When you think about accordions, in the
unlikely event that you even think of them, your mind might wander into
shades of a soap bubbly Laurence Welk polka, if you even remember who Welk
was, right? Wrong! Accordions have contributed to a much broader range of
music. Tchaikovsky, Berg, and William Schimmel composed works specifically
for accordions. And where would today’s zydeco be without accordions? This
takes us to the Accordion Festival in Cotati, California, held every
September.
Cotati is located about an hour outside of San Francisco. It is a rather
small town, particularly by California standards, only about 7,000
residents. California State University, Sonoma is located outside of town
and contributes to the culture of Cotati. Cotati also hosts an annual Jazz
Festival in June, but nothing approaches the fame, or infamy, that the
Accordion Festival has brought to not only Cotati, but to Sonoma County.
The Accordion Festival attracts players from all over the world, although it
does feature the polka. And, believe it or not, the accordion is vastly more
popular in other parts of the world than it is here in the United States.
Depending on your tastes, you will be totally impressed or totally appalled
by this Festival. By the way, there is also beer and wine tasting, food, and
arts and crafts.
If nothing else, check out the Festival’s website at
http://www.cotatifest.com/. The
yearly posters that they have made are a riot.
p.s. I happen to be one of those lunatics that like the accordion, except
when used to play the polka. While the people in Cotati take this festival
with a little “tongue in cheek,” the Accordion Festival is listed with
accordion organizations. Who knows? It would be an adventure…
Laura Evans is
a native Californian and has traveled extensively throughout the
Southwest. She is a Tutor, an Antique Dealer, and a Freelance Writer.
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