We did it! Another Consonance has come and gone, and by all accounts it was one of the best ever. Our guests were nothing short of stupendous, freely sharing their time and talent on stage and in the circles. GOHs Graham and Becca, along with their friend Chaz of Riverfolk, brought rollicking folk music to the stage in high-energy performances that lifted the spirits and set everyone's toes tapping. Toastmistress Mary caressed our ears with torch songs and sultry jazz piano, a rare treat in the filk world. Carl rose up from his bed of pain and suffering (he really did!) to get on an airplane in Buffalo and come all the way out here to sing melancholy songs and play virtuoso guitar and harmonica for us. Summer and Fall win the award for bringing the most instruments for the longest distance, to sing, play and harmonize their way into our hearts. And Judi -- well, for once, I'm speechless. Her eloquence spoke for itself as she enhanced the performances of others. Thank you, one and all, for giving us so much of yourselves and your music over a very special weekend.

There were many New Things at Consonance; chief among them was the wedding of Katy Savitzky (Chaos) and Sean Stirling (Selkit) in the main concert hall on Saturday. It was, of course, followed by live music crowned by proud papa Steve singing a sidesplittingly funny song he wrote for the couple. There was a reception, and way too much chocolate mint wedding cake. There was yoga (thank you, Mary!), there was juggling (thank you, Rafael!), there was Taiko drumming (thank you, Chris and John!), there was songwriting (thank you, Carl and Graham!) and there was harmony (thank you, Crystal and Eva!). There was even a theme circle on polyamory.

Non-guest concerts were offered by "Dr. James" (he's ba-a-a-a-ack!) and Alexander Adams, who also did an impromptu Sunday concert with Kristoph!. JT Filkers performed a concert in memory of Pam Goodrich; half-hour sets were offered by Brooke Lunderville & John Caspell, Riverfolk (Becca and Chaz), Lynn Gold (who plays a mean midi file!), and Chris Phoenix & Callie Hills. And you know, the Interfilk auctions are so entertaining that I'm almost willing to give them "concert" status! Well done, Kathleen, Seanan and vixy!

On Sunday afternoon was the much-anticipated "Kanef by Proxy", where some of the victims of Bob's wit sang his shameless parodies of their material on the concert stage. The "Keep the Song Alive" circle revived some good old filk songs that should not pass into obscurity. There was drumming on Friday night and very fine rock jamming on Sunday afternoon...

And of course, there were evening filk circles; Kathy Mar put the Saturday night filk to bed at Sunday breakfast ("I'll sleep when I'm dead" says her button), and the Sunday night filk was just plain wonderful. The highlight for me was Moshe's song for Judi Miller that left her (and many of the rest of us) in tears; and Carl had a dream come true when Margaret Davis improvised a harp line for his music box song. I really didn't want it to end... (but there was this refrigerator that had to be returned to the O'Hallorans!).

It would be great if conventions spontaneously organized and ran themselves, but we all know that doesn't happen. I am very fortunate to have a first-rate team of volunteers who, every year, offer their time and talents to make Consonance special. Alan Thiesen, our treasurer, makes financial ends meet whether they actually do or not; in addition, he and Colleen Savitzky always make sure we have a hotel roof over our heads. Chris O'Halloran, our intrepid Guest Liaison, choreographs the picking up, dropping off, taking to dinner and finding pre-con housing for our guests, which this year looked like a Keystone Cops movie with all the comings and goings. Seanan McGuire makes sure we have fun and interesting things to do for three days (and she's really, really *good* at it!). Kristoph Klover donates his professional sound system and expertise for the weekend, Mud and Trob run the sound board, and stage manager John O makes the trains run on time. Our guests had nothing but lavish praise for our sound and stage crew this year -- as they do every year, come to think of it! Lynn Gold procures instruments that our guests can't bring with them. Ask her about the keyboard (and luggage cart) that literally left her in stitches (40 of them) on Monday after the con. She gets the Consonance Purple Heart for sacrifice beyond the call of duty! Thank you, thank you...

Our new registration team, Ravan and Datawolf, are the first people you talk to at Consonance -- and they are "on it"! They also print the badges and program books and keep track of memberships, rollovers, staff & dealers with nary a hitch. Formatting for the program book is done by Maya Bohnhoff, in between ghostwriting gigs and authoring her own books. Kitty Crowe came up with the program grid on her own this year because "some of us don't do lists". Thank you, thank you...

Our con suite staff works hard all weekend to keep us fed, hydrated and caffeinated. RJ and Riley Ortega, Devon Creasey and Colleen Savitzky are the unsung heroes of late night protein and early morning bagels, offering warm hospitality and lively conversation at all hours. John & Mary Creasey make sure the dealer's room is locked and unlocked when it needs to be, and that the dealers are well cared for. Heather Stern and Jim Dennis haul in bucketloads of high-tech equipment to make sure we have an internet lounge. (This year they had to move it because the first room they got had no connectivity!) Alison Stern helps with kids' logistics, to the relief and gratitude of the parents -- who, because of her, actually get to see some of the programming. Thank you, thank you...

The wonderful CD-R songbook offered to members this year was the brainchild of Alan Thiesen, who did a *lot* of work gathering, assembling, & transcribing songs, and burning cds and labels. He had ample editorial support and assistance from Lee and Barry Gold. Thank you, thank you for a wonderful product, and a job well done!

A few volunteers toil away behind the scenes; they may be invisible, but they're important nonetheless. Karl Maurer is our peerless webdude, who makes sure I write these reports in a timely fashion and keeps the web page up-to-the-minute. John O'Halloran is the keeper of e-mail lists and master of webmail, who makes sure no nefarious spammers can get hold of your e-mail address. Thank you, thank you!!

And, uh... I'll see you all again next year! It looks like we'll be doin' it again...