This will be early in the month for us but,the Black Walnut Acoustic Open Stage will be back at the Mill Courtland Community Centre, 216 Mill Street in Kitchener on Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7:30-10:00 pm. Doors open and performers’ sign-up starting at 7:15pm. There may be some seasonal songs and extra treats. The Black Walnut Folk Club will donate $150.00 to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and anyone who wants to add to that donation may do so at the door on Friday night. (If you miss this date, our next open stage dates will be January 19, 2024 and February 16, 2024.) A few other things that we are expecting are:
1 Strong reminder for performers: Don’t forget this is for music, not for stories, spoken word, magic tricks, etc… AND don’t play along when someone else has the stage, unless they ask you to share the stage with them;
2 We strongly discourage use of your own mics other Than SM57 or SM58 and do not bring any add-on processor/pedals/effects, amps or other sound gear. We do not have enough time to get any benefit from the stuff that performers have been bringing. Sorry, but 10 minutes is not a very long time and our own mics work very well. If you need a keyboard please bring it in at doors-open so that we can set it up in advance;
3 To protect the club mics, performers must use removable foam pop filters (windscreens) which they will obtain, install, remove and keep for the next time. We hope all performers will bring their windscreens that we gave out previously. Now is probably a good time to hand wash the foam windscreens separately so the dye wont stain any other stuff. They wash and air dry nicely. We will keep a small supply of these available which we will sell for $1 each to cover our costs;
4 Masks will not be mandatory but they will be welcomed, AND
5 Anyone who has been recently exposed to or has symptoms of COVID, Flu, RSV or other contagious illness is directed to stay away.
Bring your guitars, accordions, voices, acoustic instruments of all sorts or just your eyes and ears and make yourself feel at home. Do not feel shy because you have not played for us before.
The doors will open and sign-up for the open stage will start at 7:15 pm. Remember when you sign up you get to play/sing two songs in a set of 10 minutes or less and you need to be ready to start playing when your turn starts so you won’t lose any of your 10 minutes.
The entrance and free parking are at the back of the Mill-Courtland Community Centre and admission is still $3 at the door. The facility is wheelchair accessible, alcohol, smoke and peanut free and every show is different. If you don’t come, you’ll miss it.
If you are having any difficulty with viewing any content, please post a comment or send a private email to: wayne@blackwalnutfolkclub.com We have posted our “Code of Conduct” and other details on our website which has been updated to address some software issues and security concerns. The URL is https://blackwalnutfolkclub.com There are still some minor links that are unresponsive and some cosmetic improvements that may soon get done.
No-Smoking Reminder: The entire Community Centre property is included in the City of Kitchener policy of a total ban on smoking on the property. That includes tobacco, marijuana and other smoking and includes both inside and outside the Community Centre.
At 8 pm we will lock the outside door and put a notice there to say, “The building is closed to all those who are not participating in the Black Walnut Open Stage Event from 7:30 pm – 10 pm. Please knock at the rear doors so that you may be admitted to that event.”
Our entrance and free parking are at the back of the Mill-Courtland Community Centre and admission is still $3 at the door. The facility is wheelchair accessible, alcohol, smoke and peanut free and every show is different. If you don’t come, you’ll miss it.

Thanks to everyone who helped to organize, performed, or just showed up last month at the Black Walnut Acoustic Open Stage. On Friday Nov. 17th, we had 2 new performers and lots of folks that we have not seen for a while. Some photos are included on our facebook page. On Nov. 17th, we had the following 11 performers who played 2 songs each, including 2 performers, first-time on the stage at Black Walnut:
1. John Walker
2. Mattias Schonlau
3. Michelle Stelter
4. Ellen and Dan
5. David Maranta
6. Richard and Wayne
7. Ron Hammar
8. Pat and Joe – NEW
9. Al Parrish
10. Ash Parrish – NEW
11. Cam and Pat

The Black Walnut Acoustic Open Stage will be back at the Mill Courtland Community Centre, 216 Mill Street in Kitchener on Friday, November 17, 2023 at 7:30-10:00 pm. Doors open and performers’ sign-up starting at 7:15pm. (If you miss this date, our next open stage dates will be December 8, 2023 and January 19, 2024.)

A few things that we are expecting are:

1. Strong reminder for performers: Don’t forget this is for music, not for stories, spoken word, magic tricks, etc… AND don’t play along when someone else has the stage, unless they ask you to share the stage with them;
2. We strongly discourage use of your own mics other than SM57 or SM58 and do not bring any add-on processor/pedals/effects, amps or other sound gear. We do not have enough time to get any benefit from the stuff that performers have been bringing. Sorry, but 10 minutes is not a very long time and our own mics work very well. If you need a keyboard please bring it in at doors-open so that we can set it up in advance;
3. To protect the club mics, performers must use removable foam pop filters (windscreens) which they will obtain, install, remove and keep for the next time. We hope all performers will bring their windscreens that we gave out previously. Now is probably a good time to hand wash the foam windscreens separately so the dye wont stain any other stuff. They wash and air dry nicely. We will keep a small supply of these available which we will sell for $1 each to cover our costs;
4. Masks will not be mandatory but they will be welcomed, AND
5. Anyone who has been recently exposed to or has symptoms of COVID, Flu, RSV or other contagious illness is directed to stay away.

Bring your guitars, accordions, voices, acoustic instruments of all sorts or just your eyes and ears and make yourself feel at home. Do not feel shy because you have not played for us before.

The doors will open and sign-up for the open stage will start at 7:15 pm. Remember when you sign up you get to play/sing two songs in a set of 10 minutes or less and you need to be ready to start playing when your turn starts so you won’t lose any of your 10 minutes.

The entrance and free parking are at the back of the Mill-Courtland Community Centre and admission is still $3 at the door. The facility is wheelchair accessible, alcohol, smoke and peanut free and every show is different. If you don’t come, you’ll miss it.

If you are having any difficulty with viewing any content, please post a comment or send a private email to: wayne@blackwalnutfolkclub.com. We have posted our “Code of Conduct” and other details on our website which has been updated to address some software issues and security concerns. The new URL is https://blackwalnutfolkclub.com. There are still some minor links that are unresponsive and some cosmetic improvements that may soon get done.

No-Smoking Reminder: The entire Community Centre property is included in the City of Kitchener policy of a total ban on smoking on the property. That includes tobacco, marijuana and other smoking and includes both inside and outside the Community Centre.

At 8 pm we will lock the outside door and put a notice there to say, “The building is closed to all those who are not participating in the Black Walnut Open Stage Event from 7:30 pm – 10 pm. Please knock at the rear doors so that you may be admitted to that event.”

Our entrance and free parking are at the back of the Mill-Courtland Community Centre and admission is still $3 at the door. The facility is wheelchair accessible, alcohol, smoke and peanut free and every show is different. If you don’t come, you’ll miss it.