Tall Ships Erie 2013 Press Kit

Transcription

1 Tall Ships Erie 2013 Press Kit Festival Facts Tall Ships Erie 2013 presented by Highmark and Perry 200, will take place September 5 th through 8 th, This year, marks the 200 th anniversary of the building of Commodore Perry s fleet in Erie, Pa and his victory at the Battle of Lake Erie off Put-in-Bay, Ohio on September 10 th. This year with the addition of three more ships, making a total of nine, there will be an expected 60-70,000 visitors to view the Parade of Sail and tour the ships during this event. The event is expected to produce almost $6.5 million into the Erie economy. Approximately 75 vendors will stationed at the Bayfront Convention Center selling festival market place items such as wine, beach glass, jewelry, etc. There will be entertainment throughout the weekend including bands, Labatt Blue Beer Garden, kid zone, and lecture series-sponsored by Mercyhurst University. Our official hotel sponsor is the Bel-Aire Clarion and Comfort Inn Presque Isle, offering packages for Tall Ships Erie weekend, which will include: $25 dollars Victor s gift certificate, breakfast for four (4), four (4) tickets to Tall Ships Erie, and four (4) lighthouse tours. The last Tall Ships Festival was in 2010 and brought six tall ships to Erie. More than 32,000 visitors attended Tall Ships Erie 2010, Erie s first large-scale tall ships festival in more than a decade. During the Parade of Sail which took place in Presque Isle Bay on Thursday, September 9, 10,000 visitors crammed the shores of the bay in downtown Erie and on Presque Isle State Park while another 22,000 ticketed visitors attended the festival and toured the ships while docked at Dobbins Landing and the Erie Maritime Museum. The event generated more than $220,000 in profit for the Flagship Niagara League. Flagship Niagara League Organization Information Mission Statement The FNL is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit educational associate organization of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), chartered to facilitate citizen participation and operation of the Flagship Niagara and its homeport, Erie Maritime Museum. All proceeds benefit the Flagship Niagara League. Niagara's fourfold mission is stated in the legislation authorizing the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to operate her and in the Governor's Executive Order of August, Niagara commemorates and interprets the building of Perry's fleet, the Battle of Lake Erie and the War of 1812, including the sailing and operation of such vessels and the life of the crew. Niagara is an educational tool to teach the public the importance of the battle, those who fought, and the technology and science of a square rig. Niagara is to serve as the state's flagship and encourage visitation to Erie's Bayfront revitalization and make a positive contribution to the local economy. Niagara's missions are to be accomplished through sailing her as she was built to do, exhibiting her in Erie and other ports as a historical artifact, and by being the focal point for special programs and events. Board of Directors Ross Aresco Claudia Bankert Jeff Bloodworth Tim Goldsmith, President Leslie Grey, Esq. Bob Harkins Brian Scott Gary Johnson Jeremy Lincoln Debi Masi Jason Owen, Esq. Don Richwine P. Bowman Root Alison Scarpitti Esq. Jim Scheider, Treasurer Linda Stevenson Beth Zimmer, Vice President

2 History of Niagara The United States declared war on Great Britain in 1812 over longstanding grievances. The causes of the war are complicated, but one thing is clear: It made known to the world at large that the United States regarded herself as a free and sovereign nation. The war established American independence beyond all doubt. Daniel Dobbins, a Great Lakes shipmaster living in Erie, Pennsylvania, is commissioned by President James Madison to direct preliminary construction of the fleet of ships in In February 1813, the U.S. Navy hires Noah Brown, a New York shipbuilder to complete the six vessels being built in Erie, Pennsylvania. The building of the fleet is remarkable due to the remoteness of Erie and the few inhabitants living there. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry takes command in March 1813 and oversees the vessels completion. In August 1813, the squadrons sailed into Put-in-Bay, Ohio, in Western Lake Erie, training the crew and watch the British at Fort Malden, Ontario. On September 10, 1813, six British vessels under Britain s Commodore Robert Barclay fight the American Fleet near Put-in- Bay. Perry s flagship Lawrence suffers great damage and loss of life. Perry transfers to Niagara with his battle flag Don t Give Up the Ship and sails through the British line, forcing Barclay to surrender his entire squadron. At the end of the battle, Perry dispatches his well-known victory message, We have met the enemy and they are ours. To Major General William Henry Harrison. After the War of 1812, Niagara becomes a station ship in Erie, serving as headquarters with offices, supplies and a sick bay. In 1820, Niagara and Lawrence are deliberately sunk in Misery Bay at Erie, preserving them for future use. Lawrence is raised for the centennial of the United States in 1870, but later is destroyed in a warehouse fire in Philadelphia She is rebuilt once again in 1939 and displayed on land near the lakefront in Erie. th The present Niagara was built in Erie and launched on September 10, 1988, in ceremonies marking the 175 anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. Mast, rigging and sails were installed in 1990, and she is commissioned Flagship of Pennsylvania by the state legislature.

