WORKSHOP REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. If you are interested in participating in a workshop, show up at the workshop tent 15 minutes before its scheduled time to see if open seats are still available. Many workshops still have open seats.

2025 Workshop Program

The following is the list of workshops planned for the 2025 Native Rhythms Festival. All of these workshops are free, except as noted, where a nominal fee is charged to cover the cost of materials the attendee will take away from the workshop. All of these workshops have limited enrollment (most limited by the space in the workshop tent). Early (on-line) registration is strongly encouraged (when the registration opens).

Workshop Registration

Use the instructions at the bottom of this page for advanced registration for individual workshops. Seats in all workshops will be allocated on a first-come/first-serve basis, beginning with advanced registration from this page. Any remaining seats (not allocated by advanced registration) will be available for on-site registration on a first-come/first-serve basis at the workshop check-in tent. Once all available seats have been allocated, a waiting list will be established for each workshop.

When registering, please limit your selections to 5 workshops that you actually plan to attend. PLEASE do not register for workshops that you “might” want to attend. It’s not fair to others if workshops reach their stated capacity only because numerous people who aren’t sure they will attend have registered, and others who really want to attend are blocked from registering. If you have more than 5 workshops that you want to attend, list those additional workshops in the stand-by section of your registration message and you will be placed on the waiting list for them.

Upon receipt of your registration request message, our workshop registrar will send an e-mail to you to confirm your registration or indicate your position on the waiting list. That confirmation message will come from the e-mail address workshop.registration@nativerhythmsfestival.com. Nothing else will be accepted as confirmation of your registration. You may wish to print out your confirmation e-mail message from workshop.registration@nativerhythmsfestival.com when it arrives, and bring it with you to the festival.

In the past, some of our flute enthusiasts have registered for all workshops, including those they did not actually plan to attend. This prevented people wanting to attend those workshops from registering. We ask all to please be respectful of others. Do not sign up for workshops that you don’t definitely plan to attend.

On-line advanced registration will open when the workshop schedule is published and closes at the end of the day on Sunday, November 9, 2025. A waiting list will be maintained when the workshop capacity is reached.

A workshop check-in tent will be set up at the entrance to the large workshop tent. All advanced (pre-registered) registrants must check-in at the workshop check-in tent upon arrival at the festival on the day of their workshops to confirm their presence and their plan to participate in the workshops for which they have registered. Seats not confirmed in this manner will be reopened and made available to those on the stand-by list.

Although most of the workshops are designated as “space available” and likely will be able to accommodate all who wish to participate, we request that those who wish to participate in them submit an advanced registration request below so that we will have an idea of the number of people to expect and can plan accordingly.

Index of 2025 Workshops

Descriptions of 2025 Workshops

Title: Basic Introduction to the Native American Style Flute
Leader: Indian River and Riverwind Flute Circles’ members
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Anytime
Program Length: Variable
Location: Main festival grounds near the Workshop Tent
Class Size: No limit

A separate vendor-style booth will be set up near the main workshop tent for on-going instruction in the basics of playing the Native American Style Flute. Skilled players, including volunteers from the Indian River and Riverwind Flute Circles, will rotate in leading this workshop. Participants are encouraged to bring their own flutes. Instruction will include hand placement in properly holding the flute and covering the playing holes, mouth placement and basic breathing techniques, playing the basic scale, and other basic playing techniques. Instruction techniques will vary by instructor.

Title: Overcoming Performance Anxiety
Leader: Dr. Patricia Bay
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 15; 9:00 AM
Program Length: 1.5 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

Performance anxiety is the most common phobia in the United States. It is the fear of getting up in front of an audience and speaking or performing. It is what happens when you get lost in your anxiety and focus on the fear of failure, rather than on your presentation or performance.  It comes down to:

Performance = Threat = Anxiety

The good news is that it is very treatable. The skills taught in this class will serve you in your entire life. Whether you are dealing with relaxing during presentations at work or school or performing with your Native American flute, you will learn where those overly intense butterflies come from and coping skills to relax. Join us in enhancing your performance skills from the inside out.

Dr. Patricia Bay, Psy.D., L.M.F.T., is a psychologist with 35+ years in private practice, an author, and has a successful podcast entitled “Therapy in a Nutshell”. Her work with all types of anxiety issues, as well as being a musician, gives her a unique insight into Performance Anxiety issues. She is especially excited about biolateral music theory. Dr. Patty has played classical flute for over 50 years, piano, and Native American flute and didgeridoo since 2007. 

