“This Land is Your Land” for 72 hours straight
From staff reports
Local nonprofits Buckets of Rain and Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage are organizing a “music marathon” next week in Traverse City which, if successful, will feature Woody Guthrie’s patriotic ballad “This Land is Your Land” sung, over and over again, for 72 hours straight. The performance will begin at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and conclude at noon on Friday, Sept. 20.
As many as 100 local musicians, singers, and bystanders will be needed to accomplish this feat, which aspires to accomplish three things: raise money for the two charities, amuse the heck out of Traverse City, and create a world record for continuous live song performance. Participants are encouraged to form “teams” of four, who will play, sing and recite the song about 15 times per hour. Instruments will be available on site, with no amplification necessary.
Just in case there are Americans who don’t know Woody Guthrie’s lyrics, the song will be printed out on site. Worry not, says Skellenger. This is not a performance, but a feat of endurance.
Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage and Buckets of Rain have collaborated since 2006 to alleviate the hardships of families living in extreme poverty via education and food security. Safe Passage, founded by Maine native Hanley Denning, supports families living on the periphery of the Guatemala City garbage dump, and has attracted a strong northern Michigan following. Buckets of Rain, founded by Maple City musician Chris Skellenger, offers food security from Guatemala to Lesotho to inner-city Detroit.
Those who wish to support the nonprofits, can pledge a donation per song or for the entire event. Corporate sponsorships will be acknowledged on site and via newsletters and websites. To pledge a donation or to create your own team and reserve a block of time, call Skellenger at (231) 883-7213 or Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage’s Wayne Workman at (231) 590-0503. Downloadable information and pledge forms are also available at www.bucketsofrain.org.
The following video features a performance of “This Land is Your Land” in Traverse City on Wednesday afternoon:
