ATTN: NCFC Members! Space is limited for NCFC Musicians on August 2nd at Moaning Cavern. Please RSVP to rsvp@naflute.com to reserve your spot! To purchase tickets for audience members, contact Moaning Cavern directly.
“Dynamic” means it’s a working, ever changing schedule. So check the date for the latest. We will send out separate details for each event as the time draws ridiculously close.... Feel free to give us all your ideas, notice of other events and comments, please.
Experience the last of 3 scheduled Retreats with Mary...
What a treat it has been to learn to play the NAF at this special "Musical Retreat with Mary Youngblood" at LOPING WOLF RANCH! This is the last scheduled Mary Youngblood Musical Retreat FOR THE SUMMER. Space is limited, send in your check and registration now!
This 6 hour Mary Youngblood Musical Retreat is $45. Share NAF techniques, attend workshops, flute and song lessons during workshops, jam with Mary and attend the "End of the Day" open mic session to practice what you've learned with the "First Lady of the Flute". See "The days activities" for more information.
NEW THIS YEAR AT Worldfest:
Come to the annual California WorldFest on July 17, 18, 19, 20 in Grass Valley and enjoy the world musicians, including the LOPING WOLF (Lake of the Pines Wood Flute 'n' rum Circle) in the Native People's Village on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
Visit the Native People’s Village, hosted by the Tsi-Akim Maidu Tribe. Enjoy the native flute circle and learn about traditional tools, crafts, and music from Tribal members. See a video on the Maidu Bark House.
California WorldFest joins with South Yuba River Citizens League's“Wild & Scenic Film Festival”, one of the nation’s premiere environmental film festivals. Specially selected independent films will be shown Friday through Sunday. Five films selected especially for kids will start the Sunday show. Film showings are included in the price of admission. Film Descriptions and Schedule.
Join us as we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of KVMR 89.5FM, Community Radio on opening day, Thursday, July 17. A portion of ticket sales at the gate for Thursday evening will be donated to KVMR.
California WorldFest features eight stages of music and dance from around the world, camping with family and friends, workshops, international food, fine crafts, and the renowned children's program... celebrate mid-summer with us under the cool, tall pines of the Sierra foothills.
July 20 (Sunday)
Flute ‘n’ Drum Circle @ LOP Clubhouse 1:00 - 3:00 pm
(This event is NOT canceled)
Call Dan for Gate Entry at
530-613-4197.
August 02
Experience this intimate and awesome setting in person with Mary Youngblood and the flute circle she founded over 20 years ago here in Northern California. The NCFC is honored to join Mary on her annual "Pilgrimage to the Moaning Cavern". Hear the pure Native American Flute played by the one and only "First Lady of the Flute" in the Cavern 225 feet below the earth. This is where Mary recorded her first CD "The Offering". See pictures of this annual event at LOPINGWOLF.com.
No concert will EVER be the same for you! This memorable experience is something you will never forget!
Bring a picnic lunch, ALL your flutes and percussion instruments!
Mary Youngblood CD's on sale at this event or go to Mary Youngblood Music to purchase CD's online.
August 17 Flute ‘n’ Drum Circle - LOP Clubhouse 1:00 - 3:00 pm
September 20
NCFC’s Fall Gathering - (Moaning Cavern with Mary?)
September 21
Flute ‘n’ Drum Circle - LOP Clubhouse 1:00 - 3:00 pm
The Yosemite Flute and Art Festival is a place where people who love the Native American flute and world music come together to share their passion. The "Yosemite Flute Fest" will kick-off the Yosemite Flute and Art Festival with a special concert by two-time Grammy Winner "Mary Youngblood" on Friday evening. Sign up for Saturday and Sunday workshops, open mic sessions and share the "Spirit of the Flute".
October 04
Flute ‘n’ Drum Circle - (Bear River near Colfax?)
October 19
Flute ‘n’ Drum Circle - LOP Clubhouse 1:00 - 3:00 pm
November 01 or 08
Lodi Crane Festival w/ Dan Ricketts
November 23
Flute ‘n’ Drum Circle - LOP Clubhouse 1:00 - 3:00 pm
December 06
Auburn Light Parade
December 13
NCFC (LOPING WOLF’s) Winter Gathering - LOP Clubhouse
Previous Events:
Yo, this is Dan... It’s been a week now, since our 2007 Winter Gathering, and Sheree and I are still recuperating. Like, it’s taken us this long to compile the many thank-you notes we received. You Kids are so kind. Our Flute Journey continues to take us to places and people we never dreamed of. It is all so wonderful I can only BEGIN to babble through my own list of thankful blessings.
Thank you, Creator, for empowering us with the ability to walk on and to be able to accept the gift of each blessed day. Thank you for giving us the sense of appreciation that embraces us all in Life’s glorious grasp.
