Here's a copy of the latest update I sent to my mailing list 11/28/06 (If you'd like to get an automatic copy in you own email box, just fill in the little box at the bottom of this page where it says "join annie's email list". HELLO EVERYONE!!! Peace, Assalam- O- Alaikum, Namaste', Nasdorovia, Shalom, Ajo, (& So On!) HAPPY THANKSGIVING, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HAPPYDAYS! (& to my friends outside the US who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but have a different version of a day of thanks... Happy That!) I know I have so very much to be grateful for... Especially YOU All... MANY heartfelt thanks for bringing such joy into my life & for being so supportive of me & of my music! It's been an interesting & blurry few months. Summer somehow morphed into winter & now the holidays are upon us! WOW! So on with the update... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1~ NEWS 2~ RECORDINGS (HOLIDAY GIFT SALE!) 3~ CONCERTS, SONGWRITING & PERCUSSION WORKSHOPS (Dec, Jan, Feb) 4~ GETTING OFF 5~ THAT OTHER ANNIE 6~ LETTER FROM THE EARTHQUAKE ZONE IN PAKISTAN 7~ JOY & BLESSINGS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1~ NEWS... It took a while to recover from my very humbling & powerful trip to Pakistan. There are notes & many photos at my website, so please do visit & comment. I recently received a beautiful thank you note from one of my now life heroes, Dr Noaman Siddiqui in Pakistan. I will paste it at the end of this newsletter so those of you who helped make my trip possible may also read how much our gifts meant. ~ MANY thanks for VOTING! We must now continue to raise our voices! YES we can make a difference! Peace WILL COME! ~ Summer festivals & song schools were a blast. The incredibly talented Salman Ahmad of the Pakistani band Junoon (which has sold over 25 million records!) joined me at Philly Folk Festival singing songs of hope & peace in English & Urdu! He is now en route to Pakistan & will be returning with a traditional flute for me. YAAAY. I look forward to future collaborations with Salman & his amazing wife Dr. Samina Ahmad. ~ Magfest (http://www.magmusic.com) was as always SUCH a joy! In addition to performing, I taught a percussion workshop & a Native American Flute workshop with my buddy Ray Wood of Island flutes... I'll be returning to the park for Suwannee Springfest in March. Earlybird Holiday Tickets are NOW available at http://www.magmusic.com/ticketsforspringfest.htm ~ Nurse Zone online Nursing Magazine recently interviewed me for an upcoming article about doing therapeutic music in Pakistan. I'm not sure when it'll run, but here's the website. http://www.nursezone.com/ ~ Yes~ I plan to record the biker song "Ride" soon... so stay tuned! ~ If any of you happen to be in Costa Rica over the holidays, I'll be performing at a really really snazzy theater in the mountain village of Monteverde with my great friend Robert Dean (Sinead O'Connor's former guitarist & also founder of the band "Japan" (check schedule below) ~ Since I'm finally back in Florida, I've decided to celebrate by performing & teaching workshops close to home for a while (minus my few weeks in Costa Rica). In addition to returning to the Tarpon Lodge where you can enjoy a 4star dinner while listening to music, I'm also REALLY excited about teaching songwriting & percussion workshops at Wildchild Gallery in Matlacha, AND I'll also be hosting "Songwriter Sundays" which will feature me, plus another songwriter, on the 3rd Sunday of the month at Wildchild! We are also welcoming any of y'all who'd like to sit in with a song or instrument to come on down!!! Check the schedule below for dates/times. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2~ RECORDINGS ~ HOLIDAY GIFT SALE!!!! It sure makes me smile when Y'all share the gift of music! Last year many folks told me they sent my relaxing instrumental CD "Winds of the World" as gifts & people said they loved them. (YAAAY) SOOOOOO I've dropped the prices of my recordings... to make it even more possible. Just go to http://www.anniewenz.com/products.html & you can buy the actual CD, (AND if you buy more than one copy of the CD, you get an xtra 10% off) OR if you prefer to just gift yourself, you can just download the songs from iTunes for just $9.99. OR if you live in the vicinity of Pine Island Fl. you may purchase a CD at: Wildchild Gallery in Matlacha, Island Variety in St James City (by the former Hardware store) Ada's Health Foods in Ft Myers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3~ CONCERTS, SONGWRITING & PERCUSSION WORKSHOPS (Dec, Jan, Feb) SATURDAY DECEMBER 2nd, Wildchild Gallery, Matlacha FL Christmas Bliss/KIDS Percussion Jam - Time TBA Price: Free! http://www.wildchildartgallery.com/ 239 283-6006 I'll be bringing kids together in a percussion jam-a-rama. Build a shaker, learn to be part of a band! Part of an entire day of the islands holiday celebration for kids of all ages! ~~~~~~~~~~~ THURSDAY DECEMBER 7th Tarpon Lodge, Pineland FL 6- 9:30pm FREE! http://www.tarponlodge.com/home/ 239 283-3999 I return to this gorgeous historical lodge nestled in the heart of paradise... please join in the bliss! ~~~~~~~~~~~ FRIDAY DECEMBER 8th, Wildchild Gallery, Matlacha FL Art Night Matlacha - 2-6pm Price: free~ Hope you buy a CD http://www.wildchildartgallery.com/ 239 283-6006 Wildchild Gallery is SUCH a FUN place to be on Art Night! Come join me as I float through this beautiful gallery playing flutes & dulcimer... sip wine, dance under the moon to drums & celebrate! ~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY DECEMBER 10th, Wildchild Gallery, Matlacha FL SONGWRITING WORKSHOP/Dancing with the Muse~ A Songwriting Journey. - 1-4pm http://www.wildchildartgallery.com/ 239 283-6006 Price: $45 Spend your Sunday afternoon in "Wildchild's Garden Paradise" learning the art of songwriting... from what makes a great song to catchy rhythms & rhyme, creative editing, song structure & more! You'll be HOOKED! ~~~~~~~~~~~ THURSDAY DECEMBER 28th, Bromeia Amphetheater! Monteverde , Costa Rica I will be part of a huge musical hoot & Beatles Tribute which my good buddy Robert Dean is putting together in this wonderfully cool mountain village in a gorgeous new performance center! Exact time & details TBA- so stay tuned! ~~~~~~~~~~~ FRIDAY JANUARY 12th, Wildchild Gallery Matlacha FL Art Night Matlacha - 2-6pm Price: free~ Hope you buy a CD http://www.wildchildartgallery.com/ 239 283-6006 Another AMAZING ARTNIGHT! Come to the Islands & share in celebrating the arts... I play flutes, artist demo their art, music, food, wine, chocolate... doesn't get any better! ~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY JANUARY 14th, Wildchild Gallery, Matlacha FL Price: $45 PERCUSSION WORKSHOP/ "Plays Well With Others... The Art of Drumming & Percussion" 1-4pm http://www.wildchildartgallery.com/ 239 283-6006 This hands on workshop promises to be both FUN & educational! Yes- you CAN do it! For anyone who'd like to learn more about the art of drumming & percussion ... from simple individual rhythms & drumming/percussion techniques to playing in a group and creating you own poly rhythms. I will lead a hands (& feet) on workshop using shakers, claves, brushes, drums, & found objects... (just like "Stomp!") Bring your own "whatever" or use something from my bag of tricks. For adults or mature young people... Also GREAT for teachers! ~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY JANUARY 21st, Wildchild Gallery, Matlacha FL SONGWRITER SUNDAY!!! - 1-5pm http://www.wildchildartgallery.com/ 239 283-6006 Price: Free~ Hope you shop at the gallery Join me & songwriting Diva Sarah Mahan in Wildchild's beautiful garden for an afternoon of music. Sarah's music & voice are SO soulful & bluesy!!! She's great! Bring your own (???) , bring a friend... shop at the gallery... gather... sing a song... just BE! ~~~~~~~~~~~ THURSDAY JANUARY 25th, Tarpon Lodge, Pineland FL Sunset Music at the Tarpon - 6- 9:30pm http://www.tarponlodge.com/home/ 239 283 3999 Watch the