#81 The Magic of the Hoot with Ruth Ungar Merenda, Vern Fannin and Ally Britton

The Summer Hoot is coming up y'all! Today I get to sit down with a few of the women who make it happen. Ruth Ungar Merenda, is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who plays fiddle, ukulele and guitar with the Mammals, Mom, AND HOOT festival founder and organizer. Veronica Fannin, illustrator, botanical drawing instructor, children's book author/illustrator AND official Hoot visual artist/designer and co-coordinator. Last but not least Ally Britton, program director at the Ashokan Center and member of the band Silverdome! What do we talk about today? Lots. Ruthy's first music memory, the power of music, songwriting, why the Hoot started, Vern's background, how they became friends, art for art's sake, making a living as an artist, Ally's work at the Ashokan Center, teaching kids about nature, the fun that will happen like blacksmithing, hikes and kids parades at the Hoot, the magic of the Arm of the Sea Theater, gong baths, performing, getting nervous, Ani Difranco. We hear Ruthy perform "Baby" live from the Mike and Ruthy catalogue, what a treat! We talk about Hoot highlights, the magic of the Ashokan Center and the intentional love that goes into the making of the Hoot. You want to go right! Get your tickets here. Want to volunteer? Head over here to sign up. Catch the Hoot bus from Radio Kingston...check our website for the details. We listened to Beautiful One (here's the stop motion beautiful movie that a big fan made...you must watch this!), When My Story Ends and Maple Leaf by the Mammals and Bright as You Can Be by the Mike and Ruthy Band. Today’s show was engineered by Ben Benton of Radio Kingston, www.radiokingston.org. With special technical support from Manuel Blas and Kale Kaposhilin. We heard music from our fave, Shana Falana, http://www.shanafalana.com/ Feel free to email me, say hello: [email protected] Leave me a voicemail with your thoughts or a few words about who has what you want and why! (845)481-3429 ** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT :) http://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast ITUNES | SPOTIFY | STITCHER ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-want-what-she-has/id1451648361?mt=2 SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/77pmJwS2q9vTywz7Uhiyff?si=G2eYCjLjT3KltgdfA6XXCA STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/she-wants/i-want-what-she-has?refid=stpr’ Follow: INSTAGRAM * https://www.instagram.com/iwantwhatshehaspodcast/ FACEBOOK * https://www.facebook.com/iwantwhatshehaspodcast TWITTER * https://twitter.com/wantwhatshehas