Yes, I remember that as well, Robin. Good to be reminded!

While I'm thinking about it, John Henry was, to my knowledge, our elder participant in IADD.  And he met Jean Ritchie many years ago on one of her trips to the UK.  Also, Val Hughes noted some time ago that it was Jean Ritchie who introduced the mountain dulcimer to Ireland.  Val contributed audio recordings here at FOTMD for IADD.  

I have emailed Fiona regarding the DPN article.

I can Zoom if we can find a mutually acceptable time. Like Robin, I don't know that I have much to add.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm willing to Zoom yet don't know that I have much to add. 

Just as a thought ... with all this discussion, you guys might want to do a Zoom and talk it all through in real time: More efficient, reaches better conclusions, and you'd get to see each other face-to-face.

International also allows us to celebrate the Appalachian Dulcimer’s European roots.

I, too, like the juxtaposition of international and Appalachian. When one looks at it geologically, the range begins in the southern United States and travels northeastward through maritime Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and Norway. The mountains were originally part of Pangea, actually the central Pangean mountains. A significant feature of these mountains is the presence of coal. The mountains also include costal areas in Greenland, France, Spain, and Northern Africa.

And today is National Banjo Day! (according to the Deering Banjo Company, April 8th)

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@dusty I, too, like that juxtaposition!  Yes, all embraced the worldwide aspect wonderfully!

We did all embrace the word "international."  The reason it was even a discussion was because of my initial question, which stemmed from having learned of National Guitar Day (probably from a Sweetwater ad) and wondering whether we should have a National Dulcimer Day.  I don't recall any resistance to Robin's suggestion of "international."  It is both more inclusive and also appropriately celebratory regarding the dulcimer's spread beyond the hills and hollows of Appalachia.  (And I personally love the juxtaposition of "international" and "Appalachian.")

No apology necessary as I didn't think you were implying that anyone was against it. I thought we all embraced it enthusiastically.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@ken-longfield My apologies-- I never meant to imply anyone was against "International".  I just remember my thinking at the time was it would be helpful for it not to just be "National".  Again, my apology for creating misunderstanding!   

Robin, I don't recall there being any objection to "international." It seems to me that we all embraced it. Marg had asked a question as to whether it would conflict with celebrations in other countries. I'm not sure if we ever considered "worldwide" rather than "international."

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I haven't yet looked at the threads to refresh my memory.  I recall when we were kicking around thoughts, I wanted all FOTMD members to feel welcomed to participate in the day, so advocated for "International".   

The conversation started, I think, in January and we launched in March. I made a flyer I think for that year, you can see it on the Positive thread, I tried too post it here but they say the file is too big, funny it wasn’t four years ago.  I probably had to downsize it then too.  The date is on it for that year. 

Upon first glance at the positive thread, it seems the conversation started with Dusty suggesting that there ought to be a national dulcimer day, as there is a national guitar day, which was quickly expanded by community feedback into international Appalachian dulcimer day. Is that a fair summation?

Here on FOTMD, Ireland and the US were represented this year.  If there were other countries, please, someone point me to music I may have missed.  On fb, the US, England, Ireland, and Australia were represented yet there may have been others-- I hope so!   There were folks who shared still photographs of instruments to celebrate, too. 

I shared other photos of Dusty's sticker from a couple different dulcimer cases on fb.  Dusty, your sticker may not be as famous as you are yet it is working to catch you!  

I'm not a graphic artist, but maybe we could come up with logo for the day. I was thinking of something like a globe with an Appalachian dulcimer across it or perhaps a mercator map of the world with a dulcimer across it. Anyone want to submit some logos for consideration?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song.

Dusty is correct in his explanation. The first event was year one. I have the sticker. I could use a few more to share with dulcimer friends to promote the day, so I'll be sending you a PM Dusty. I didn't get involved as much as I would have liked at the beginning as I was recovering from open heart surgery at the time.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@nate, the discussion did indeed start on the Positive Thread, but my memory is that once we decided on a date and a name, I started this discussion here.

This year was year 4.  But remember that year 1 was not at the end of the year (like a birthday) but at the beginning. So one year in was year 2, etc.  Next year will be year 5.

Earlier in this thread I shared the image of a sticker I had made.  I just got some more, so if anyone wants a couple, send me a PM.  I also made the banner that Robin used to advertise the day here at FOTMD back when we had those banner ads. I'd be happy to offer those images for a DPN article if we want to go that route.

Here is the sticker:

And here is the banner:

Hey folks I'd love some clarity about the exact nature of the origins. It seems to me that the discussion in the positive thread started when @dusty brought it up 4 years ago, and this thread was started 3 years ago, but others are saying the holiday is 5 years old. Did this all start with Dusty's suggestion of having a National Dulcimer Day in the positive thread?

I'm typing this here so I'll remember:  Dean Robinson and Dan Geddes both made nice graphics for posting on fb to promote the day.   Dean's may have been made last year or the year before.  Dan made a couple graphics this year, I believe.  Very nice of them to have done so!  

Hard to believe we are turning five…if we are going to do a DPN article of the IADD history, we need to do it sooner than later. Our DPN editor has recently accepted my recent article for the November issue.  It would be nice if we can be a feature for the first issue of 2026.  If all of you who were involved in the initial conversations that brought about this grassroots celebration of the Dulcimer would write up a paragraph to share your take on how this all began, I will create an article with those paragraphs and send it on to Fiona. I will go ahead and contact her in the mean time to try and secure a place for the first issue of next year.

IADD is ready for kindergarten at 5 years old.  

I guess that makes our 5th anniversary March 28, 2026. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song"

It's good to chronicle this stuff for the historical record.  Thanks, @robin-thompson.  So next year will be the 5th year! Maybe we can plan something special for then.

At the heart of this day are the sentiments Robin shared a few posts back: "it's a grassroots celebration of the spread of the Appalachian dulcimer from the Appalachians to countries around the world.  And no one is in charge.  Any creative endeavor featuring mountain dulcimer is welcome for sharing."

We first celebrated in 2022.  So, we just had our fourth International Appalachian Dulcimer Day.  Here's the video I put on YT to announce the day to those outside of FOTMD: https://youtu.be/9IeJbS_tb48?si=hSZaLYHOaGasBtGV

It has been the third year of International Appalachian Dulcimer Day.  A five year celebration could be a great idea. Might give us all enough time to share our ideas and put together something really nice. 

After reading some of the recent posts here, I went back and read the posts in The Positive Thread. Steve, I think you should go ahead and write up something about the beginning of International Appalachian Dulcimer Day. Am I correct in thinking that this was our fourth celebration or was it the third. Perhaps for our fifth anniversary we could put Steve's article about the origin of the day in that year's DPN; probably for the issue that usually comes out in February. Or we could all get a cupcake, put 5 candles on it, play Happy Birthday on our dulcimers, and blow the candles out.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I made a video announcement back in 2022 and it got quite a few views on YT-- I'd shared it to FB.  I started hash-tagging posts that same year, I believe.  The photo you see to the left of this posting is one I began sharing a few years ago, after Dusty sent a few stickers he designed, my way.  On fb, if anyone asks questions, such as "Is there a fb page" or "Who runs it/is in charge, etc." I let folks now it's a grassroots celebration of the spread of the Appalachian dulcimer from the Appalachians to countries around the world.  And no one is in charge.  Any creative endeavor featuring mountain dulcimer is welcome for sharing.     

Mystery or public-- each is a good choice!  

I think we should not rush to take credit, it might slow momentum.  A mystery is far more interesting and people are running with it.  I belong to a large dulcimer group here and the newsletter person asked me if I knew anything about it, I didn’t try to hide the fact of its origin, but I was informed that there has been a great deal of talk and enthusiasm for the Day.  There will be a time when we should share the history of it in a formal way, but I think that for the moment the “obscure origins” is working for the event and the event matters most.  I do think that Dusty you should document its history, especially since your post set us all on this journey.  It will be important later.  But, I always live by the code, that we can do a great deal of good in this world as long as we don’t care who gets the credit.  

Personally Dusty, as someone who has struggled from a lack of definitive information on many dulcimer topics, I'd love for you to put it in black letters

Well, everybody, it appears our efforts to create International Appalachian Dulcimer Day has been a success, if we define success as the growing awareness of others of this special day to honor a special instrument.  People who know nothing about our efforts here are now referring to this day and it is becoming part of dulcimer lore.

The question before us now is whether we want the origin of IADD to remain "an unofficial holiday of obscure origin," much like the instrument itself, or whether we want to assert the role of FOTMD in creating the day.

One of us (I would volunteer) could easily write up a few sentences on the creation of IADD here at FOTMD and insert those lines into the Wikipedia entry on the mountain dulcimer.  The evidence (first in the Positive Thread and then here) is clear.

Should we assert our role as the originators or is it best to leave things "obscure"?

Unfortunately, my IADD video has been postponed too long to matter :(. Lesson learned, and next year i will make a point to prepare a video ahead of time so that its already ready on IADD

International Appalachian Dulcimer Day (with all its "nicknames") is, indeed, an unofficial holiday of obscure origin.    

I laughed out loud when I read this post from Buttermilk Junction, some of it is AI I think. At least it is being noticed. Though all of us are “of obscure origin.” The first paragraph is what tickled me, the rest is Wikipedia I think.

☞Buttermilk Junction wishes all of our Facebook fans a Happy National Appalachian Dulcimer Day!

☞Today, Saturday, March 29, 2025 is National Appalachian Dulcimer Day, a.k.a. International Mountain Dulcimer Day, an unofficial holiday of obscure origin that is celebrated annually on the last Saturday of the month of March in honor of the traditional stringed musical instrument that is variously known as the Appalachian Dulcimer, the Mountain Dulcimer, & the Lap Dulcimer. It is noteworthy that, despite the similarity in name, the Appalachian Dulcimer is unrelated to the ancient stringed instrument known as the “Hammered Dulcimer.”

☞According to Wikipedia: The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, & its fretting is generally diatonic.

☞Although the Appalachian dulcimer first appeared in the early 19th Century amongst Scotch-Irish immigrant communities in the Appalachian Mountains, the instrument has no known precedent in Ireland, Scotland or Northern England. Because of this, & a dearth of written records, the history of the Appalachian dulcimer has been, until fairly recently, largely speculative. Since 1980, more extensive research has traced the instrument’s development through several distinct periods, & its likely origins in several similar European instruments: the Swedish Hummel, the Norwegian Langeleik, the German Scheitholt, & the French Épinette des Vosges. Folk historian Lucy M. Long said of the instrument’s history:

Because few historical records of the dulcimer exist, the origins of the instrument were open to speculation until recently when Ralph Lee Smith & L. Alan Smith reconstructed the instrument’s history by analyzing older dulcimers. The organological development of the dulcimer divides into three periods: transitional (1700 to mid-1800s), pre-revival or traditional (mid-1800s to 1940), & revival or contemporary (after 1940).

☞In the mid-20th Century, the dulcimer was brought out from relative obscurity by noted American Folk Music singer, songwriter, & Appalachian dulcimer player Jean Ritchie (1922-2015), “The Mother of Folk Music,” who was born at the village of Viper in Perry County in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Jean Ritchie’s dulcimer playing led directly to the “Dulcimer Revival” of the 1950s & 1960s.

☞According to Wikipedia: The Appalachian dulcimer achieved a renaissance in the 1950s urban folk music revival in the United States through the work of Jean Ritchie, a Kentucky musician who introduced the instrument to New York City audiences.  In the early 1960s, Ritchie & her partner George Pickow began distributing dulcimers made by her Kentucky relative Jethro Amburgey, then the woodworking instructor at the Hindman Settlement School. They eventually began producing their own instruments in New York City. By 1965 the instrument was a familiar presence in Folk-Music circles.

☞The undated photograph depicts Jean Ritchie, “The Mother of Folk Music,” with her Appalachian dulcimer.

FOTMD is where IADD was conceived.  

@robin-thompson Yup. I'd say you folks got the ball rolling, and now it's gathering some momentum. I tell everybody that the dulcimer is a more logical first stringed instrument than the guitar, so it makes good sense.

@ken-longfield Thanks ... and you're very welcome!

Sam, thanks for the information about Brandi's song and for the link to Tim Hanseroth-- I'd watched that some time ago yet hadn't looked at it lately.

Participation in IADD came from different countries-- Ireland, England, Australia, US, and, perhaps, other countries of which I'm unaware.  So glad to see many places represented!  

Sam, that was a delightful video segment. You and the reporter did a fine job. Thanks for your help in promoting IADD.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hi, friends - Thanks for bringing up my TV appearance Friday! I'll admit that I'm normally not a big fan of "Hallmark holidays," but dulcimers are a cause that deserves the publicity. I didn't realize its origin was so closely tied to this thread and these people!

@robin-thompson Brandi and the twins are listed as the three writers of the song. It came out of the pandemic and is about Brandi's relationship with her wife and daughters. (I also see the song as her version of Big Yellow Taxi, except that the relationship is a strong, positive one.) They decided not to use the dulcimer on the record, feeling it would be "too Joni, so she plays the riff on guitar, but I had to see video to convince myself it wasn't really a dulcimer.

Here's an IG video of Tim playing a bit.https://www.instagram.com/timhanseroth/reel/CkM6mWlsjMj/

@dusty Thanks - I got a kick out of their "Dulcimer expert" label, too!

By the way, the reporter in the news segment was very good. Before we went on, she asked me the pronunciations of Appalachian, dulcimer, and my name.

Happy day after IADD, y'all!  

@dusty Thanks for the kind words!  We made our usual put-someone-to-sleep type of tune only recorded with a camera.  (We hadn't made a video in a year or two because our uploads took many hours.  Our cable internet is better now.)  I love your Freddy Fender cover!  In my mind's eye, I see him with his thick dark hair and wearing a purple suit.  So cool you covered one of his songs! 

@sam-edelston Such a great spot, Sam, and I'm glad you got to promote your album (it's a very cool album)!  I'm guessing one of the Hanseroth twins was the composer of the Brandi Carlile song.  It was a nice one to end the spot.  

@steve-c Many thanks for sharing the link for Sam's interview!  

@sam-edelston is a rock star, for sure! 

I like the title they give him on TV: "musician and dulcimer expert."  I want that on my business card.

Sam Edelston on tv for International Appalachian Dulcimer Day! : https://www.wtnh.com/video/celebrating-international-appalachian-dulcimer-day/10580088/

Robin Thompson: It's IADD!  

https://youtu.be/bWp82g_V59o?si=EvOWqAbxDgE1YAUU

That's beautiful playing, Robin. Your sensitive approach to the noter is second to none.  Peace and goodwill to you, too.

Well I was able to make a video using Clipchamp for the first time, but YouTube only let me upload it as a short.  If it ain't one thing . . .

https://youtube.com/shorts/rKRztEXOx8E?feature=share

Many thanks, @katiewaller!  I hope you've had a chance to join in on the celebration of IADD! 

@dusty That's just cool you were the mystery guest for Send in the Music!  I'm sure your play was wonderful and enjoyed by all your audience! 

Happy IADD, everyone.  I tried to record a video last night using OBS studio, but the audio came out distorted.  I'll try again using different software a bit later.

However, I was the mystery guest at Pat Clark's Send in the Music today.  She will post the video soon, if it's not already up.  Today is also the 5th anniversary of Send in the Music, so lots to celebrate.  I was kind of nervous and my playing was pretty spotty, but here was my set: Reel de l'Oiseau Bleu, Cheticamp, Linstead Market, All in a Garden Green, Lady Gethin, Fishin' Blues, and an original, Safe Haven.

Way cool, @nate!  I'll keep my eyes open for your video!  

So far, I've seen music shared from England, Ireland, and TN in the US.  The more places represented, the merrier!  Music does, indeed, make the world a better place.  

Indeed it is Robin! I just got my first three aquavina dulcimers back! At various times I have given them away to people, but today, after offering various people newer and better dulcimers in exchange to get the old ones back, I now have the prototype, the beta test, and the alpha test, and im looking forward making a quick video of the three!

It's IADD!  

https://youtu.be/bWp82g_V59o?si=EvOWqAbxDgE1YAUU

This Saturday, 29 March, 2025-- the more countries which participate, the merrier!  Love of the Appalachian dulcimer has spread around the world.    

https://youtu.be/xwGMhADMxoA?si=FvP8tD3bYFeVdReO

A little reminder of the day.  :)

That's funny how the AI bot referenced you to tell you about you, @nate .

I've been hashtagging International Appalachian Dulcimer Day on fb for a few years now and think somebodies got "it" in the hashtag game.  

I fully agree @dusty . I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of an AI bot reading MY post and then giving me misleading information about my own instrument

That's hilarious, @nate.  It certainly demonstrates the limitations of information from AI.  On the one hand, it found your information here. On the other hand, it fails to recognize how unique your builds are, implying lots of "enthusiasts" are experimenting the way you do.

Dusty,

That is hilarious.  But you're right, somehow IADD is becoming a thing.  I'm trying to promote on Mountain Dulcimer Lore.  Maybe, if we keep posting and talking about it the dulcimer world and maybe beyond will take notice...now let us lobby for a dulcimer postage stamp.

We made it into the AI algorithms!  That constitutes success in my book, even if the information being spewed by the bots is factually incorrect.

I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk when he saw his name in the phonebook:

Indeed, we did-- what a bunch of troublemakers we are!  

We started something bigger than we knew..we’re hysterical eh, I mean Historical.

@steve-c Just goes to show the power of a #!  

Boy does AI exaggerate much? I search “mountain dulcimer first festival” and this came up. “The first recorded mountain dulcimer festival was the International Appalachian Dulcimer Day (IADD), which is always the last Saturday in March, and this year it falls on March 29, 2025.“

IMG_0954.jpeg  •  163KB

Both days are permanently on my calendar.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@janis-lewman Hope you'll be able to participate!  

That event is a new one to me.  Glad I noticed.  I was only aware of the International Play Music On the Porch day which is always last Saturday in August each year.  Thanks for the nudge.

Indeed, it is, @dusty !

I hope to see folks from many countries celebrating an instrument we all love! 

How could we ever forget? It's the best day of the year!

Just a little reminder about International Appalachian Dulcimer Day.  

Friends,

International Appalachian Dulcimer Day is coming-- always the last Saturday in March.  This year's date is 29 March 2025.  Let's all celebrate the spread of the Appalachian dulcimer around the world!  

Thanks, @phil-myers, but I can't take credit for the tune.  I found a short fiddle demo of the tune online, with an indication that it was written by Susan Reid.  I found a few videos online of the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra playing songs by her, so I wrote a letter to her c/o the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra, and included the dulcimer tab I had created.  I heard back about a month later.  She gave me permission to teach the song to my dulcimer group and also to post it online.  It's a cute tune indeed, and fits perfectly on the dulcimer from the open middle string to the seventh fret of the melody string in a 1-5-8 tuning.

Dusty, I'm a little late for IADD but that tune of yours works for any day! Love it!

KenL, if you didn't have time to make a recording, you should've taken a picture of your workbench to post for IADD!  I believe you worked on the dulcimers yet photographic proof may be needed.