St. David's Day Ideas Forum

[The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society]

St. David's Day Forum

Shwmae, my name is Dave Parry; I run an expat Welsh group called the Chicago Tafia.

The Tafia, like most Welsh groups pretty much relies on the generosity of its members and runs on a shoestring budget, which in some ways is a good thing as it forces us to be creative.

Over the past nine years the Tafia has arranged numerous events for St. David's day in the Chicagoland area, including - social pub nights, appearing waving flags outside TV studios, contacting area radio stations to play music by Welsh artists, cooking meals at our local Ronald McDonald charity house, decorating area libraries and hosting St. David's day parties.

I am opening this discussion forum to exchange ideas with people involved with Welsh groups both over here and around the world. The following are some ideas that I though were worth sharing with you all:

Getting more Welsh music on the radio

While we have had a great deal of success getting radio stations to play Welsh music and make Happy St. David's Day announcements over the years, one of our best achievements was last year when the Sonora, California based radio station IRFT (www.radioirft.com) played 63 hours of Welsh music by over 110 different Welsh musicians over the St. David's day weekend. For more info of the lineup visit: www.radioirft.com/stdavids_artists.html

I was hoping that this year more Welsh groups would join us in this particular mission and encourage their members to contact area TV & radio stations.

Welsh musicians such as Duffy, Jem, The Stereophonics and Tom Jones should be available on most mainstream stations playlists, likewise Bryn Terfel and Katherine Jenkins should be on hand at most classical stations.

Some tasty American alternatives to imported Welsh tipples!

If any of you have ever sought out imported Welsh or other British goods you know that your wallet is in for a battering.

Between the pitiful dollar to pound ratio and horrendous import taxes, Welsh products are not the easiest to convince people to stock. Which puts many people involved in Welsh societies in the US in a bit of a predicament, do you break the bank and go for the expensive stuff for the full Welsh experience or do you make do with what's available?

Over the years we have dallied with creating Red Dragon cocktails for events and bartering with distributors to pick up Welsh brews at a reasonable cost, not an easy process.

However, there are some great Welsh-American alternatives on the market.

Did you know that Jack Daniels & Evan Williams Bourbon's were both first produced by Welsh distillers?

The Evan Williams family distillery was originally located in Dale, Pembrokeshire, and opened in 1705. The family later emigrated to the USA during the temperance period of the Welsh non-conformist church and helped found the Kentucky whiskey industry, a number of high quality bourbons are sold under the Evan Williams name to this day. The family of Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel had a similar tale to tell.

Another snifter that had it's roots in Wales is Gales Welsh style cider, a cheap and cheerful little treat brewed by the Thomas Family Winery down in Southern Indiana. The cider has an interesting tale to tell to boot, it was first brewed by a Welsh immigrant named Gale Thomas during the prohibition era in the 1930's and was sold surreptitiously to buyers in Indianapolis and surrounding areas.

The Welsh contribution to the production of quality wines however seems to be a more recent innovation, currently I am aware of two Welsh wineries operating in California. The AmByth estate is run by a Welsh expatriate businessman who emigrated to the US in the 1970's, and the Cambria winery in Santa Maria, California is run by the family of recent Welsh immigrants.

Welsh style beers remain elusive, but with the expansion of microbrew pubs in the US this could be an opportunity for this to change.

I put forward that we, the members of AmeriCymru contact our local micro-breweries to float the idea that they create Welsh style ale for St. David's day 2009. (does anyone have contacts in the brewing industry?)

It may not be the real stuff, but it would be a great opportunity to get a few more dragons sighted around the country!

Some links to some Welsh-American producers:

The Thomas Family Winery (Gales Welsh style cider)
208 East Second Street
Madison, Indiana
Phone: [phone]
Website: www.thomasfamilywinery.us

Ambyth Estate Winery
510 Sequoia Lane
Templeton, CA 93465
Phone: [phone]
Website: www.ambythestate.com

Cambria Winery
5475 Chardonnary Lane
Santa Maria, CA
Phone: [phone]
Website: www.cambriawine.com

Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon
Website: www.evanwilliams.com

Musicians

Lets face it flights aren't getting any cheaper and again with the dollar to pound ratio neither are the performers wages!