Title: Understanding Pow Wow Drumming
Leader: Lowery Begay
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 15; 12:30 PM
Program Length: 1 hour
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

If you’ve ever been to a Pow Wow, you hear the drummers playing and singing for the dancers. You also have heard drummers on our Native Rhythms stage during CreeAtive Native’s cultural experiences. But have you ever wondered about the traditions of the Pow Wow drum? At this workshop, learn about the meaning of Pow Wow drumming and singing to the Native people. 

Title: Prayer Ties/Tobacco Ties
Leader: Joyce Bugaiski
Fee: Free (but small donation to NRF would be appreciated)
Scheduled Date/Time: Friday, Nov 14; 4:00 PM
Program Length: 1.5 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: 25

In this workshop, you will learn how to make tobacco ties. We will be making traditional Cherokee ties and everyday ties for all occasions. We will also learn the traditions and uses for both styles of tobacco ties.

“I love sharing my art and mostly ‘self-taught’ skills with anyone who wishes to learn. I find great joy in seeing the excitement of someone who has just learned how to do something new that I have taught them.  It fills my heart and spirit with great satisfaction of knowing traditional skills and crafting will continue on for generations.  

In my adult life I have overcome many obstacles to reach my goals in learning and sharing.”

Joyce’s art has been published many times, including 6 editions of the Cherokee Heritage Calendar, and has illustrated 2 children’s books. She has also won over 100 awards for her art, including several at previous Native Rhythms Festival competitions. Joyce currently serves Native Rhythms as the competition coordinator and regularly leads workshops teaching crafts such as various styles of beading, dream catcher making, etc.

Title: Flat Reed Weaving
Leader: Joyce Bugaiski
Fee: Free (but small donation to NRF would be appreciated)
Scheduled Date/Time: Sunday, Nov 16; 2:15 PM
Program Length: 2 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Suggested Ages: 6 – adult
Class Size: 17

In this workshop, you will learn how to weave with flat reed. We will be making a flat reed coaster.

  • Kits furnished by the Cherokee Nation.
  • Quiet watchers are welcome.

“I love sharing my art and mostly ‘self-taught’ skills with anyone who wishes to learn. I find great joy in seeing the excitement of someone who has just learned how to do something new that I have taught them.  It fills my heart and spirit with great satisfaction of knowing traditional skills and crafting will continue on for generations.  

In my adult life I have overcome many obstacles to reach my goals in learning and sharing.”

Joyce’s art has been published many times, including 6 editions of the Cherokee Heritage Calendar, and has illustrated 2 children’s books. She has also won over 100 awards for her art, including several at previous Native Rhythms Festival competitions. Joyce currently serves Native Rhythms as the competition coordinator and regularly leads workshops teaching crafts such as various styles of beading, dream catcher making, etc.

Title: What You Didn’t Know About the Cherokee Trail of Tears
Leader: Johnny Kee
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Sunday, Nov 16; 12:30 PM
Program Length: 1.5 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

What most people know about the Cherokee “Trail of Tears” can be expressed in a single sentence: “The army gathered up the Cherokee people and forced them to walk nearly 700 miles to Indian Territory, present day eastern Oklahoma, where many died – giving us the name Trail of Tears.” Few know that the events that actually led to the trail began when President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase, partly to have land west of the Mississippi River to which the Eastern tribes could be relocated. Or that the Cherokee removal resulted from a treaty signed by former tribal leaders who had no authority to speak for the Cherokee people to deal with the federal government on their behalf. Or that Principal Chief John Ross’ wife died of exposure after giving up her blanket to a cold child. And that there was not a single trail.

In this workshop, Johnny will walk you through all that the Cherokee people did to attempt to satisfy the Americans’ expectations to be able to remain in their historic homeland. But how their successes actually made the Whites even more envious of what they had accomplished, and ever more aggressive in pushing them out, even after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in favor of Cherokee sovereignty.

This workshop will be jam-packed with information to give attendees a new understanding of this tragedy of American history.

