Winter weather in California is a disappointment but winter activities for the CBA are not impacted by the lack of rain and snow. The Great 48 in Bakersfield (January) is behind us as are a Night at the Grange in Morgan Hill (2/24) and the Shingletown Concert (2/23) with Volume Five. Next on our radar are continuing Alameda house concerts hosted by the Khaders and Quales. The CBA Youth Program is hosting a Youth Jam at the Freight & Salvage March 4th during the BOTMC Spring Fling (free), tickets are available for the Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival (3/10), the CBA hosts a stage at the Cloverdale Fiddle Festival (4/7), our Spring Campout at the Turlock Fairgrounds (4/164/22) will feature the band Crying Uncle on Saturday night. That just takes us into April.
The CBA has a number of valuable “partnerships” with other music organizations as a way of serving our mission to introduce and promote the music. A new partnership this winter is with the Heroes’ Voices Guitar Corps. The CBA donated 15 full size guitars to this 501c3 during the first week of February. CBA member Larry Chung helped facilitate this donation and has also volunteered to facilitate some jams and/or workshops at this year’s Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival. 15 more California US Service Veterans will soon be playing bluegrass and old time music.
Last year the CBA partnered with the Freight & Salvage to hold monthly Youth Jams. This winter we only have one scheduled and it will be held during the BOTMC Spring Fling on March 4th from noon until 2P. This is a free event. The CBA has been “partnering” with both the Freight & Salvage and the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention for a number of years. We hope to see many of you in attendance.
We count on our member volunteers to help the CBA fulfill its mission. The Board of Directors need your help in getting the music out to a broader community. Our “partnerships” are member generated relationships, the BOD only facilitates these relationships. If you, the membership, identify an organization that shares our mission of introducing and promoting bluegrass and old time music to a broader community let us know. The CBA can provide many resources but we count on YOU. Everything we do as an Association is member driven, volunteer driven. We are a community and you are the engine. Registration for both our CBA Summer Music Camp and Youth Academy opened in February. We recommend EARLY registration for both. Information on registration for both can be found in this issue. These two activities are only part of our wonderful festival week in Grass Valley.
Tickets for our 43rd Annual CBA Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival are selling briskly. Early Bird Ticket prices are only available through February 28th with Advanced Ticket Prices available beginning March 1st. We have another exciting lineup of first rate bands playing on 3 stages this year.
We encourage you to renew your membership or join the CBA. Dues are cheap ($25/individual, $30/family). We count on our membership dues to support the work we do as a community. Renew for five years or purchase a membership for your lifetime ($750/individual, $1000/couple). Active membership sends the message that YOU value the music and that YOU value all our hardworking volunteers. Our membership numbers help us get sponsors, advertisers and form partnerships. Your dues support the Bluegrass Breakdown and the website. The CBA is YOU. Keep the music alive for at least another generation by becoming and member and volunteering with the CBA. Another way to support live music is by attending our events and those of our partners. Introduce a friend to bluegrass and old time music this year.
