Hello fellow Shared Weight musicians, The info below is primarily for organizers but I wanted to share it with you as well given that many of you are organizers and/or you are also connected to so many organizers. [[[Note --> The Web Chat mentioned below is about OPEN DANCE BANDS!]]] CDSS has just made a number of exciting announcements regarding new resources that will support local organizers of traditional dance music and song. If you are willing, please share this info with local organizers in your network. We'd like to let as many people know about these resources as possible and word-of-mouth is so powerful in the trad dance, music, and song world. - *US organizers survey report out now! *CDSS has just released a report outlining the results the US organizers survey conducted this past spring. Here's the link: https://www.cdss.org/community/us-organizers-survey - *New e-blast for traditional dance music and song organizers: *The goal of this free quarterly e-blast is to support, inspire, and connect organizers. Check out the first Shop Talk e-blast here: https://conta.cc/2PlKAEr You can sign up to receive the e-blast at the bottom of the first Shop Talk. - *Online Organizer Resources Portal:* This is a very exciting initiative that will hopefully add to the set of tools available to us all. The goal of the Portal is to hold as many of the best resources as can be found which will support local traditional dance, music, and song organizers in their planning and decision making. For instance, visit this link to see specific resources organized by topic: https://www.cdss.org/resources/how-to/organizers-resources#resources-by-top… BTW - As one of the individuals working on the Portal, I know that the resource collection will only be as good as the resources it holds. ANNNND I alos know that local organizers have so many of the best practices and ideas already figured out. Thus, CDSS will be reaching out to local organizers over the next number of months to collect resources that folks want to share. If you're super excited about the initiative and want to start sharing your local resources now, you can fill out this easy form: https://www.cdss.org/share-your-resource - *CDSS's next online web chat - "Creating a Thriving Open Band": *CDSS held it's first web chat back in June which had to be capped because of the high number of people wanting to register! The next web chat is September 20th and is focused on Creating a Thriving Open Band. More information on the workshop and the registration form is located in the e-blast: https://conta.cc/2PlKAEr Note: I am sending this from my personal email account as I'm yet not connect to shared weight through my CDSS account. However, if you'd like to discuss Shop Talk (the eblast) or the Portal, please email me at emily(a)cdss.org. If you have specific requests or want advice from CDSS, please contact Linda Henry at linda(a)cdss.org. With thanks! Emily Consultant @ CDSS working on organizer supports PS - I have posted this on the Shared Weight organizers list and I will also be posting it on the callers list as well as the ECD and Pourparler lists as I'm guessing there will likely be interest there as well. Thus, if you're on more than one list, apologies!