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The Hall of Mirrors was an impressive venue for the Grand Concert, with dual staircases at the front leading up to the balconies which afforded the Penrhyn Male Voice Choir the opportunity to file down the stairs, making a grand entrance. The choir, conducted by Owain Arwel Davies, is based in Bethesda in North West Wales, and stepped away from traditional offerings at one point to give us a very powerful arrangement by Mr. Davies of a traditional African song, “Tshotsholoza.” Besides the full intermission, the choir took two breaks in the concert during which we enjoyed the harp playing and singing of Gwenan Gibbard. David commented, “I enjoyed the Welsh male choir and the harpist/soloist…they were excellent” and “the acoustics in the venue were excellent.” Considering the height of the soaring ceilings and all the hard surfaces of the hall, it was a very pleasant surprise that the acoustics were so good.
The Sunday gymanfa sessions were well attended and, besides hearing special music from both the Penrhyn Male Voice Choir and Gwenan Gibbard, we were treated to an impressive solo by Robert O’Brien. Shirley said she enjoyed hearing the winner of the eisteddfod hymn singing competition. (Mr. O’Brien will be the featured soloist at WSCO’s 2007 gymanfa ganu.)
The Market Place was quite busy, had a wide selection of items, and Peggy thought that it was set up in a professional manner. She claims to have spent way too much there, as did I, although I did purchase some items for the folk dance troupe. Laura especially liked the selection of books and CDs, and Shirley “enjoyed meeting people while working at the Welsh Language table.”
Peggy “loved the Tea Room setup, and the Welsh Cakes were great. British Tea was used and that made it even better.” And, speaking of food, I thought both the food and service at the Thursday pre-concert dinner were good, and Charlotte commented that the “food was good at all the meals” and liked the fact that the Sunday intercession meal was a “served meal” rather than a box meal. Peggy said the “only sour note” was that the majority of her food at the Grand Banquet was undercooked although the dessert was ok. Many folks appreciated the sheet provided in our packets that identified local places to eat.
Overall, Peggy thought this year’s event was well organized, and David said, “Cincinnati is a wonderful venue for a National Festival of Wales and Gymanfa. I wish more folks from central Ohio could have been in attendance.”
To sum it all up, Peggy said, “The best part was seeing so many dear friends that somehow we don’t see very often since we are all scattered everywhere…going to the National always makes me feel like I did when, as a little child, Mom and Dad took me to gymanfas – proud to be Welsh.”
Laura enjoyed “talking to people from Wales and hearing lots of Welsh spoken around me” and said, “but best of all was the music. Gwenan Gibbard’s harp and voice, the men’s voices singing the range of music from Hogia’r Bonc’s folksong singalongs to the full chorus’ formal presentation on Saturday night, and finally singing myself among the hundreds of voices at the gymanfa during Sunday night’s session – an uplifting and unforgettable experience.”
And that’s what a gymanfa is all about.
Other WSCO folks seen at NAFOW were: Anita Albright, Janet Allison, Ruth Ann Bull, Helen Davis, Marian Davis, Dave & James Davisson, Cheryl & Stacy Evans, Ann & Jim Gillard, Nancy Haines, Tim Jilg, Johanna Jones Keiser, Tegwyn Lantz, Ann & Jack Lewis, Joan & David Mandry, Stanton Prior, Roger Roberts, Joe Sooby and his friend Virginia Dawson, Joe Speakman, Sr., Laura Thomas’s sister Kathleen Pigg, Meredydd Williams, and former members Jean & Bill Baskwill, Bob Hughes, and Marti Hurlburt.
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2007 NAFOW will be Aug. 30 – Sept. 2; Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, VA. For more details before the official mailing, check http://nafow.org.
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The experiences of the Welsh settlers in Ohio are about to be made available to audiences throughout the world.
The goal of the Wales-Ohio Project is to digitize a selection of Welsh Americana relating to the state of Ohio held at The National Library of Wales and to make them available on an innovative bilingual website.
This project has been made possible by a generous donation from Evan E. and Elizabeth F. Davis, Oak Hill, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are well-known benefactors of America’s Welsh heritage and are co-funding this groundbreaking project in partnership with The National Library of Wales.
Mr. Davis was presented with the National Welsh American Foundation’s Heritage Medallion in an awards ceremony during the Grand Banquet at the 2006 NAFOW in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The website will be available from March 2007 onwards at http://ohio.llgc.org.uk. Upon successful completion of the website, the Library hopes to undertake similar projects on other American states.