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Northern Star Acoustic Cafe set to bring back the best of folk coffeeâ€"houses Sadly, coffeeâ€"house culâ€" ture was steamâ€"rollered undeground by the materialâ€" istic 1980s and all but smothâ€" ered to death by the meâ€"first 1990s. And now that we‘re into a whole new millenniâ€" um, several generations of Canadian youth have raced into adulthood without ever wondering, "Where have all the flowers gone?" or proâ€" claiming, "If I had a hamâ€" R}amember those groovy olk coffeeâ€"houses of the 1960s and ‘70s? â€" Intense, guitarâ€"strumming poets perched on bare wooden stools, flickering candles in waxâ€"encrusted wine bottles, undaunted voices singing along, dreams and idealism expressed through a blue haze of cigarette smoke...? But true "folkies" have never really let the coffeeâ€" house movement die. It may have been downsized nearly to extinction, but it‘s gradualâ€" ly reâ€"emerging (usually, minus the nicotine) for a new era of fans, thanks to groups like the locally grown Northâ€" ern Star Acoustic Cafe, whose otiginal material is featured this coming Sunday at downâ€" town Kitchener‘s Mostly In the essential folk spirit of everythingâ€"oldâ€"isâ€"newâ€" again, Northern Star is a colâ€" lective change in direction for three veteran musicians â€" Jack Cooper, Debbie Moon and Robin Bruce Ward â€" who all met as performers through the Black Wainut Folk Club. While each is an accomplished singerâ€"guiâ€" taristâ€"composer in his or her own right, their diverse artisâ€" tic careers are mainly partâ€" time vocations that balance with parallel lives in other That‘s simply the nature of folk music, explains Cooper, a New York native who has lived in southern Ontario By PavuneE FncH For The Chronicle since 1975. He got his first musical thrills singing in choirs and playing brass instruments before finding his niche with acoustic guitar, and later a deep passion for songwriting. â€" For the past 13 years, he‘s worked for the University of Waterloo Information Sysâ€" tems Technology Departâ€" ment, specializing in statistiâ€" cal software and helping proâ€" fessionals to use it more effectively. "Over the years, I‘ve found I‘m able to mould my working life to compleâ€" ment my musical side and I think most folk artists who aren‘t the really big names will tell you similar things... We don‘t do it for the money," he Nothern Star members (from left) Robin Ward, Debbie Moon and Jack Cooper perform Sunday afternoon at the Mostly Organic Juice Barâ€"Cafe in downtown Kitchener. As both an independent musician and Cooper‘s lifeâ€" partner, Debbie Moon also grew into folk gradually, lisâ€" tening to a wide variety of singers on CBC Radio‘s longâ€" running show Touch the Earth. She confesses to being "a dedicated appreciator for years" before taking up guitar after finishing university and finally learning to accompany her natural singing talent. She was content to remain a "livingâ€"room musician" ARTS FOCUS until she tried busking (outâ€" side the Zellers store on Bridgeport Road) and found she loved an informal public. Along with Jack, she became an avid folk festival afficionaâ€" do, and today combines her musical life with a growing "cottage industry" business in traditional basketâ€"making and wheatâ€"weaving. Cooper and Moon met eastâ€"coast native Robin Bruce Ward through the Black Walâ€" nut Folk Club (he‘s one of its coâ€"founders) and soon felt a congenial chemistry with the multiâ€"talented musician whose decades on the Toronâ€" to music scene provided invaluable knowledge and Ward‘s memorable experiâ€" ences have included writing material for a CBC folkâ€"opera project for the 1976 Otympics with the legendary late Stan Rogers. Also, "I was involved quite a bit in the coffee house scene in the 1970s and would like to see it come back," he said. On a recent visit to the Mostly Organic Juice Bar "we just got talking about it... I found the people here very welcoming to the kind of music we want to do." Using a format they hope HRONCLH to translate into a future CD, Sunday‘s event will feature each Northern Star member in solo segments interspersed with refreshment and converâ€" sation breaks, before closing with a shared final set. The challenge now, notes Cooper, "is that we not only have our own material to do, but are learning each other‘s songs as well, and that‘s quite different Assisting at the upcomâ€" ing concert as sound techniâ€" cian and percussionist, will be Guelph resident Ryan The â€" Northern _ Star® Acoustic Cafe trio plays at Kitchener‘s Mostly Organic Juice Barâ€"Cafe, 119 King St. W. (between _ Gaukel â€" and Ontario) on May 25, from 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 each (Barter $ and Canadian curâ€" rency both accepted); availâ€" able at the door and also at Encore Records or Twelfth Night Music Shoppe. For more information call (519) 745â€"4884 or (519) 578â€"2942. from our usual way of workâ€" (Kâ€"W writer Pauline Finch is a local amateur musician and Master of Divinity stuâ€" dent at Huron College, Lonâ€" don Ont.) Applications are invited for the annual Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramists. A prize of $10,000 will be presented annually to an emerging potter or clay sculptor. _ Seen as an award for achievement and an investâ€" ment in the future, this award is designed to allow the recipient time away from the studio, to travel for career development, link with mentors, visit other studios, study museum collections, investigate kiln sites, or liaise with industry, performing research that will furâ€" ther their studio production. It may also be used for international residencies or symposia. While recognizâ€" ing that not all ceramists arise from an academic backâ€" ground, this award is intended to assist at a postâ€"gradâ€" uate level of accomplishment. It may not be used to pay tuition. The applicants must have been working for a miniâ€" mum of five years and a maximum of 10 years in a proâ€" ductive studio capacity. The call for applications for this award is announced annually in the spring, via press releases, and on the gallery‘s website at www.canadianclayandglass.ca. The jury will meet to deliberate in late summer and the winner will be announced at a gala event held in support of the gallery on Sept. 25. Hard copy applications for the Winifred.Shantz Award for Ceramists should be delivered to the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery by 5 p.m. Aug. 29. Details on what to include can be found on the gallery‘s website, www.canadianclayandglass.ca. CKNX AM 920 radio host Bryan Allen will be broadâ€" casting his talk show live on the Blyth Festival stage May 29 at 9 a.m. The show will be dedicated to the Blyth Festival and will feature such artists as artistic director Eric Coates, Paul Thompson of The Outdoor Donnellys fame, Ted Johns and Janet Amos, and a few more surprise artists. The show‘s topic is The Blyth Experience and the impact of the festival on the village over the past 29 years. Panelists will include village residents, actors, members of the technical crew, volunteers, disectors, and playwrights. Everyone is invited, including the entire village of Blyth to witness the show live in Blyth Memorial Hall. Anyone interested in attending should be at the theâ€" atre by 8:30 a.m. Seating is on a first come firstâ€"served basis and admission is free. Arrive early to talk with other arts supporters in your community over a cup of coffee and pastries. Bryan Allen‘s talk show has been playing on the CKNX airwaves since 1999 and features a variety of relâ€" evant topics applicable to residents of Southwestern Ontario. He is the former news anchor of CKNX TV. Call the Blyth Festival box office at 1â€"877â€"862â€"5984 or 523â€"9300 for more information. More information on Blyth Festival‘s 2003 season can be found at Bryan Allen broadcasts live from Blyth stage Clay and Glass Gallery hosts Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramists