Coming to the Ocrafolk Festival 2020? . . . Kick off the festival weekend in a whole new way! Bob & Jeanne Zentz invite you to join them for the Ramblin' Conrad Folklife Institute, a series of folk music workshops inspired by the Great American Folk Revival of the 1950s-1980s.
About the Ramblin' on Ocracoke Island
About the Ramblin' on Ocracoke Island
- When: Wednesday, June 3rd (3 PM) to Friday, June 5th (1 PM). (Ocrafolk Festival starts at 1 PM on Friday, June 5th.)
- Where: Berkley Manor, Ocracoke Island, NC ~ grounds for the 2020 Ocrafolk Festival. The Berkley Manor is the ramblin’ home for exploring the folk arts, nestled in the live oaks within reach of the cool sea breezes. Friday a 1 PM, the Ocrafolk Festival kicks off on site. If you have your festival ticket, you’ll be able to jump right from the workshops to the festival!
- Where: Berkley Manor, Ocracoke Island, NC ~ grounds for the 2020 Ocrafolk Festival. The Berkley Manor is the ramblin’ home for exploring the folk arts, nestled in the live oaks within reach of the cool sea breezes. Friday a 1 PM, the Ocrafolk Festival kicks off on site. If you have your festival ticket, you’ll be able to jump right from the workshops to the festival!
- What: Folk music workshops designed for all levels of participation. Bring a musical instrument if you wish (not required).
- What: Folk music workshops designed for all levels of participation. Bring a musical instrument if you wish (not required).
- Housing Available: Limited housing is available on site at the Berkley for Wednesday & Thursday night. If interested, contact Ocracoke Alive at [email protected] or 252-921-0260 for details.
*The Ramblin' on Ocracoke Island is produced by Bob & Jeanne Zentz, and registration is independent of Ocracoke Alive.
Registration Incudes
Full Ramble -- 3 PM Wednesday to 1 PM Friday -- just $199! EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: $149 through April 15!
- All 5 class sessions
- Two breakfasts and all snacks, plus Friday night social
- Wednesday night faculty concert
- Thursday OcraMex Lunch Buffet
- Thursday night Molasses Creek concert
- Two song circles -- bring a song to lead!
- Extras -- see program for full schedule
- Non-stop folk fun!
Full Ramble -- 3 PM Wednesday to 1 PM Friday -- just $199! EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: $149 through April 15!
- All 5 class sessions
- Two breakfasts and all snacks, plus Friday night social
- Wednesday night faculty concert
- Thursday OcraMex Lunch Buffet
- Thursday night Molasses Creek concert
- Two song circles -- bring a song to lead!
- Extras -- see program for full schedule
- Non-stop folk fun!
Schedule
Wednesday, June 3
3-5 PM, Berkley Manor: Welcome and Registration Check in at the Berkley Manor foyer and register for your Rambles classes. 5-7 PM, Dining Hall: Orientation and Social Come meet your faculty and fellow “Ramblers” and learn about the weekend activities while enjoying a light repast. 7 PM, Berkley Manor: Faculty Concert Kick off your Ocracoke experience with a sampling of the music you’ll experience this week — tickets available to the public, too. 9:00 PM, Dining Hall: Song Circle — “Songsharing” A late-night chance to share our favorite songs — bring one of your favorites to help lead the group!
Thursday, June 4
7 AM, Berkley Grounds: Morning Ramble Start the day with a morning walk (weather permitting; rain location: BYO yoga mat in the Berkley Manor). 8 AM, Dining Hall: Continental Breakfast Buffet 9 AM, Workshop Session #1 11:00 AM, Workshop Session #2 12:30 PM, Dining Hall: OcraMex Buffet Lunch — Enjoy Mexican done island-style with a selection of buffet foods! 1:30-3 PM, Dining Hall: Song Circle — “Singalongs” Sing along in the tradition of pub songs, chorus songs, and the “Seeger style” of joining in — bring a favorite singalong song to share with the group! 3 PM, Workshop Session #3: Instrument & Singing “Sectionals” 4:30 PM, Time on your own: Enjoy a leisurely walk or ride down historic Garrish Highway, home of quaint homes and shops, or relax in one of the Berkley’s many rooms, including a tower with the best views of the island! 6:00-8 PM, Dinner on your own 8 PM, Deepwater Theater: Molasses Creek Concert Ocracoke’s hometown and international favorites warm you up for the weekend with the rhythms and humor that exemplify the coastal sound! Your tickets and seats are reserved as part of your tuition package.
Friday, June 5
7 AM, Berkley Grounds: Morning Ramble Start the day with a morning walk (weather permitting; rain location: BYO yoga mat in the Berkley Manor) 8 AM, Hall: Continental breakfast buffet 9 AM, Workshop Session #4 11 AM, Workshop Session #5 12:45 PM, Dining Hall: Farewell Sing A chance to say and sing “farewell” to your new Ramblers friends!
Wednesday, June 3
3-5 PM, Berkley Manor: Welcome and Registration Check in at the Berkley Manor foyer and register for your Rambles classes. 5-7 PM, Dining Hall: Orientation and Social Come meet your faculty and fellow “Ramblers” and learn about the weekend activities while enjoying a light repast. 7 PM, Berkley Manor: Faculty Concert Kick off your Ocracoke experience with a sampling of the music you’ll experience this week — tickets available to the public, too. 9:00 PM, Dining Hall: Song Circle — “Songsharing” A late-night chance to share our favorite songs — bring one of your favorites to help lead the group!