Thank you, Mary... for sharing your Spirit with us, for being our spark and for leading us along this most joyous of Journeys.
Thank you, Dick ‘n’ Sue... for your spiritual and mental support, physical help and your never-ending tasks, most of which I never know need doing. Thank you for “person-ning” (trying to be politically correct and not use the word ‘manning’) the front tables and for handling the responsibilities they require. Thank you for your preparatory work with the LOP Association, especially the Food Guy. And thank you for your drum - LOPING WOLF’s own Mother Drum. It is so inspiring.
And thank you, Ely... for showing up first at the Clubhouse, forcing me to start thinking of the reality of the day, and for all YOUR forms of support and caring.
Thank you, Ricardo... for getting things started on the right foot with your prayers for us all. Thank you. (And I think the Food Guy thanks you, too, for not burning the Clubhouse down.... We told him, “...a LITTLE smoke while smudging with the sage....”)
And Doc, your dancing... WOW! Thank you. And if any of you were totally moved by his regalia, his movements, his bells and his TOTAL POWER, I hope you could feel the floor shake, and hear his exhaustive panting as he walked out of the circle. Doc has the largest heart and he loves to dance. And it shows. Thank you, Doc.
Thank you, Kathryn... for YOU, your hammer dulcimer and the harp, too! Beautiful!
And Mary Youngblood... what a treat it is whenever you play. I know I thanked you already, but thank you for playing for us, and for your workshop.
Dan and Pat... thank you for your workshop. And to Mike for your workshop - even though we had to squeeze you into the lunch hour. (Oh, we have a plan for next year - workshops will be held in the Yacht Lounge, the smaller separate building we were in last year. It’s isolated from the Clubhouse, so we will be able to keep the mic open during workshops.)
Alex... thank you for bringing your fantastic sound system. Without it, we would have just sounded like great flutists. But WITH it - oh MAN! - we sounded like REALLY GREAT flutists!!!!
We thank all the vendors for sharing your products, services, efforts and support. We hope you did well, and that you will consider coming back next year - which is only about 51 weeks away.... And to ALL OF YOU who attended and those who could not make it this year, thank you for your interest in this whole phenomenon. Please remember that without YOU, there can be no US, and we look forward to the rest of today, tomorrow and NCFC / LOPING WOLF’s Winter Gathering 2008.
But the final one person I want to single out and thank will probably strike this paragraph before she posts it. It is Sheree, my Life Partner. Without her, this Winter Gathering would NOT happen. All I see myself doing is collecting and disseminating information - making sure people know what is going on so we can all get together. But Sheree is the ONE who makes sure EVERYTHING else is happening. She is the champion multi-tasker, making sure LOPING WOLF is rolling along, PLUS her full-time job, PLUS her new horse ranch, PLUS her household, PLUS her husband. Thank you, Sheree. Without YOU, there would be no ME!!!!
If anybody has any photos of the event, we would be happy to post them. Please send.
OK, I could go on, like I usually do, sorry, but I MUST list some of the thank you notes we’ve received because they are so great!
“Hey folks. I just got back from the Loping Wolf Flute Clan of the Northern California Flute Circle's winter gathering. It was great to see everyone -- besides Loping Wolf (Sacramento to Grass Valley) there were folks from the Nonahme Clan (Georgetown-Garden Valley area) and the Valley Clan (Napa Valley area). There were also several vendors with flutes and drums and jewelry.
“I bought a high D curly maple flute from Brian Revheim that I just could not put down. There was a stage and we had some open mic fun and then Mary surprised us by getting up and beautifully playing one of her songs, “Within my Heart”. Everything kind of stopped and we enjoyed the moment.
“There were also some great workshops. I got to attend one by Dan (Noisy Bear) Ricketts and Pat Oberdieck (keyboardist) on playing flutes with other instruments. We also got a CD of piano accompaniments to take home part of the workshop with us -- well at least some of us got CDs today. The workshop was so well-attended that Dan ran out of CDs.
Mary was starting a workshop that I unfortunately couldn't stay for, and I hope to get a full report on that one from someone who got to attend. I have been at one of her embellishment workshops and they are really helpful for players at all levels.
“The room where we were had many windows all looking out over a lake. Lovely day, lovely folks!
“...We had a blast, and it was so good to see everyone. Thanks to you, Sheree and all of you galloping wolves for such a great effort and beautiful day....Peace.”
“...(Your) website was great and showed a lot of creativity and congeniality. You folks write like you talk - which is the best way.... We had a wonderful time at the gathering. It was first-class in every way - quite a bit more than we are accustomed to - like staying at the Ritz for vacation.... Again, thanks for having such an enjoyable event. Our best to both of you.
“Thanks to Dan and Sheree and the rest of LOPING WOLF for pulling together a wonderful day. The views from the clubhouse were truly inspiring.”
“Dan, and a heart felt ... "Thank You" for ALL that you and Sheree do, with the help of Dick'n'Sue and Robin and several other members of the original tribe! The amount of support and camaraderie is a real heart-warmer.”
“...Thank you so much for all of your hard work in putting together the wonderful LOPING WOLF Winter Gathering event! (We) all had a great time! And I’ve already received several complements on my new Winter Timber Wolf t-shirt (including from some Native American friends who also order from www.themountain.com!”
“I enjoyed the afternoon very much, especially Mary's session when she played the flute. Thanks for all your help and it was nice meeting with you. Please keep me informed of future gatherings, and I will try to attend as much as I can.”
“Hi Guy's (AKA "Founding Members of LOPING WOLF Flute Circle"); (we were) talking ... on the way home yesterday.... Thinking about something Sheree said as we were leaving the Club House...... "Can you believe it? Last year we had the little room, nice little crowd and now THIS"! And I know you all can see Sheree as she said "and now THIS"...... It was a bit more like "AND NOW THIS"! Like a proud momma.
;-) ..... It was very cool....”
“A little over a year ago, (I received) a Mary lesson.... Just as I was near the brink of "I'll just put this flute on the wall and forget about messing with it".... The lesson was Great..... A turning point for me..... I told Mary that I needed to be around folks to share the magic of the Flute..... Then is when I learned of LOPING WOLF....... Thanks to Mary...
“So a year has passed and I look back on some INCREDIBLE experiences..... KVMR, Mary's B-Day, Unity Drum Circle @ Bear River, Performing (Can you believe it, Performing?) @ Unity Church, the Crane Festival, the Caverns (WOW, the Caverns).... Lunch Time circles..... The Winter Gatherings....... All the super folks that share the Spirit of the flute...... All that fun stuff.....
“I know I owe thanks to Mary and LOPING WOLF for inspiration but what REALLY occurs to me is that I owe such GREAT THANKS to "The Flute"...... The "Spirit of the Flute"..... The Spirit that has led (us) to some Fantastic people with big hearts and souls..... It's like the Flute is a magic wand that touches deep within...... Very, Very cool!
“So, as I thank the Flute, I thank all of you as well......... What a GREAT year of sharing the Spirit and what a great future of Spirit sharing to be had.... Happy Fluting! Be a good Human!”
“I awoke this morning in complete darkness, as I do this time of year. And, as per usual, I set forth my intention toward setting the rhythm for the day. I find by taking this particular path each morning. this way, like with Mary's song, I reach for my Dreams like I have lived them before. And from experience, REALITY conforms to my emotional expectations of the day and my Dreams do indeed manifest. I tend to be open and to expect it :). I have lived this way for years, and as such the creative power we hold - given to us from Creator - is realized into its full potential. Then again, Creator has placed a few of us with the Strong pulse of life to help set the tone for those around us as they find their own rhythms... ok, I'm going off track.
“Back on track, I wanted to say that this morning upon rising, I set my feet into the proverbial current again to Experience the Dream around me and there was something new. There was the warmth from a Big Bro that still lingered after receiving that big Dan-Bear-Hug as I was leaving...and the FIRE in the passion of the Doc's Dance that still resonates and will assuredly cause me to Dance through the day today.
“Additionally, there was a refreshing waterfall that continued to mist my waking face in the form of the sound of Mary's flute, still echoing in my Dream. The heartbeat of the earth as the skins and wood from the drumming continue to resonate that I could feel it on my feet quite literally ... I can still "feel" is also setting my pace as I begin to intentionally walk the Earth today with renewed Spirit. Last, but certainly not least, the sunset in the sky as we were closing Mary's class painted itself on the backs of my eyelids. I don't think I have seen a sunset like that in quite awhile. Then again, it was an Original by Creator :)
“I was blessed this weekend, and most certainly was not the only one who could feel the subtle currents. The prayer and offering continues to bless me (ironically I too saw Raven as I set out for the drive on an early Sunday drive to Lake of the Pines.) And as such, I really connected with Ricardo throughout the day. Might you have a contact e-mail that I may thank him for his prayers and blessings, and for his wonderful arrow?
“If I do not see you before, I will be anxiously awaiting the Spring Festival to see all of you again. I have my hotel already reserved and my advanced workshop already paid for, for Scott August. Now if I can just decide what flute I want Geoffrey to make for me :) (He might be attending in the Spring). Blessings to you all!”
“Even though I missed most of the event, it was great meeting you and Sheree, and some of the other members of the circle.... It was great meeting you. I am looking forward to the next gathering.”
“Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the winter gathering, but I'm planning for the coming year and I'd like to know what the dates are for the Spring Gathering in Georgetown. Thanks much! P.S. Hope you all have a great time this Sunday. Some of us in the Bay Clan will be at the Ronald McDonald house playing for the kids and parents there. Cheers!
