Friends, musicians, and supporters of the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival,
We have bad news and good news.
The bad news is that the 2020 PMFF is canceled.
The good news is that we can give you a small taste of what was lost. We will be hosting a one-day online concert and sing in lieu of the festival, and we hope that better times will bring us all together, healthy and safe, next year.
On Saturday September 26th, Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival presents “Anchored Apart,” a community sing featuring 2020 invited performers and the winners of the 2020 maritime songwriting competition.
Details for the event will be announced at our web site (here), pmffest.org, and our Facebook page, fb.com/PMFF.NH.
And yes, the songwriting competition is continuing! This recent popular addition to the PMFF schedule will be happening online this year. Please see here 2020 Song Competition for details.
We miss singing together with all lovers of traditional maritime music, but the science seems clear that this is just not safe. It would be unconscionable for us to hold the festival in light of this information, absent a vaccine or effective treatment for COVID-19.
We’ll be practicing our community singing with a monthly online chantey sing. The 2nd Saturday sings, which once brought people from around the world to The Press Room in Portsmouth, is reborn online. Details for that are also available below and on our Facebook page.
So we will sing together, while anchored safely apart, and look forward to singing together in person at the 21st annual Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival in September, 2021.
Fair winds and following seas,
The Board of the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival
