. As it grew in popularity the festival moved to the campus of California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , and then to Soka, the former ranch of razor magnate King Gillette. The land was sold this year to a consortium of public agencies and is expected to become the new home of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: see National Parks and Monuments (table). . The event the Weissmans initiated attracts thousands of fiddlers, harpists, storytellers and dancers from around the world to the lawns of the bucolic old estate once used as a location for ``Gone With the Wind.'' Elaine Weissman also helped set up a special music event that has been held each October in Encino as part of the Daniel Pearl Music Days, a tribute to the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002. Pearl, a friend of the Weissmans, was a classically trained violinist, an avid fiddler and a mandolin mandolin (măn'dəlĭn`, măn`dəlĭn'), musical instrument of the lute family, with a half-pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and a variable number of strings, plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum. player who had attended the Summer Solstice Festival. The Summer Solstice Festival has always been a family-oriented event, but this year there is a greater emphasis on kids, with expanded children's attractions. There is children's storytelling, an area where children can learn how to make kites, and places to get hands-on experience learning how to play the dulcimer dulcimer (dŭl`sĭmər), stringed musical instrument. It is a wooden box with strings stretched over it that are struck with small mallets. The number of strings may vary. The dulcimer is related to the psaltery and modern zither. , ukulele ukulele (y  kəlā`lē), Hawaiian musical instrument developed from the Portuguese guitar. It has a fretted fingerboard and four strings that are plucked or strummed. , penny whistle and harmonica harmonica.1 The simplest of the musical instruments employing free reeds, known also as the mouth organ or French harp. It was probably invented in 1829 by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, who called his instrument the Mundäoline. . Weissman devoted decades of her life to the California Traditional Music Society, the foundation she and her husband established in 1983 to sponsor the festival. She served as executive director until her death on Feb. 5 this year at the age of 64. On Feb. 8, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
Members of the board called her a valiant woman who continued to support the traditional music society and the festival until the end of her life, although she struggled with cancer for more than two years. ``When we hear some of these instruments played, when we see some of the dancers and some of the crafts, Elaine's memory comes to mind,'' Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said at Saturday's stage dedication. ``She's no longer here physically but her song lingers on, more than lingers on, in our minds and in our ears.'' An Elaine Weissman memorial page on the California Traditional Music Society Web site (www.ctmsfolkmusic.org) includes comments by many of her friends, including Athan Karras, an actor and Greek dancing instructor who gives dance workshops at the Summer Solstice Festival. The Summer Solstice Festival was ``her way of ensuring the continuity of a broad range of folk arts, which re-energize our modern communities through an awareness of the artistic values our ancestors treasured in music, song, dance, poetry and storytelling,'' Karras said. ``She gave folk artists the immeasurable gift of recognition and appreciation by providing a unique forum for sharing their folk arts at the annual Summer Solstice Festival, where thousands of people engaged in the simple pleasures found in the lively sounds of the guitar, banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. , harp and flute.'' Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Musicians perform Saturday in Elaine Weissman's memory at the 23rd annual Summer Solstice Festival, held at Soka University. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News (2 -- color) Bonnie Insull, left, dances with Bill Norman to a waltz at the festival; in the background is Kirk Visscher. (3) Three guitarists relax under an oak tree on Saturday at the festival, which will continue today, at Soka University. (4) A quilt dedicated to founders Elaine and Clark Weissman is displayed among other creations during the Summer Solstice Festival. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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