Thursday, June 4
7 AM, Berkley Grounds: Morning Ramble Start the day with a morning walk (weather permitting; rain location: BYO yoga mat in the Berkley Manor). 8 AM, Dining Hall: Continental Breakfast Buffet 9 AM, Workshop Session #1 11:00 AM, Workshop Session #2 12:30 PM, Dining Hall: OcraMex Buffet Lunch — Enjoy Mexican done island-style with a selection of buffet foods! 1:30-3 PM, Dining Hall: Song Circle — “Singalongs” Sing along in the tradition of pub songs, chorus songs, and the “Seeger style” of joining in — bring a favorite singalong song to share with the group! 3 PM, Workshop Session #3: Instrument & Singing “Sectionals” 4:30 PM, Time on your own: Enjoy a leisurely walk or ride down historic Garrish Highway, home of quaint homes and shops, or relax in one of the Berkley’s many rooms, including a tower with the best views of the island! 6:00-8 PM, Dinner on your own 8 PM, Deepwater Theater: Molasses Creek Concert Ocracoke’s hometown and international favorites warm you up for the weekend with the rhythms and humor that exemplify the coastal sound! Your tickets and seats are reserved as part of your tuition package.
Friday, June 5
7 AM, Berkley Grounds: Morning Ramble Start the day with a morning walk (weather permitting; rain location: BYO yoga mat in the Berkley Manor) 8 AM, Hall: Continental breakfast buffet 9 AM, Workshop Session #4 11 AM, Workshop Session #5 12:45 PM, Dining Hall: Farewell Sing A chance to say and sing “farewell” to your new Ramblers friends!
Faculty
Bob Zentz, the award-winning “Tidewater Troubadour,” has brought songs and stories to audiences around the world for more than five decades. His work as the “father of folk” in Eastern Virginia earned him a place in Norfolk’s “Legends of Music Walk of Fame.” With his wife Jeanne, Bob co-founded the Ramblin’ Conrad Folklife Institute to help spread the gospel of folk through the “roots and branches” of the folk tradition.
Jeanne McDougall Zentz, song historian and writer, explores what songs can tell us about the places and people who created them. Co-founder and executive director of the Ramblin’ Conrad Folklife Institute, Jeanne’s song databases and methods from her dissertation, ‘Fit to be sung in Streets:’ Song in British Colonial America, 1750-1776, are being developed as SongHistory.org, an online project of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute.
Michael Ronstadt, nephew of the Queen of Rock Linda Ronstadt, holds a master’s degree in cello performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music (CCM). Michael brings a rich musical heritage and absolute knack for improvising up a storm! He displays genre-blending explorations on cello and guitar in complement to thought-provoking lyrics. Michael is a much sought-after studio musician who has appeared on more than 100 albums in the last fifteen years.
Bobby Fisher, world-renowned guitarist, recording artist, composer, and clinician, has served a number of years as program coordinator for the NPM Guitar Schools and Guitar and Ensemble Institutes, and recorded and produced a number of his own recordings and has worked as producer and guest musician on countless others, including a number of music collections for OCP, GIA, Franciscan Media, and Heart to Heart Ministries.
Serenity Fisher entices stories into becoming songs, using truth-telling, highly visual lyrics, and dreamy melodies. A powerhouse singer, Fisher’s nuanced vocals vary from bluesy belt to sultry whisper, from technical prowess to stripped-down raw emotion, with a piano style that is theatrical and passionate.
John Golden is a folksinger / storyteller living in Wilmington, NC. He is a retired (for 23 years) civil engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers and has been a part of the Ocrafolk Festival for 19 years. John has great interest in and knowledge of coastal Carolina history and the events, characters and legends that populate that history. He sings and plays guitar, banjo, ukulele and harmonica and has written songs about shipwrecks, pirates, Virginia Dare and the Civil War.
Bob Zentz, the award-winning “Tidewater Troubadour,” has brought songs and stories to audiences around the world for more than five decades. His work as the “father of folk” in Eastern Virginia earned him a place in Norfolk’s “Legends of Music Walk of Fame.” With his wife Jeanne, Bob co-founded the Ramblin’ Conrad Folklife Institute to help spread the gospel of folk through the “roots and branches” of the folk tradition.
Jeanne McDougall Zentz, song historian and writer, explores what songs can tell us about the places and people who created them. Co-founder and executive director of the Ramblin’ Conrad Folklife Institute, Jeanne’s song databases and methods from her dissertation, ‘Fit to be sung in Streets:’ Song in British Colonial America, 1750-1776, are being developed as SongHistory.org, an online project of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute.
Michael Ronstadt, nephew of the Queen of Rock Linda Ronstadt, holds a master’s degree in cello performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music (CCM). Michael brings a rich musical heritage and absolute knack for improvising up a storm! He displays genre-blending explorations on cello and guitar in complement to thought-provoking lyrics. Michael is a much sought-after studio musician who has appeared on more than 100 albums in the last fifteen years.
Bobby Fisher, world-renowned guitarist, recording artist, composer, and clinician, has served a number of years as program coordinator for the NPM Guitar Schools and Guitar and Ensemble Institutes, and recorded and produced a number of his own recordings and has worked as producer and guest musician on countless others, including a number of music collections for OCP, GIA, Franciscan Media, and Heart to Heart Ministries.
Serenity Fisher entices stories into becoming songs, using truth-telling, highly visual lyrics, and dreamy melodies. A powerhouse singer, Fisher’s nuanced vocals vary from bluesy belt to sultry whisper, from technical prowess to stripped-down raw emotion, with a piano style that is theatrical and passionate.
John Golden is a folksinger / storyteller living in Wilmington, NC. He is a retired (for 23 years) civil engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers and has been a part of the Ocrafolk Festival for 19 years. John has great interest in and knowledge of coastal Carolina history and the events, characters and legends that populate that history. He sings and plays guitar, banjo, ukulele and harmonica and has written songs about shipwrecks, pirates, Virginia Dare and the Civil War.