beautiful sunset, enjoy a 4 star dinner or coctails & listen as I sing about life, love fishing & bungy jumping! You may want to make a reservation... ~~~~~~~~~~~ FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9th, Wildchild Gallery, Matlacha FL Art Night Matlacha - 2-6pm http://www.wildchildartgallery.com/ 239 283-6006 Price: Free~ Hope you shop at the gallery Artnight is SO SPECIAL! Join in the music (I'm on flutes), wine, chocolate, friends, fun... ~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18th, Wildchild Gallery, Matlacha FL SONGWRITER SUNDAY!!! - 1-5pm http://www.tarponlodge.com/home/ 239 283 3999 Price: Free~ Hope you shop at the gallery Join me & Songwriting Diva Wendy Webb as we rock you in the garden all afternoon... Wendy's stunning lyrics are featured in NY Times best selling author Randy Wayne White's books! Please join in the bliss... bring your own whatever, tell a friend... float through the gallery... share a song... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4~ GETTING OFF If you'd like to be removed from this list or ned to change your info... Please go to the link at the bottom of this note & voila... byebye... (or if that makes you paranoid- send a note to me annie@anniewenz.com (but don't ask me to marriage you) (see below) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5~ THAT OTHER ANNIE Despite the fact that my name is Annie and I have visited & performed in Pakistan, I am not the Annie of the song "Mahia". (sorry folks;) Evidently when one googles "Annie" & "Music" my name comes up, as does the other "Annie". I know some of the guestbook mail I receive is intended for me from my new friends in Pakistan, but I do however receive some additional interesting emails because of the confusion. "I love you will you marriage me please call my cell phone..." Anyway- for those wondering... that's the scoop! (& no thanks I don't need a bunch of husbands;) (but thanks for the thought) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6~ LETTER FROM THE EARTHQUAKE ZONE IN PAKISTAN This is the letter I received from Dr Siddiqui in Pakistan the day before the anniversary of the Earthquake... This especially goes out to all who helped make that journey possible. It's for all of us! .................... Dear Annie God bless you my friend. May I take this opportunity to thank you once again for helping our people in need. Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the earthquake. I don't want to remember that day which was full of misery and pain. I feel contented that during the past one year we have at least tried to make a difference... difference from Pain to Relief, from Sorrow to Happiness, from Poverty to Progress... and all this was possible because of people like you and the wonderful friends like Nadeem and Co. (our "team of doctors") Thanks for being there for us in the moments of grief and sorrow and trying to heal the wounds by those wonderful sessions of music therapy.. Yours sincerely Dr. Noaman Siddiqui ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6~ JOY & BLESSINGS AT THIS REFLECTIVE TIME OF YEAR & ALWAYS... I KINDLY ASK THAT WE ALL CONTINUE TO TEACH KINDNESS, AND DO ALL WE CAN TO SPREAD JOY & LOVE & PEACE & BE EXAMPLES OF GOODNESS. WALK TOWARDS THE LIGHT, GIVE, SHARE, BE THANKFUL... PEACE Annie Annie Wenz http://www.anniewenz.com Performing Artist/ Songpoet/ RN/ Educator Player of Indigenous Flutes & Percussion Guitar, Piano & Harleys Sponsored by Island Flutes http://www.islandflutes.com/ Elixir Guitar Strings http://www.elixirstrings.com/ Rocky Mountain Slides http://www.rockymountainslides.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We fight & we crawl, following visions & mountains of people We've just got to have it all, but life is what's precious, possessions get heavy We can circle & rearrange all that surrounds us from simple to large as the sky After searching & searching for something majestic, the treasure's what touches inside. By Annie~ After Backpacking Around the World in 2000.