area LIFE
WO R DS : SA R A H MO R R AU PHOTOGR A P H Y : P R OVIDE D BY CE L E B R AT I O N O F WO ME N A N D T H E I R MU S I C
a Virtual Celebration For the first time ever,
the annual Celebration of Women and Their Music will be livestreamed on YouTube, allowing the show to continue to reach supporters and new listeners. For founder Deb Jenkins, the significance of the livestream is that “anyone, anywhere around the globe can watch the Celebration of Women and Their Music in Fargo.”
Due to COVID-19, it was not an option to gather an audience for the show, so plan B involved finding a venue where performers could safely distance, and would be suitable for livestreaming. The new plan also included drawing on the expertise of Ariel Wethern, who coordinates and manages social media for the show. Jenkins is especially grateful for Wethern’s skills and her ability to share how to keep the show relevant through social media platforms. She also credits Jon Dahl for his video expertise and with making the livestream accessible on YouTube. Jenkins is really looking forward to this year, as last year, for the first time, the main show was cancelled on very short notice due to weather.
DE B J E N K IN S Ph oto by D o u g S cot t
Despite recent challenges, the focus for Jenkins and the other board members continues to be supporting young women in the arts — whether providing financial awards, mentoring
SA R A S MI TH
SY D NE Y Q U I B EL L
or networking opportunities, or just encouraging them. It’s also what drives her to continue the show, which Jenkins started 24 years ago, along with the support from the performers, award winners and the community. Sara Smith is a previous award winner and a performer this year, taking the stage with her long-time friend and fellow musician, Sydney Quibell, who is an award winner from last year. Smith says, “We have grown up playing guitar and violin together so it will be a lot of fun being able to play for the celebration.” Smith credits her music mentors as influences — Sarah Lang (her longtime violin instructor), Brian Cole (her first orchestra conductor) and Bud Larsen (the luthier she apprenticed with to build a hardanger fiddle). In addition to playing piano, Smith originally played fiddle music but then joined the FM Area Youth Symphony and began taking classical violin lessons as well. For the past 10 years Smith and her family have attended the Old-Time Fiddle Weekend at the International Music Camp which, she says, “was where my love for fiddle music and ‘jamming’ began.”
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:: areawomanmagazine.com