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Dear Friends,

It’s ACR picnic time!  Once again the time for our annual picnic has arrived, and this year we have a great new location for the event.  This year’s menu will consist of home made Italian sausage served with bell peppers and onions, pasta al pesto, great rolls from the French bakery in Sonoma, salad and desert.  Of course beverages will be provided as well.  Soft drinks, bottled water and keg beer will be included while they last, and we haven’t run short yet.  You are welcome to bring any other beverages of your choice.

Dancing will be on a large wooden dance floor in a completely covered barn with one end open to the air.  There will be musical entertainment during the picnic and Steve Balich and his band will play for dancing.  Come on in and dance and when you need a rest find a place to sit on one of the bales of straw which will surround the dance floor.

The new location has ample shade and ample parking spaces.  It’s easy to get to – just off of Highway 116.  The ground is flat and level and a great place to stroll around and greet your friends.  This is a great opportunity to support your club and your club treasury while you have a good meal and a good time.  Bring a guest or two.  The picnic is open to all members and their friends and it is one of the three fund raising events we sponsor each year to help defray the clubs operational costs which cannot be covered by your annual dues alone.  Your officers and board members are working hard to keep your club financially healthy.  You can help by supporting these events and you’ll have a good time in the bargain.  Officers and board members will be circulating throughout the day, so if you are a new member come up and say hello and let us know what you think of your club.

If you are a player and would like to perform at the picnic please give me a call and let me know. Next month is August and that means the Cotati Accordion Festival is here again.  You can purchase your tickets for Cotati from club volunteer Cathy Patton. This will save you from standing in line and each ticket that we sell earns a donation to our club treasury, so be sure to see Cathy or one of her helpers for your tickets.

Our featured entertainer for the month of August will be great musician and all around good guy Ron Borelli.  More about this in the next issue, but remember not to miss the August meeting.

Finally, I would like to send out a huge thank you to Hanna Sweet, widow of our late friend Norman Sweet for her generous accordion donation to our club.  Thank you Hanna, we appreciate your generosity.

Tony Mustaro
President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods

First up was the younger of the Steffan brothers, Christopher, on his Giulietti accordion.  Christopher did an outstanding job on some ethnic numbers: a Tarantella, Mexican Hat Dance, Little Brown Jug, and closed with America The Beautiful.  He gets  better each time we hear him play.

After his set, Christopher turned the Giulietti over to older brother William Marcus Steffan who gave us rousing renditions of Beer Barrel Polka (Rosamunda) and El Ranch Grande followed by a lovely treatment of Santa Lucia.  William is a natural showman and always a crowd pleaser.

Performing after William was David Hayward who has been playing the accordion for five years.  He plays a Silvertone accordion and he plays it very well.  He performed two accordion classics Accordion Rhythm and Nola for his first two numbers and then went all Mozart on us with Rondo Alla Turca.  David loves to play and the audience loves to hear him.  Christopher, William and David will all be performing at Cotati this year at 10:30 AM on August 19th.

Our next performer of the evening was Olga Fensler who has been playing for about one and one-half years.  Olga began lessons as an adult motivated by here love of accordion music which she tells us is very popular in Russia.  She did an outstanding performance of three Russian folk songs.  Keep us the good work Olga, and please come play for us again soon.

The last performers of the evening were Sheri Mignano, who was joined later in her set by John Covanelli. Sheri opened with a beautiful and sensitive rendition of Percy Faith’s theme from A Summer Place, followed by Vola Colomba and Le Retour des Hirondelles.  John then joined her to duet with Tango Delle Rose to close out the first half of our program.

Our featured performer for the night was Joe Domitrowich.  Joe began his set playing a wireless Petosa Milennium Reedless accordion as he moved around the room  playing  an Italian medley which included music from The Godfather, followed by Sunrise Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof, Just Because, Sentimental Journey and Comet Valse.  He then put down his Petosa to pick up his Concerto and gave us Czardas, Habanera, Wien Du Stadt Meiner Traume, Moliendo Cafe, Jambalaya, In the Mood, a Medley of Standards, Mambo #5, Perez Prado’s  Patricia, He Slavko, closing with Train Ride. It’s always fun to have Joe play his eclectic mix for us.  We are looking forward to hearing him again.
Thank you Joe.

Mark Your Calendars!
The ACR annual Picnic is on July 21st
Directions:  4107 Hessel Road. Sebastopol.
From Highway 101 take the Highway 116 West Exit (Gravenstein Hwy towards Sebastopol) after about 3 miles you will see a sign for Hessel Rd and Blank Rd on the left.  Go past this for about another mile and a half.  You will see another sign for Hessel Rd on the left.  Turn left onto Hessel Rd.  Go about a quarter of a mile.  You will see McFarland Rd on your right and just past this you will turn left onto a long driveway to Finn and Jeanie’s place.
Note: Please bring a table cloth for your picnic table

Cotati Accordion Festival Tickets.
We have a new ticket seller this year.
Don’t forget to get your tickets from Cathy Patton at  (707) 792-0944.
Tickets are $15 for one day and $25 for two days.
Make checks out to The Cotati Accordion Festival.

Silence is Golden.
Out of consideration for the performers and your fellow members in the audience, please don’t talk during the musical part of the ACR meetings. The performers deserve our respect and attention. So be kind and reserve the chit-chat and discussions for the intermissions and breaks.

Play for the ACR, Get in Free.
The ACR board has voted to admit all performers into the monthly meetings for free. As long as the musicians sign up and perform a minimum of three songs, they will admitted without the normal donation at the door.

ACR Band Update
The ACR Band will have its next meeting on August 20th, 6:30 before the ACR general meeting. If you would like to play in the band, please contact Steve Balich at 707-874-3494.

Cotati Accordion Festival
Mark your Calendars for August 18 & 19, 2012
9:30 – 8:30 both days.
Tickets are $15 for one day and $25 for two days.
Make checks out to: The Cotati Accordion Festival
Announcing the return of Dick Contino and a host of others.
Here is a partial list below (in no particular order).
August 18th
The Golden State Accordion Club Band, Steve Albini, The Sansa and Shiri Show, Big Lou’s Dance Party, The Great Morgani, Chervona, Lady of Spain-A-Ring, Alicia Baker, Dick Contino, Copper Box, Amber Lee Baker, BlackEyed Dempseys, THAT Damned Band, Polkacide, Cajun/Zydeco Dance Party, Steve Balich Sr. Polka Band
August 19th
The Golden State Accordion Club Band, Future Accordion Stars(Marjorie Konrads kids), KAZAMOZe, The Accordion Babes Showcase, The Great Morgani, the Mag Maggies, Lady of Spain-A-Ring, Tatiana Semichastnay, Santiago Jimenez, Alicia Baker, Circus Finelli, The Sansa and Shiri Show, Cajun/Zydeco Dance Party, Steve Balich Sr. Polka Band, The Wild Catahoulas.