Fans of old-time music got to kick up their heels a week ahead of the Creative Alliance’s inaugural Say Sister! Festival — which celebrates women who have contributed to the genre — with an opening Square Dance party. Several dozen folks sashayed, do-si-doed and allemanded to a local all-female old-time music string band in the Creative Alliance at The Patterson. When they took a break, they could also take in the new exhibit there, “I’ve Endured: Women of Old Time Music.”
“It’s a great way to connect with all generations, let your hair down, and let your ears do some listening because you have to keep up with the calls,” said Tinku Bhattacharyya, Creative Alliance performance director, who co-curated the event with Joy Davis, CA visual arts director, and Cathy Fink, old-time musician.
From left – Brad Kolodner, musician/Baltimore Old Time Music Festival co-organizer, and Lizzie Grabowski, environmental consultant, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Members of the party’s all female old-time string band: Em Hammond on bass, Marcy Marxer on guitar, Rachel Eddy on fiddle, Cathy Fink (festival co-curator) on banjo, and caller Becky Hill, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Jason Steer, Creative Alliance executive director, and Martha Stein, Baltimore social worker, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Fern Poling, Smith College student, and Sunflower Williams, Creative Alliance executive assistant, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Joylene John-Sowah, PCORI merit review officer, and Dr. Cy Hamidi, LifeBridge Health family physician, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Molly Burger, Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions state affairs manager, and Sharon Beach, retired preschool teacher, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Event organizers: Tinku Bhattacharyya, Creative Alliance performance director, and Joy Davis, Creative Alliance visual arts director, at Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance (Sloane Brown)The evening’s dancing provided a type of social mingling without the small talk at the Creative Alliance’s Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)Dozens of folks hit the dance floor for the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance at the Creative Alliance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Jenny Sage, Baltimore licensed master social worker, and Tyler Wheeler, Baltimore-based musician, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance (Sloane Brown)Jan. 3, 2025; From left – Vishva Iyer, Carnegie Mellon University student, and Vyom Iyer, New York publicist, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance (Sloane Brown)Key to keep the dance going was listening to caller Becky Hill’s instructions at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance at the Creative Alliance. (Sloane Brown)Participants had fun learning the ins-and-outs, and overs-and-unders at the Creative Alliance’s Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)From left – Anne Jones, University of Maryland Medical Center pediatric nurse, and Eileen O’Rourke, Abell Foundation director of impact investing, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance (Sloane Brown)From left – Sean Creighton, Avalere healthcare consultant, and Natasha Rutherford, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deputy director, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance (Sloane Brown)From left – Courtney Malvik, Oceantic Network vice president, and Jessica Kohnen, nonprofit consultant, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance (Sloane Brown)From left – Rebekah Geller, University of Michigan student, and Alex Norbrook, Princeton University student, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance (Sloane Brown)For some folks, being in the audience was just fine, at the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)Fancy footwork at Creative Alliance for the Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)Dancers sometimes got tied up in knots, so to speak, at the Creative Alliance’s Say Sister! Festival opening Square Dance. (Sloane Brown)
Saturday, Jan. 18Edgar Allan Poe Birthday Party and Murder MysteryHosted by Poe Baltimore and Poe’s Magic TheatreWestminster Hall, 519 W. Fayette St.6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.Tickets $39poeinbaltimore.org
