Submitted by:  Elaine Fingerett, 7/22/07
This story relates to past and present
Category(ies):  Music, UC Davis

Where does an idea come from?  How did I cook up the plan for the bi-weekly folk music jam sessions that take place now at the Wyatt Deck in the UC Davis Arboretum and began in September, 2006?
Some years ago (back in the 90’s) former Davis mayor Julie Partansky and I developed the habit of cruising through the UCD Arboretum on her pedicab while playing music. Often I’d play accordion while Julie pedaled.  Sometimes we’d switch.  I’d pedal and she’d play R. Crumb’s old banjo sitting in the fancy, padded black leather seat of the pedicab.  One day we played on the Wyatt Deck, which at the time had a snack bar.  The folks at the snack bar heard us and hired us to come back to play for the lunch patrons one day a week.  I always thought what a great place this deck amidst the redwoods would be for a jam session with lots of musicians.

Now, years later, campus and community musicians and listeners meet alternate Friday’s out on the Wyatt Deck to take part of this regular Arboretum program.  January through March, we head indoors to a room in the UCD Music Building to escape the cold.  I hope you’ll come join us.  Details below.
 

Folk Music Jam Sessions In the Arboretum
Alternate Fridays
Wyatt Deck, adjacent to Redwood Grove
Pull out your fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, pipes,
flutes, squeezeboxes (you name it) for an acoustic jam session on the Wyatt
Deck near the redwoods. These jam sessions give campus and community
folk musicians a time to play together over the lunch hour.   Listeners are welcome!
For information contact Elaine Fingerett,
 Youth & Family Outreach Coordinator,
UC Davis Arboretum,
(530) 752-4880, http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu.