Thank you, Joseph, Dusty and Wayne!

@Dusty - I actually had my yellow hat on my head that day, but not during playing. Someone took pictures for a commemorative album - and when that happened, I wore the yellow hat AND hat my dulcimer in my hands! But I don't know if I can get those photos. I'll try...

@Wayne - yes, at most of our family occasions we sing together! But this was something new for most of the guests!

That looks like a lot of fun, Peter, but . . . what happened to the yellow hat?

I think you're right about having a small repertoire ready to go. Let me share a recollection of the only time I ever played in public. I think I've shared this elswhere at FOTMD, so forgive me my repetition. My only excuse is age.

Years ago (before I knew what a dulcimer is) I used to play mandolin in a triowithfriends on the guitar and bass. We got together weekly and worked up a small repertoire of songs, including the Bob Dylan tune "You Ain't Going Nowhere." But at some point the guitarist wrote an original piece which sounded, at least the way our arrangement worked, just like the Dylan tune. So we scratched the Dylan tune from our playlist.

Once we were at a party in someone's backyard. We had brought our instruments in case a jam broke out, but the host asked if we would play a few tunes. We got up on the porch and played our entire (short) set of music for the partygoers. At the end, someone yelled out a request: "You Ain't Going Nowhere!" We smiled, immediately began playing the song, and then quickly got off the stage (porch) before another request came in. That song was literally the only request we could have played, so we stopped playing before any more came in, leading the audience to think we were good enough to be able to take requests from the audience.

Sometimes to entertain 'em, you've got to fool 'em.

Great stuff, I love it. Getting ready to do the same thing tomorrow at my cousin's restaurant. I have found though that more time is spent explaining the instrument, origin, etc. to listeners.

Thanks, Bill and Carrie!

@Carrie: I love that shirt too! Now I need to find someone who produces Hawaii shirts with a dulcimer motive instead of the ukuleles...