3 Biography Senior Captain Walter P. Rybka My career has been divided between keeping traditional sailing vessels in operation and the preservation of historic vessels. Over the years of preservation work on numerous vessels for several museums, I have come to realize that the value of preserving anything lies in what it has to teach. What ships have to teach is best learned by sailing them. Appointed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, April 1991 Appointed Senior Captain and Program Director, January 2001 Served as Master of the following ships: Elissa for the Texas Seaport Museum, Galveston, Texas Californian for the Nautical Heritage Society, Dana Point, California Pioneer for the South Street Seaport Museum, New York, New York Was Chief Mate of Westward for the Sea Education Association, Woods Hole, and Massachusetts Vice President of Tri-Coastal Marine, Galveston, Texas; a consulting firm specializing in preservation of historic ships. Student and Teacher of traditional skills, practices and technologies Graduate of Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1972 Member, Board of Directors, American Sail Training Association, Advisor, American Sail Training Association since 2002 Born in Brooklyn, Walter Rybka first tasted salt air during frequent visits to the New York waterfront, sparking a life-long interest in all things maritime. After graduating from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1972, he began sailing in the schooner Pioneer, which ran a ail training program based at the South Street Seaport Museum for adjudicated youth. Between 1977 and 1983, Rybka served as the Restoration Director for the Galveston Historical Foundation s Elissa, supervising the complete rebuilding of an 1877 iron barque from a gutted shell to a voyaging vessel. During the next seven years, he divided his time between consulting on numerous ship preservation projects and serving as a watch officer or master in various sail training programs. In 1991, he was recruited by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission as captain of the U.S. Brig to head a program of both sail training and historic interpretation. His duties also included assisting with the creation of the Erie Maritime Museum which opened in Since 2001, Mr. Rybka has been director of both ship and museum. He still sails part time as relief captain of the U.S. Brig Niagara, now inspected and approved by the U.S. Coast Guard as a Sailing School Vessel. He holds a USCG license as Master, auxiliary sail, 1600 tons, Oceans. In addition, he has served on the advisory board of the American Sail Training Association, as well as advisory panels for the project to sail U.S.S. Constitution and currently for the Museum s Sailors Speak project. In 2006, the U.S.S. Constitution Museum Foundation presented him with that year s Don Turner Award for historic ship preservation. Also in 2006, the American Sail Training Association gave him Sail Trainer of the Year award. He previously received this same award in 1993.

