{"id":2056,"date":"2011-06-24T12:25:44","date_gmt":"2011-06-24T16:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=2056"},"modified":"2011-06-24T12:25:44","modified_gmt":"2011-06-24T16:25:44","slug":"camping-by-the-river-with-pete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/music\/camping-by-the-river-with-pete\/","title":{"rendered":"Camping by the river with Pete"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Hudson River at sunset<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ve just returned from the most fabulous weekend \u2013 camping on the banks of the magnificent Hudson River \u2013 and singing along with one of my heroes \u00a0\u2013 the amazing Pete Seeger.<\/p>\n

Most people know Pete as a great folk singer. As a child at school, I had folk singing classes \u2013 and learned If I Had a Hammer<\/em> , Turn Turn Turn<\/em> and Where have All the Flowers Gone? <\/em><\/p>\n

At the time I didn’t understand their significance as protest songs \u2013 that came later. I never thought I’d get to sing them along with Pete.<\/p>\n

Last weekend I did just that, along with 15,000 other people at the great Hudson River revival \u2013 a music festival like none I’ve even been to before.<\/p>\n

In the late 1960s the Hudson River was polluted and dying. Pete decided to do something about it. That something involved fundraising concerts and a music festival to build the 106 ft sloop Clearwater.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The sloop Clearwater<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It took a few years \u2013 but in 1969 she was launched and began campaigning to clean up the river.<\/p>\n

The Clearwater is credited with helping to pass the environmental laws that have turned the river around and set standards for environmental protection that are followed in many other parts of the world. She spends her time working with schools and other organizations to educate people on the importance of preserving the planet. She also raises funds for the cause.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, as part of the festival, we got to spend a couple of hours on board, listening to some fine musicians and singing along as the wind slapped the sails and the water lapped at the hull.<\/p>\n

Watching wasn’t enough. Webmaster John and I found ourselves hauling the sails \u2013 fun \u2013 but hard work too.<\/p>\n

\"Avast<\/a>
Avast ye landlubbers!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pete is 92 years old \u2013 but he still plays at the festival. His voice has faded a little with the years \u2013 but his passion hasn’t.<\/p>\n

He played several times over the weekend \u2013 sometimes headlining the main stage with artists as renowned as he is. Sometimes singing in a small tent with the children. \u00a0<\/p>\n

He’s a dangerous man \u2013 such commitment is contagious.<\/p>\n

We are now proud members Clearwater Inc. I guess that means we sort of own part of the boat (a nail or two perhaps). More importantly, it makes us part of the vision.<\/p>\n

We’ll see you again next year Pete!<\/p>\n

\n
\"Pete<\/a>
Pete (blue shirt) on stage with, among others, Arlo Guthrie (black shirt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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(This great photo and the one of the sloop in full sail were\u00a0taken by Tony Hocking. Mary Hocking took the shot of our efforts at being a crew –\u00a0and the sunset shot is mine.)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve just returned from the most fabulous weekend \u2013 camping on the banks of the magnificent Hudson River \u2013 and singing along with one of my heroes \u00a0\u2013 the amazing Pete Seeger.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-my-travels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}