The 2007 Winter Gathering Day:
Marion "Doc" Cole ~ performed a Men's Northern Traditional Dance shared by many, many tribes. Beautiful!
Mike Oitzman of NCFCoffered a fundamentals of the flute workshop and Dan Ricketts (Noisy Bear) & Pat Oberdick offered the workshop "Playing with Instrumentalists". Nice!
Geoffrey Ellis ~ of Earthtoneflutes.com offered attendees a large variety of flutes at a 15% discount plus free shipping to NCFC clan members who attended. There are some VERY happy fluties out there now Geoffrey!!!
Brian Revheim ~ Napa Valley Flutes - Offered flutes from reclaimed wine-vat oak and redwood. Thank you for attending and sharing your wonderful flutes with us!
David's Drum's ~ David Ferrier New Drums What a pleasure for this drum maker to join us!
Check out his site!
Fairy Ring Mushroom Co. ~ paintings, hand-made flutes, drums, chimes, claves, whistles, fistles, and jewelry. See http://www.fairyringmushroom.com/ for more details.
NorthStar - Quality traditional Native American Jewelry and Flute Bags.
Mary-Ann Myers ~ Represented the Vallejo Inter-Tribal Council and presented the February 11, 2008 event organized by Dennis Banks called the "The Longest Walk 2008". This event will take place at Alcatraz Island San Francisco. The final destination is Washington D.C.
Mary Youngblood 2007 Grammy Award Winner!
Best Native American Music Album
"Dance With The Wind"
Silver Wave Records - "Sometimes the wind whispers and sometimes the wind howls". When GRAMMY Winner Mary Youngblood lets the wind flow through her Native American flutes the result is always one of beauty and joy. Inspired by the wisdom of nature, Mary writes: "The trees have given a voice to me, the voice that sings to you now." Her eclectic musical style evokes feelings of freedom, and gratitude for the blessings of life, our Dance with the Wind.
Silver Wave Records... "Mary Youngblood just keeps getting better and her second Grammy winning record is certainly a joy to behold. Stellar flute playing, signature song writing, creative arrangements, and unique instrumentation all combine to make this a superb recording. Mary Youngblood has always had the talent to stand out above the crowd, and with this honor she stakes her claim as the number one star of Native American music."
LOPING WOLF would not be here if it were not for Mary Youngblood and we all are beaming with pride, admiration and agreement at Mary’s recognition of her outstanding music.
"Yesterday", it seems, in early 2006, Sheree and I were not members of a flute circle called LOPING WOLF.
We did not have our Web page www.lopingwolf.com.
We had rich, full lives, with good family ties, neighbors who didn’t mind our dogs, and jobs that were satisfactory and afforded us our rich, full lives.
But in November 2005, we heard Mary and Joanne on a CD entitled "Tribal Dreams", and our "road" took a major turn. (I would like to think that it is still the same road, but it took a major turn.)
We attempted to capture a small portion of our recent past here on www.lopingwolf.com.
As Mary sings, “...the Journey has many roads....”
As I see our “Journey”, it appears to have so many roads - more like a parking lot - a large area suitable for traveling in any direction, in any time, in any form - a “road” without sides or boundaries.
And today, as I finally get to my whole point, I look back at why we felt the need to gather together in the form of a flute circle. What comes to mind, is a single word that attempts to explain “Why a Flute Circle? ” - US.
Our Flute Circle is about us.
It is not us and them; it is us.
It is not Red, or Black, or Yellow, or White; it is us.
It is not male or female; it is us.
It is not Republican or Democrat; it is us.
It is not a gathering of groups or an exclusion of other groups.
It is a gathering of us.
We invite you to join LOPING WOLF, because without you, there is no “us”.
Daniel R. DiCicco
FEATURED EVENTS
March 2007
LOPING WOLF Flute Circle
Natomas CA
See more >
January 2007
LOPING WOLF Flute Circle
Lake of the Pines
CA See more >
December 10 2006
LOPING WOLF Winter Gathering
Lake of the Pines CA See more >
December 9, 2006
Community Arts Center Concert
Grass Valley CA
October 2006
LOPING WOLF Flute Circle
Woodland CA See more >
September 2006
LOPING WOLF Flute Circle
Eagle Falls Lake Tahoe CA See more >
August 2006
LOPING WOLF Flute Circle
Murphys CA See more >
July 2006
NCFC Summer Gathering
Fair Oaks
CA See more >
June 2006
LOPING WOLF at
The American River Confluence Festival
Auburn CA See more >
June 2006
Dimple Records
Sacramento CA
June 2006
Cottenwood Wine Festival
Cottenwood CA
June 2006
Cottenwood Wine Festival
Cottenwood CA
May 20 2006
LOPING WOLF Flute Circle
Sacramento CA