4 Biography Captain Wesley Heerssen, Jr. Joined the crew of the U.S. Brig Niagara as Chief Mate, 2001 Promoted to Captain in the summer of 2003 Earned his first captain s license at age 21 Appointed to first captain s position at age 24 Has sailed aboard a dozen sailing ships and numerous modern commercial vessels Has sailed traditional sailing ships around the world upon waters such as the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, Baltic Sea, the English Channel, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, North and South Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan, China Sea, and the Panama Canal. Wesley Heerssen was born in Houston, Texas, in 1971, but spent his early childhood in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he learned to sail small boats at age six. By the time I was 8, I was single handedly sailing my 14-foot homemade Hawaiian outrigger sailing canoe. My best friend s father owned a charter boat company, which afforded us regular opportunities to sail on yachts ranging between 24 and 48 feet long. We took passengers to Buck Island National Monument near St. Croix. After seven years, his family returned to the Houston-Galveston area where he spent weekends and summers during high school volunteering aboard the Elissa, an iron-hulled Braque built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was restored and used as a museum ship in Galveston, sailing two to four weeks a year. In 1989, my car died on the 30-mile drive to college one day. There was no public transportation available, so I threw in the towel with my formal education path and hopped onboard an English galleon called the Golden Hinde, which I had learned was arriving in Brownsville, Texas, from the Panama Canal as part of a round-the-world voyage, Captain Heerssen said. Soon after his first paid sailing job on Golden Hinde, he was hired as a professional deckhand onboard Elissa at age 18. It was then his 20-year sailing career began in earnest. Of all my travels, I have no greater respect for any bodies of water than for the Great Lakes. The clean, fresh water, the mostly peaceful and placid summer weather, and the unforgiving late summer threat of thunderstorms make the Great Lakes the easiest place in the world to have your best experience turn into your worse very quickly. Crew The Niagara s crew consists of 21 professional year round and seasonal licensed merchant mariners. The crew members are from all parts of the country including: California, New England, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. All Crew members are documented/licensed merchant mariners who carry professional credentials issued by the US Coast Guard, which allow them to work on commercial vessels. Most of the crew specialized in sail training and many have worked on other types of vessels including freighters, tugboats, and oil industry ships. College Consortium The Flagship Niagara League operates a three-week College History Consortium for actively enrolled university students in history, maritime studies or related fields, according to marine operations manager Joe Lengieza. This year s participants are from Niagara University, SUNY Fredonia, Lockhaven University of Pennsylvania, Ohio State University, Allegheny College, Grove City College and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. The program runs through July 3. Destinations include Bay City, Mich.; Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; Duluth, Minn.; Chicago; Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; Green Bay, Wis.; Penetanguishene, Ontario; and Put-in-Bay, Ohio.

5 Sail Training on Niagara While underway, Niagara operates as a Sailing School Vessel. This means that we accept paying trainees, who are, both legally and practically, considered part of the crew. Trainees eat and live with the crew, onboard the ship. While sailing on Niagara does have a classroom component, most of our training is hands-on. By becoming an active part of the crew, trainees learn the skills of traditional square-rig seamanship, through sailing, maintaining, and living on the ship. The nineteenth-century maritime environment is far enough removed from our own lives that simply living on board the ship, and helping her make her way from place to place, is an education in and of itself. The stated goals of the Flagship Niagara League and the Erie Maritime Museum include preserving and presenting Erie s maritime history, and one of the ways this is accomplished is by sailing Niagara to various ports. By doing this, we broadcast our message to thousands of people every year. At our port stops, as many as eight thousand visitors a day can board the ship and get a glimpse of a world two centuries passed. Our Sailing School Program helps foster a deeper understanding of the same world. Preserving the ship as an artifact is important, but it is just as important to preserve the skills and technical understanding which make it work. At the end of the day, the ship is just a tool. The knowledge and practice of seamanship are the works for which it was built, and are the greater human accomplishment. Trainees participate fully in all aspects of the life and work of the crew. This work includes both the romantic and the commonplace: making and striking sail, washing dishes, painting and varnishing, giving deck tours, steering by compass in the gathering dawn, and charging along under a quartering breeze. Niagara does not take passengers she makes mariners. Niagara s seamanship program is intended for healthy adults, ages 16 and up, who are citizens or legal residents of USA, Canada, or of member states of the European Union. Visiting Ships: Flagship Niagara: SPONSOR: Eriez Magnetics Home Port: Erie, Pennsylvania Length of Deck: 120 Sparred Length: 198 Rig Height 120 Sail Area: 11,600 square feet Docked at Bayfront Convention Center Niagara is a two-masted, square-rigged sailing vessel. In 1813 she had a crew of 155 men who manned her sails, 18 carronades and 2 long guns. The original U.S Brig Niagara was built in Erie less than a year after the United States declared war against Great Britain in June of 1812, and reasons for war were mainly maritime. Impressment or taking American seamen for work for the British Royal Navy and, second, the seizure of American ships engaged in trade with France with whom the British were at war were key factors. Erie, a village of less than 500 people on the frontier of a fledging nation, became the site where a shipyard was established and organized by Daniel Dobbins, a local shipmaster. Construction of the U.S fleet began during the winter of 1812 and 1813 and was essentially completed by mid June: two brigs, one sharp schooner pilot boat and three gunboats. Speed in building the fleet was paramount, but construction was done carefully and by hand as most sawmills were miles from where tress were cut or from the shipyard. Because of the need to get the ships built quickly, only unseasoned wood was used. Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry, 27, of Newport Rhode Island, arrived in Erie in late March 1813 and took command of operations, began recruiting, training and drilling his men. After the Battle of Lake (September 10, 1813), Perry wrote to General William Henry Harrison to report that We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. Niagara was scuttled in Misery Bay within Erie Harbor following the War of The wreck was brought up in 1913 and a ship was reconstructed upon her keel and a few other salvageable timbers. Between 1933 and 1943, another complete reconstruction took place with the ship being placed on a permanent cradle out of the water. Masts and rigging were installed in 1963, but by the mid 1980s, time had again taken its tool. Ship builder Melbourne Smith built a fourth Niagara in The present ship incorporates some original timber in non-structural areas.