Johnny Kee (aka John Ellis) first learned of his family tree’s Cherokee branch when researching for a junior high school genealogy project that emphasized the students’ family nationalities and ethnicities. The story he learned was about a family who traveled the Trail of Tears until they “deserted” the trail near Springfield, MO, his maternal family’s home, and where he was born. Over the years, including a week-long seminar in Cherokee, NC in July 2006, he has learned much about the history of the “removal” and wants to share that knowledge in this workshop.

The suffering on the Trail of Tears provided the inspiration for his first CD, called “Echoes From the Trail”, a tribute to the memory of those who were forced to make the journey, those who survived and those who didn’t. It consists of a dozen songs from the old Cherokee Hymn Book (first published in the Cherokee syllabary in 1829), all to the tune of familiar hymns and gospel songs. It was recorded by Johnny Kee, John’s stage name, honoring the Kee branch of his family tree, the branch that goes back to their traveling on the Trail of Tears.  

Title: Beadwork: Introduction to Brick Stitch
Leader: Anne Fay
Fee: $10.00 for kit you’ll work with and take home
Scheduled Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 15; 3:30 PM
Program Length: 2 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: 20

 The “Introduction to Brick Stitch” workshop covers the basics of starting a project, doing brick stitch, following a pattern, and ending a thread. The end result will be a pair of earrings.

Brick stitch is often used as the base for fringe earrings. It is an off-loom bead weaving technique.

 Quiet watchers will be allowed but may not have room for seating. You are welcome to stand and watch and quietly slip out when you choose.

Anne Fay is a beadwork artist based in Melbourne, Florida. Her beadwork journey began at the 2019 Native Rhythms Festival, where she attended a workshop on flat stitch beadwork taught by the talented Joyce Bugaiski. Little did Anne know that this workshop would spark a deep love for beaded wearables and art that has continued to this day. Anne placed first in the 2022 Native Rhythms Festival Art Competition with a ten-inch diameter beaded medallion, “Ursa Emerging”, executed in two-needle flat stitch with a peyote stitch edging (see photo above of her with it).

Title: Guided Nature Walk
Leader: Space Coast Regional Friends Group of the Florida Master Naturalist Program
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 15 at 10:00 AM, Noon, and 2:00 PM
Program Length: 30-45 Minutes
Location: Meet outside workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: 10 per walk

Florida Master Naturalist led nature walk through the natural habitats of Wickham Park. Learn about the unique plants and wildlife that make up natural Florida. Hike leaders are graduates of a Florida Master Naturalist Program class who want to share the knowledge they have gained about Florida’s enviornment with others. Participants must wear closed toed shoes.

Title: Stars and Skylore of Native Americans
Leader: Mark Marquette
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 15; 5:45 PM (gather outside workshop tent at 5:30 to observe sunset)
Program Length: 1 hour
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

Learn the Night Sky as envisioned by Native American tribes, and customs that have evolved from the stories in the stars. Presentation will include a PowerPoint slideshow describing some of the mythology and skylore of Native American tribes, including how they developed their understanding of the celestial dome of stars and wandering planets, the importance of the Moon in their lives, and their worship of the Sun.

NOTE:  Gather outside the workshop tent at 5:30 to observe sunset, and after the workshop, adjourn to the telescopes (around 7:00) to view the night sky.

Title: ENGAGE! Exploring Melody and Rhythm with Our Flutes
Leader: Timothy J.P. Gomez
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 15; 10:45 AM
Program Length: 1 hour
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

“ENGAGE! Exploring Melody and Rhythm” is an interactive workshop that invites all participants to explore the relationship between melody and rhythm, guided by the Timothy. This engaging workshop promises to elevate our appreciation for the flute, offering alternative insights into its versatility and expressive capabilities. Whether you’re a seasoned musician or just beginning your flute journey, ENGAGE! will inspire a deeper connection to our flutes.

Award-winning musician Timothy J.P. Gomez is a renowned musician, composer, and educator specializing in the enchanting sounds of the Native American Style Flute. Currently, Timothy graces the stages of festivals and concerts nationwide, leaving audiences spellbound with his mesmerizing performances. Furthermore, he generously shares his expertise through private online sessions and workshops, enabling aspiring flutists to broaden their skills under his guidance.

Title: Recording Your Music
Leader: Randy McGinnis
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Sunday, Nov 16; 10:45 AM
Program Length: 1 hour
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

A workshop on how to record your music, professionally, or professionally at home, or on your own gear, or what you need to know to work with other people. I’ll be working with John Ellis, who has also been doing this for years.

