We did it! We DID it! We, the world's largest filk concom, con-ned about 180 people into having a great time singing, listening to great music and hanging out with old and new friends for three whole days and nights! But -- fabulous as we are, we couldn't have done it alone...

The Crowne Plaza Hotel staff, as always, was beyond cooperative -- bending their schedule to fit West Coast Filkish Time, locking and unlocking doors at whimsical intervals, horsing ancient, cranky airwalls up and down at a moment's notice, making sure we always had enough water and trash cans, providing dark rooms with comfortable beds and serving a delicious breakfast buffet... (Besides, we like their function space -- especially the acoustics in Champagne Ballroom.) We're going to ask *really nicely* if they'd like to have us back next year.

Kathy Mar was a superb Toastmaster -- gracious and appropriate in her introductions and incredible in concert. Her final number saw the stage filled with back-up vocalists and musicians embodying the inclusiveness that has defined Kathy's attitude toward filking -- and life -- for decades: the more the merrier. It was a treat to hear a full hour of her music (man, can she bend a note!) and to have the pleasure of her company throughout the weekend...

Dave Rood, our Interfilk Guest, was kept busy as a backup musician. After all, it's not every day filkers get to perform with a professional trumpet player... and he didn't drown them out, either! Dave was a sprightly presence at the con, affable and available, chatting with everyone -- that is, when he wasn't busy rehearsing. His concert offerings brought out his brash sense of humor and a rocky delivery that delighted the audience. We hated to put him on the plane back to Atlanta on Monday, but he has a bookstore to run...

Gwen Knighton's concert was mesmerizing. Our International Guest sang and played her unusual wire-strung harps, offering many different flavors of music with style and virtuosity. It was a pleasure to watch her ease and grace on stage, a gift Gwen likes to share in a forum called Juried One-Shots. She and a panel of listeners evaluated several performers, pointing out their strengths and offering suggestions for improvement. The performers were unanimous in praising her skill, and felt encouraged and empowered by the commentary. We wish she lived closer than the U.K...

The Bohnhoffs came all the way from... San Jose... to lavish their musical gifts upon us. Their set began with Alex, who inherits copious talent from both sides, but has his own songwriting voice and guitar/vocal performance style. Oh, yes -- and he's *good*! For the family set, a mixture of new songs and old favorites were performed by the "fab four": Maya, opera-trained coloratura-turned-kazooist; Jeff, music software alpha geek and virtuoso guitarist; Kristine, surprisingly mature vocalist at 15; and the aforementioned Alex. They had the audience stomping and singing along, wishing the set would go on and on... And, for those of us who wanted to know How They Do It, Jeff & Maya gave a terrific Performance Workshop on Sunday...

A number of old friends returned to Consonance from far-off places this year, and we were delighted to hear them in concert: Adam Selzer; Dave Clement; Callie Hills and Rebecca Newman; the Harmony Heifers (Chris Dickenson, Elizabeth Burnham & Maya Bohnhoff); Nancy Freeman; Leslie Fish; and Vixy & Tony. We also heard from local favorites Margaret and Kristoph (who also lend us their sound system every year), Steve (it'll be out *real soon now*) Savitzky, the enigmatic and weird Blind Lemming Chiffon, and newcomer Char, who (at the justified urging of about 15 people) agreed to a concert at the last minute.

John and Chris O'Halloran had a treat for the drum circle this year -- they brought their taiko drums (that John made himself!) and showed people how to play them; much happy whamming was had by all... The traditional chaos filk circles were enthusiastically attended -- that is, they were huge. This year there was only one evening circle on both Friday and Saturday, although other rooms were available. The Sunday rock jam and Dead (Whatever) were popular as always, since folks really didn't seem to want Consonance to end... (well, the concom did, but that's different!)

And speaking of the concom -- hey, thanks everybody. You did a great job!!

Next year we will be without one of the administrative anchors of Consonance; Jo Kellner, our Registration Wizard, has retired for health reasons. Dr. James will leap into the breach for pre-reg, while Kitty Crowe, Ravan and Datawolf (themselves no strangers to running cons and doing registration) will handle at-con reg. Onward we go, but we'll miss you, Jo!

We are sad to report that Pam Goodrich, longtime filker from Fresno, lost her battle with cancer last year. Pam appeared regularly in concert with JT Filkers (formerly Jellicle Timewarp), and was beloved by all who knew her. Our condolences go out to her friends and family. Her voice and her presence will be missed.