6 Pride of Baltimore SPONSOR: Lincoln Recycling Homeport: Baltimore, Maryland Length of Deck: 100 Sparred Length: 157 Rig Height: 107 Sail Area: 9,018 square feet Docked at Erie Maritime Museum A reproduction of 1812-era topsail schooners also known as Baltimore Clippers for their swiftness and maneuverability, Pride of Baltimore II was built in the Inner Harbor at Baltimore, Maryland, and was commissioned in She is the Goodwill Ambassador of the State of Maryland and the Port of Baltimore. Pride II is a memorial to the original which sank in a storm off Puerto Rico in 1986 taking her captain and three crew members with her Unicorn SPONSOR: Plyler Overhead Door Company &The Warren Company Home Port: Bridgeport, Connecticut Length of Deck: 90 Sparred Length: 118 Rig Height: 96 Sail Area: 9,688 square feet Docked at Bayfront Convention Center Built in 1947 as a Dutch motor fishing vessel to work the North Atlantic, she was converted to a sailing ship in 1979 and was renamed Eenhorn of One Horn - Dutch for Unicorn. The ship changed hands a number of time until a major rebuild was undertaken in 1995 by its Canadian owners. They renamed the vessel Truth North and operated it as a sail training vessel. During the summer, the ship is chartered by a non-profit on-board leadership program for girls and women. The group called Sisters Under Sail was formed by co-owner Dawn Santamaria. Unicorn is owed by Jay and Dawn Santamaria. They purchased the ship in late 1999 and rechristened her with the original name of Unicorn. St Lawrence II SPONSOR: Logistics Plus Homeport: Kingston, Ontario, Canada Length of Deck: 57 Sparred Length: 72 Rig Height: 54 Sail Area: 2,560 square feet Docked at Erie Maritime Museum The St Lawrence II is a purpose built training vessel in operation since 1957, primarily on the Great Lakes. She was designed to be manageable by a young crew, yet complex enough with her brigantine rig to introduce teenagers to the challenge of square-rig sailing. The ship is owned and operated by Brigantine Inc., a nonprofit charity and is one of the pioneering sailing training programs in North America. Peacemaker SPONSOR: Erie Insurance Home Port: Brunswick, Georgia Length of Deck: 124 Sparred Length: 150 Rig Height: 123 Sail Area: 10,000 square feet Docked at Bayfront Convention Center Peacemaker was built in southern Brazil using traditional methods and the finest tropical hardwood. First launched as the Avany in 1989, the ship was purchased in the summer of 2000 by Twelve Tribes. They then spent the next seven years replacing all of the ship s mechanical and electrical systems and rigging it as a barquentine. It set sail for the first time in 2007 under the name Peacemaker.