However yet again there are some great Welsh & Welsh-American performers on this side of the pond.

David Llewellyn in Tennessee, Oceans Apart in Arizona, Hwyl in North Carolina, The Burlington Welsh Chorus in Ontario, Jay Brook in Indiana are just a few.

Over the past few months I have been compiling a list of Welsh musicians, societies, shops, pubs and businesses in the United States (It is far from complete and I am open to new suggestions for listings), I have attached a PDF copy of the list to this forum, if you cant find it email me at [e-mail] and ill email you a copy.

Entertainment:

Welsh DVD's are all but impossible to find over here, but there is a solution, multi-region DVD players are now available on sites like Amazon.com for less than $100.

Welsh DVD's are also relatively inexpensive on Amazon.co.uk where inclusive of shipping a wide selection of DVD's are available for less than $16.

Some good new released that I recommend are 'Gavin & Stacey' and 'The Edge of Love', while some older classics that no collection should be without are 'Grand Slam', 'Very Annie Mary', 'Twin Town', 'House of America', 'Proud Valley', 'The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain', 'Solomon & Gaenor', 'Hedd Wyn', 'Eldra' and the kids classics 'Fireman Sam' & 'Super Ted'.

I hope you find some of these ideas helpful and I look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions.

Hwyl

Dave Parry
The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society

[Pam Slotsky]

Great and fun ideas--and the Welsh Connections list is...well, great. Thanks!
Also, the new website for the St. David's Society of the Capital District (NY) is http://capitalwelsh.bravehost.com/

[The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society]

Great, ill add it to the list.

[gaabi]

Wow!!! Dave, thanks so much for this, how cool!

We did a St David's Day family dinner menu and recipes last year on americymru -
http://www.americymru.com/calendar/xmarch/stdavidsdayrecipe.html

and I want to do a vegetarian and vegan menu as he (Dewi Sant) didn't eat meat and I think that would be a cool way to "do the little things."

I have kids and am looking for things to do with kids. There are lots of "spring" or Easter crafts that create daffodils and these are great for St David's Day and here are some of them:

paper daffodil windmills -
http://www.4ormore.co.uk/projects/march03.htm

paper daffodils
http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/marymary/daffodil.htm

daffodil crown
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&c...

daffodil napkin rings
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/crafts/paper-daffodil-napkin-ring

origami daffodil directions on video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqVOH9SAQfA

and somewhere I made a page with pix and directions to make a daffodil pinwheel but I can't find it so you make a yellow pinwheel and pin or glue a yellow cupcake liner to the middle - pinwheel directions here:
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/creativepaper/ss/pinwheel.htm

origami dragon head - just use red!
www.origami-fun.com/origami-dragon-head.html

[The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society]

We held a St. David's day event at my kids school this year, and it looks like we have been tapped to do the same thing at his new school this year. The Crayola.com website has some great St. David's Day projects for small hands as does the book "Celebrating St. David's Day" which features a number of easy to do projects suitable for little hands. My four-year-old was particularly tickled by project to make "Leek People" out of construction paper.

'Celebrating St. David's Day' is published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch (www.carreg-gwalch.co.uk)

[gaabi]

Thanks! I'll look for that.

I found this cool print and fold paper red dragon -
http://pontomidia.com.br/ricardo/greatweb/red_dragon.jpg

[Wild Canary]

Gaabi, this was fun! and I learned alot about the whiskey industry, too. I have a brand new grand nephew named Jasper and several toddlers relatives named Jack:) I was wondering where the names were coming from.
the daffodil crafts will be fun to try. I have done some cut out crafts with daffys myself, though I don't follow directions.
I also meant to tell you how inviting your St. David's table was. The china and flowers and of course the food and the view all were very homey. We never had St. David's celebrations but the food is very familiar to all the other holiday celebrations.
I got some recipes off of the Philadelphia Welsh Societies page. Those recipes...Teisen Nionod (Onion Cake) and Picau ar y maen (Griddle tea cakes) are very similar to dishes I make regularly. I just made the leek and potatoe, and cheese dish the other day. There are so many variations, it just depends on what is on hand.
I am not sure how to put the web addresses on like you did. I will attempt it someday soon.
There is a St. David's Society in Utica NY. I talked to someone there today to see if they knew about your site. Hopefully, all my questions will generate some interest and contacts for you. Ta.

[Phil Wyman]

On Saint David's Day, Sunday March 1st, 2009 I am planning on praying like David might have prayed - like the old ascetic Celtic saints - standing waist deep in cold waters. Of course, I am looking for people to join me, and I am hoping to get some media attention. Living in Salem, MA - just north of Boston this should not be difficult in March.

I have a group forming now, and am hoping to get about 10 people to join me. There are other people in other places considering joining the crazy idea. Anyone here want to join the chilly fun?

[Ceri Shaw]

For my part I am happy ( or perhaps I should say willing ) to take a dip for St David on March 1st. If I'm going to wade into the Willamette in my underpants with other like minded individuals and stand in the icy polluted waters staring heavenward for a few minutes ( or until my toes turn blue ), I'll want to be sure and certain that its going to attract attention though. I like the idea of doing it on a national scale. Hows about starting a group on here to attract as many participants as possible and whip up national publicity. We'd be more than happy to help in any we can.

What other cities do you currently have plans in?

[Phil Wyman]

Hi Ceri,

Currently there are plans for here in Boston, and Whitesands Beach near St. David's in Pembrokeshire are in the workings for now. I am working on other locations as well. The important thing will be to get some local press, and then the national press will be helped by some connections I have, and by the Welsh Office of the First Minister in New York.

It will take me until after Halloween to make the group on this site. I live in Salem, MA, and Halloween is our big holiday (weird, I know), and I am out straight until then. Will connect again in November. If you are up for helping set up a dunking, I think that we can get you Welsh Press, and the story would be strange enough that even a few local events would get some national press for Wales.

[Jerry Williams]

We've joined in the Saint Patrick's parade in Scranton, two years now. Of course, we brought the Bangor School Band with us. Welsh Gaurd uniforms and playing Men of Harlech, they get attention. Won best performance, too. We recently held a benefit for the local Saint Francis Kitchen, bringing together Burlilngton Chorus, Catholic Choral Society and a youth choir. WVIA-FM, our regional PBS affiliate, did an afternoon of Welsh culture and music. Our goal is to be visible and known for public service and quality performance. Last year it was the Pontarddulais. Our recent memorial for the Avondale disaster caught local tv attention. We'll use that as a springboard to remember the more than 30,000 miners of diverse ethnic origins who died in the anthracite fields. While we are very few in numbers, and still fewer who actually help with these projects, we work to bring other groups together to get things done. The right project for the right reason. Not so much "look at us", but more like "look what we can do together", or "see what we've achieved together as a community". We've come up with more ideas than there are people or time to exicute them. Whatever the idea, I think that it is wise to include other groups in one way or another and make sure there is something of value in it for them.

An idea that I like very much is a Dylan Thomas scholarship for writing or oratory. The whole educational community can relate to that. We have a brand that carrys a lot of weight. Even if there isn't much money in it, it sure looks great on a collge bound student's resume.

By the way, today is another anniversary; The Aberfan Disaster,21 October 1966

We have so much to do.

[Ceri Shaw]

The scholarship is a great idea. Here in Oregon of course we could look at doing something along the same lines with reference to Meriwether Lewis.

Diolch for reminding us of todays grim anniversary. Its too easy to forget. As a boy living in Pontypool at the time I remember the horror and outrage that gripped the valleys in the wake of the disaster. I also remember hearing about the magnificent community response. At one time they were turning voluteers away because they simply had more offers of assistance than they could use. Theres a lesson for us all there I guess..

[Mike Brooks of Here Be Dragons]

Well after last night's drop in the pound maybe Welsh products and musicians may start to become more affordable. I hope so.

Mike
Here Be Dragons
(Welsh Celtic band touring US in summer 2009)