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The Clearwater Folk Arts Festival will be held today through Monday. It includes Arlo Guthrie, Trout Fishing in America and a giant craft sale.
By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 10, 2000
The speculation continues: Will Arlo Guthrie perform his signature song, Alice's Restaurant, at the Clearwater Folk Arts Festival on Saturday night?
Folk enthusiasts have been calling and e-mailing Margo Walbolt, Clearwater parks and recreation department arts and community services coordinator, to ask the question.
She doesn't know the answer, but "I want to keep the speculation going."
After all, some people consider Alice's Restaurant to be a Thanksgiving classic, and Guthrie will be performing at Coachman Park only 13 days before the holiday.
It is a lengthy, whimsical ballad with thousands of words, written about Guthrie's arrest on a littering charge in the 1960s. The St. Petersburg Times tried to ask Guthrie whether he'll sing the tale, but according to his representative, he was traveling and couldn't be reached.
But Keith Grimwood, the vocalist and bassist for the two-man group that opens the festival line-up, Trout Fishing in America, could.
Grimwood was at home in West Fork, Ark., getting ready to take his son Kevin, 18, to vote in his first election. After playing some dates in extreme Northern regions, he said, he can't wait to get to Florida. He said the Tampa Bay area holds special meaning for the band.
"WMNF was the first station to play Trout in America," said Grimwood. WMNF 88.9-FM is the Tampa-based public radio station.
Grimwood's partner in the band is vocalist/guitarist Ezra Idlet. The two met 24 years ago in Houston, where they formed the band and have been performing all over the country ever since.
"We're a folk/rock (group) with a dose of humor," said Grimwood.
The band played the Clearwater Folk Arts Festival two years ago and was so popular that Walbolt said she got numerous requests to bring the duo back.
"They have a major following here, particularly with families," Walbolt said. "They are amusing, outgoing and like to roam around in the crowd."
Just like a folksy song, the Clearwater Folk Festival has humble roots.
Years ago, staffers at the Clearwater Public Library had an idea to start a story-telling festival. They got together with the Clearwater Parks and Recreation Department and modeled it after the Florida Folk Festival at White Springs.
All was going well until last year, when the annual Florida/Florida State football game seemed to take attention away from the festival.
"It was strong competition for folk music," Walbolt said. "Some people were watching the game in their tents. So we pushed it a week forward."
There are several "firsts" for the festival this year. This is the first year the event will be held over four days, and the first time it will take place at three different settings. And this is the first year Christmas Under the Oaks, a craft sale featuring 215 artists, has been incorporated into the event.
The 24th Annual Christmas Under the Oaks sponsored by the GFWC Clearwater Junior Woman's Club is a tradition among folk artists and holiday shoppers interested in arts and crafts.
There will be hundreds of crafters offering "a lot of wood things, ceramics, glass, jewelry, stuff for your hair and dried flower arrangements," said Amy Manning, event coordinator.
The event was originally held at Oak Grove Middle School before being relocated to a tree-shaded area of the Clearwater campus of St. Petersburg Junior College. But eventually it was moved to a parking lot.
"It wasn't Christmas Under the Oaks anymore," said Manning.
So she's pleased the event was incorporated into the Clearwater Folk Arts Festival and moved to Coachman Park.
"Now we're back under trees, oak trees in fact," Manning said.
The festival will begin at 5 p.m. today at Station Square Park with folk singer Gove Scrivenor and blues/folk singer Veronika Jackson. From 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at Coachman Park, folk art and acts will be offered. All of the entertainment is free until 4 p.m. Then people will be charged $5 to see the headline acts, Trout Fishing in America, the Limeliters and Guthrie beginning at 5 p.m.
People who get to the grounds before 4 p.m. and children 10 and under do not have to pay the admission charge.
Christmas Under the Oaks will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Coachman Park.
"They're nicknaming it Christmas Under the Oaks Next to the Water," said Walbolt.
The festival will conclude Monday with Education Day for students at Harborview Center.
"It's real family oriented," Walbolt said.
WHAT: The Clearwater Folk Arts Festival, featuring storytelling, artisan demonstrations, music, food and children's activities.
WHEN AND WHERE: 5 to 8 p.m. today at Station Square Park: folk concert by Gove Scrivenor.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Coachman Park: arts and crafts, dancing and other folk-oriented activities.
5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Coachman Park: Trout Fishing in America, the Limeliters and Arlo Guthrie. Admission $5.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Coachman Park: Christmas Under the Oaks, with 250 crafters.
Monday at Harborview Center: Education Day for students.