Sullivan County Council on the Arts - Supporting the arts, culture and heritage of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

Volunteers Needed

Our expanded activities are putting an increasing strain on the small circle who take an active part in our labor-intensive productions, such as the Roving Historical Theater and the various student art competitions.

We are constantly looking for volunteers to help in every aspect of our work.

You don't need expertise in any area, just a willingness to put in a few hours, especially as the time draws near for an activity. If you would be willing to lend a hand, please let us know.

Simple Gifts Concert

Simple Gifts is two simply gifted women who play a dozen instruments. They cover the ethnic traditions of Appalachia, Ireland, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and much more.

They performed at St. Basil's Hall, Dushore, on August 13, 2009, as the final event in the celebration of Dushore's 150th anniversary.

Founding member Linda Littleton, a former Principal Second Violin in the Nittany Valley Symphony, also plays hammered dulcimer, bowed psaltery, five-string banjo, and recorders.

Karen Hirshon, her partner, toured nationally with the bluegrass band Whetstone Run and helped found the American old-time group, Rustical Quality String Band.

Following their concert, Simple Gifts led a workshop on the playing of spoons, a traditional Appalachian “instrument.”

This led into a jam with local musicians of all ages.

Spoons and jam – who could ask for more?

Blueberry Fields Music Festival

The SCCA held its second annual Blueberry Fields Music Festival, August 2-3, 2008, at Berry Fields Farm, presenting five musical acts on Saturday, and three on Sunday.

A Blueberry Festival had been held at Berry Fields Farm for the previous three years, under the auspices of Farm owners Charlie and Barbara Gerlach. For 2007, the Gerlachs asked the Arts Council to take over and turn the festival into a major showcase for area musicians, while continuing the focus on "all things blueberry."

As in the past, there was blueberry ice cream, blueberry products and blueberry-themed items from the Gerlachs' store, plus other blueberry products cooked up by volunteers. This year, the main food tent was overseen by Benjamin Johnson, head chef at the Pough & the Stars restaurant in Philadelphia, who provided blueberry sauced meatballs, Mediterranean chicken, two salads and a superb corn and red pepper sidedisk - plus blueberry lemonade.

The Gerlachs' donkey ("our most intelligent animal," says Barbara) ducklings and goats came down the hill for petting and admiration. Visitors wandered the rambling field of blueberry bushes for pick-your-own.

What sets the Blueberry Fields Music Festival apart from other "blueberry festivals" is both the natural setting - a spectacular mountainside view that can reach 25 miles on a clear day - and the down-to-earth reality of Barbara and Charlie's efforts. Not a commercial event that happens to feature blueberries, it is a joyous celebration of a life well-lived. Barbara's periodic tours of the farm feature close encounters with the farm animals.

Berry Fields Farm is a unique setting for a festival of any kind. Based on the principles of sustainable agriculture, it has been developed through the almost inconceivable industry and dedication of the Gerlachs. Starting with little more than a home and a wooded hillside, they have cleaned acres of land to raise an ever-expanding garden of organic produce, fruit trees, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and that donkey.

With his other pairs of hands, Charlie (a registered architect) has constructed a bed and breakfast that sleeps ten, a small store and restaurant, a barn and a scattering of outbuildings, while Barbara, also in Shiva mode, maintains the garden and store, hosts the restaurant and builds stone walls. For leisure, they bake bread and pies.

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