Wisdom of the Elders, is a monthly series where our host, Sonny Ochs, along with co-host, Ron Olesko, invite distinguished members of the Folk community to share stories, advice and the occasional song! This series will be a mix of conversations that were recorded starting at the 2010 NERFA Conference as well as new discussions that are exclusive to our podcast.

This month - a brand new episode focusing on three of North America’s most influential folk festivals. Hosts Sonny Ochs and Ron Olesko sit down with former Producer of the Kerrville Folk Festival, Dalis Allen; former Artistic Director of the Mariposa Folk Festival, Mike Hill, and co-founder and celebrating her 30th year as director of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Anne Saunders.

Dalis Allen - Dalis was the Producer of the Kerrville Music Festivals in Texas from 2002 until October 2019. Her involvement in the music industry began in her University days where she booked and ran the Coffeehouse and eventually became President of the overall Program Council. In 2000 Dalis became the Founder, President and Conference Coordinator of the Southwest Region of the Folk Alliance. Currently is the Executive Director.

Mike Hill - Mike grew up in the same home town (Orillia, Ontario) as Gordon Lightfoot so perhaps there’s something “folky” in the water there. When Canada’s oldest folk festival, the Mariposa Folk Festival returned to Orillia in 2000, he volunteered. He quickly became the festival organizing chairperson and in 2007 became the Artistic Director of Mariposa. He wrote the book on Mariposa - literally. In 2017 he published the book The Mariposa Folk Festival: A History.

Anne Saunders - Anne discovered the festival volunteer circuit while in graduate school at RPI. She worked 6-7 fests each summer. She was a research technician at Cornell University Medical Center in NYC when she became Falcon Ridge Folk Festival's first publicist and later Artistic & Publicity Director. She has served as manager, agent, producer, even accompanist, donning many hats in the folk community. 2023 will mark Anne’s 30th year as Artist Director of Falcon Ridge and the 35th edition of the festival itself.