7 Sorlandet SPONSOR: Highmark Homeport: Kristiansan, Norway Length of Deck: 186 Sparred Length: Rig Height: 82 Sail Area: 13,304 square feet Docked at Bayfront Convention Center Sorlandet is the oldest of the three Norwegian tall ships and the older full rigged ship in the world still in operation. Sorlandet is a former schools ship, currently on hire to the Canadian sail training institution Class Afloat. West Island College-Class Afloat is an internal experiential education boarding school located in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A fully certified faculty instructs students in a full curriculum including social studies and global issues, anthropology, marine biology, maths, sciences, and physical education. Friends Good Will SPONSOR: PNC Bank Homeport: South Haven, Michigan Length of Deck: 56.3 Sparred Length: 101 Rig Height: 82 Sail Area: 3,180 square feet Docked at Dobbins Landing We have met the enemy and they are ours Commander Oliver Hazard Perry, U.S.N., Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, This famous dispatch, dashed off within an hour after the great guns fell silent, went on to reference a merchant sloop turned man-o-war. That sloop was Friends Good Will. The Michigan Maritime Museum l launched a replica of this fateful vessel in The vessel serves as a historic flagship for the preservation of traditional maritime skills. Lynx SPONSOR: Erie Federal Credit Union Homeport: Portsmouth, New Hampshire Length of Deck: 76 Sparred Length: 122 Rig Height: 94 Sail Area: 4,669 square feet Docked at Erie Maritime Museum Lynx is an accurate interpretation of an original privateer schooner of the same name. The original was built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell s Point, Maryland, and was one of the first U.S. Ships to evade the British fleet that was blockading American ports during the War of The present Lynx was designed and built by Melbourne Smith, also designer of U.S Brig Niagara, in Rockport, Maine, and launched their July 28, The ship was the first to be built in Rockport since Appledore IV SPONSOR: Local Edge Homeport: Bay City, Michigan Length of Deck: 65 Sparred Length: 85 Rig Height: 76 Sail Area: 3,560 square feet Docked at Dobbins Landing The schooner Appledore IV is owned and operated by BaySail, a non-profit corporation. Tall ship adventures aboard the Appledore IV further BaySail s mission: To foster environmental stewardship of the Saginaw Bay watershed and the Great Lakes ecosystem and to provide personal development opportunities for learners of all ages through shipboard and land based educational experiences. BaySail s program include Science Under Sail, a half-day environmental education sail for K-12 classroom groups; and Windward Bound, An overnight voyaging and freshwater science field course for students ages

8 Tall Ships Erie 2013 Schedule of Events Thursday, September 5 4pm- Parade of Sail- Erie s Bayfront 9:30pm- Firework Display on Bayfront Friday, September 6 9:00-2:30pm- School Ship Tours 2:30-6:00pm- Public Ship Tours Saturday, September pm- Public Ship Tours, Entertainment Sunday, September pm- Public Ship Tours, Entertainment E Shuttle Service Locations: East Erie Pier Liberty Park Park & Ride 12 th & Lincoln Parking ramps on 7 th & Peach Also continuous shuttle from the Erie Maritime Museum, to the Convention Center during all Tall Ships General Admission hours. Labatt Blue Beer Garden Entertainment Schedule (Bayfront Convention Center) Friday, September 6 3-4pm Captain Tom Kastle 4-5pm Lee Murdock Saturday, September 7 11am-12noon- Lee Murdock 12noon-1pm- Hardtackers 1-2pm- Mark Beery 2-3pm- Lee Murdock 3-4pm- Hardtackers 4-5pm- Mark Beery Sunday, September 8 12noon-1pm- Mark Beery 1-2pm- Good for Nuthin String Band 2-3pm- Captain Tom Kastle 3-4pm- Mark Beery 4-5pm- Lee Murdock Mercyhurst University Video & Lecture Series (Bayfront Convention Center) Saturday, September 7 11am-12noon- Erie Zoo Lecture Great Lakes Creatures 12noon-1pm- Captain Tom Kastle Maritime Music & History 1-2pm- Mr. Brian Dunnigan Troubled Waters 2-3pm- Sr. Captain Walker Rybka Battle of Lake Erie 3-4pm- Mr. Don Graves A modest Canadian view of the War of pm- Mr. Brian Dunningan Uncorking the Truth 5-6pm- Documentary/Movie TBD Sunday, September 8 11am-12noon- Captain Tom Kastle Maritime Music & History 12noon-1pm- Video- Dobbins Memoirs 1-2pm- Dr. William Garvey Elliot vs. Perry Controversy 2-3pm- Niagara 2013 Bicentennial Season Recap 3-4pm- Sr. Captain Walter Rybka Niagara History 4-5pm- Captain Tom Kastle Maritime Music & History 5-6pm- Documentary/Movie TBD

9 Gannon University, the Erie Playhouse, and the Flagship Niagara League present: FORTUNATE VICTORY (H.O Hirt Auditorium) Written by: Erie native Alexander O. Clemente Adapted for the 2013 Tall Ships Erie by Rev. Shawn Clerkin, Gannon University Associate Professor of Communication and Fine Arts and Director of Theatre Original Score by: Andrew Rainbow Lyrics by: Rev. Shawn Clerkin Video created by: MoreFrames Animation of Erie Produced by: Almitra Clerkin, Executive Director, Erie Playhouse, and Shawn Waskiewicz, Executive Director, Flagship Niagara FORTUNATE VICTORY is the hearty and spirited story of the resolve and tenacity of Oliver Hazard Perry, Daniel Dobbins, Jesse Elliot, Commodore Chauncey and the men and women of Erie in the early 19th century who built and sailed the Great Lakes fleet that would defeat the British in a naval and moral victory on Lake Erie in The story is centered on historical records and real-life heroes interwoven with fictional dialogue and situations. In collaboration with the majesty of the 2013 Tall Ships Erie celebration, join the Erie Playhouse, Gannon University Schuster Theatre, and the Flagship Niagara as we bring the characters of Erie s history to life on the Hirt Auditorium stage at the Blasco Library (just east of Dobbins Landing in the heart of Erie) in this 45-minute, multi-media musical play, September 6-8, FORTUNATE VICTORY highlights include the animated battle sequence, the Victory Anthem, written by Andrew Rainbow and Rev. Clerkin, and the origination of the Don t Give Up the Ship flag. The recreated battle scene and anthem were last seen and heard in the Erie Playhouse Perry 200 Commemoration Pageant The Spirit of Erie in June of School and Senior Groups Performances: Friday, September 6, :30 AM - 12:30 PM (Performance, followed by Ship Tour) 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM (Ship Tour, followed by Performance) $10/Ticket includes show and ship tour (Suggested for Grades 4 through 12) School group reservations can be made by calling the Erie Playhouse Box Office or info@erieplayhouse.org, or check out for more information. Public Performances - $5 - Show only tickets: Friday, September 6 2:00pm Saturday, September 7 11am, 12:30pm and 2:00pm Sunday, September 8 12:30pm and 2:00pm

10 Entertainer Biographies: Hardtackers The HardTackers are a seven-man shanty crew based in Columbus, Ohio. We sing songs about seas, lakes, rivers, canals--anything wet. We are the official Shanty Crew of the Santa Maria, a full-size replica of Christopher Columbus' flagship docked on the Scioto River in downtown Columbus. While neither Cavaliers nor Roundheads, The HardTackers have been known to enjoy a pint and a rousing shanty at the Pub, right under the nose of King Charles I, whose extravagance and tendency to lose his head interfered with his effectiveness as king. He did, however, inspire an extremely cute breed of dogs. Lee Murdock Lee Murdock has uncovered a boundless body of music and stories in the Great Lakes. There is an amazing timelessness in this music. Great Lakes songs are made of hard word, hard living, ships that go down and ships that come in. The music is grounded in the work song tradition, from the rugged days of lumberjacks and wooden sailing schooners. Murdock comes alongside with ballads of contemporary commerce and revelry in the grand folk style. Lee's fans have discovered a sweetwater treasure in his songs about the Great Lakes, finding drama and inspiration in the lives of sailors and fishermen, lighthouse keepers, ghosts, shipwrecks, outlaws and everyday heroes. Captain Tom Kastle Tom Kastle is a singer, songwriter, tall ship captain, and teller of tales based in the Great Lakes, who has traveled the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Pacific. He toured as half of Tom & Chris Kastle for two decades, producing a dozen recordings and a soundtrack for PBS (WTTW-TV Chicago). He has one foot in as a singer/songwriter and the other firmly planted in the traditional maritime folk music world. His hands-on background tall ships and maritime music led to an invitation by Andy Cohen to be a professor at Folk University at the 2009 International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis with Enoch Kent, Tracy Schwartz and Ginny Hawker. Good for Nuthin String Band Northwestern Pennsylvania s best original String Band with mountain dulcimer, guitar, mandolin, cello, upright bass, and hammered dulcimer. Good friends playing a unique brand of Traditional American Roots Musics- what we call Music Americana Obscura. With Susan Beates on the mandolin and cello; Roger TeWinkle on bass; Michael Vickey with mountain dulcimer hammered dulcimer, banjo; and Mark Zimmer on guitar and Cajun accordion Mark Beery Offering up acoustic guitar based music from classic folk rock (Van Morrison, James Taylor) and blues to more recent material (Train, Zac Brown, John Mayer). Mark Beery is a regular local performer (solo) on Wednesdays at the Colony Restaurant between musical engagements with his friends in Key West Express, Lucky Dog, and Everchange.