Randy McGinnis, Cherokee Native American, has won many Native American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award. He has seven CDs and has played all over the world, including with multiple symphonies in Europe and the USA. Randy also owned his own recording studio, Deer Star Productions. For many years he helped Native artists, and others, do professional recordings of their music.

Title: Playing Guitar with Native American Flutes
Leader: Mark McGourley
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Friday, Nov 14; 12:30 PM
Program Length: 2 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

 This workshop is intended mostly for flute players to get an idea of how to play along with guitar players or even guitar progressions. This can be applied to situations where the flute player has a friend who plays guitar to help guide them to synchronize keys and play chords that work well with NA flutes. But it can also be applied for someone (flute player or not) who wants to start learning some chords on guitar. The concept uses simple to play chords and starts with a 2 chord vamp then progresses to 3 chords.

This time, I intend to breeze over the guitar concepts and spend most of the time “jamming” in a few common flute keys that participants might bring along.

Bring your flute (any key) and/or guitar.

Mark McGourley is a seasoned performer and multi-instrumentalist with 40 years of professional experience. He started his career performing bass guitar, keyboards and lead vocals in a variety of cover bands throughout the Tampa Bay area. For the past 25 years he has focused more on his acoustic guitar and vocal abilities and has become a solid solo act performing at the top venues along the Sun Coast beaches.

More than 30 years ago Mark’s mother gifted him his first Native American flute and he has been playing and composing on it ever since. He has written several hundred tunes largely inspired by nature and many of these peaceful songs are based on melodies created with the NA flute. His original performances feature selections which are sure to soothe the soul from his debut CD titled “Universe Dance” as well as tunes from his upcoming second album focusing on NA flute, guitar and percussion.

Title: Rhythmic Connections: Drumming & Fluting Together
Leader: Holly Red Feather of Painted Raven
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 15; 1:45 PM
Program Length: 1.5 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

Enjoy connecting through rhythm with Holly Red Feather of Painted Raven (the Native American flute and world music trio of Annette Abbondanza, Holly Red Feather Harris, and Kimberly Kridler). We will connect through learning basic African Djembe drumming skills. This will be followed by each individual having an opportunity to play flute with the group providing supportive drumming. Participants are encouraged to bring their own flute and/or hand drums. A limited number of Djembes will be available.

Drawing inspiration from Mother Earth, Native culture, nature and wildlife, and combining the ancient Native American flute with today’s modern instruments and musical styles, is what creates the signature sound of award-winning Painted Raven, the Native American flute and World Music project of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Annette Abbondanza, joined by flutist and percussionist, Holly Red Feather Harris and flutist Kimberly Kridler.

Title: The Art of Storytelling
Leader: Dr. Frankie Rinaldi
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Friday, Nov 14; 10:15 AM
Program Length: 1.5 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: Space available

What I will cover in this workshop…

  • What is story telling?
  • Why should one tell a story?
  • How to choose a story and how stories will often pick you.

 

Then I will share two stories as examples.

I’ll go over the dos and don’ts of telling a story and cover ideas for where and when stories can be healing. Noting that humor always heals. If time permits, one-minute stories can be shared by the workshop participants.

Dr. Rinaldi has been a Storyteller with the Brevard Theatrical Society from 1984-2018. She is the author of six books and shares stories at organizations such as Zonta, Rotary, and church organizations.

She has conducted storytelling classes at the Sheppard Center and Senior centers.

Website: www.redfoxpublishing.webs.com

Title: Lakota Dreamcatcher Legend Storytelling and Craft
Leader: Carolyn Wilson
Fee: Free
Scheduled Date/Time: Sunday, Nov 16; 9:00 AM
Program Length: 1.5 hours
Location: Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size: 15 (children welcome – parents, please accompany your young children)

I will be telling the Legend of the Dreamcatcher according to the Lakota culture. Afterwards, participants will have the opportunity to create their own dreamcatcher. This presentation is geared towards ages 8 and above. Dreamcatchers will be prepared with vine and ready to create the web. I will provide the materials.

Carolyn is a homeschool mom of three children. She started homeschooling her children since they were little. Through this experience and using her Maters in Education, she has had the opportunity to teach other children through homeschool co-op groups about Native American Heritage and traditions. During these co-op classes, she would ensure to share reliable information while teaching them about the daily lives of Native Americans through crafts and activities. 

For this workshop, she chose to teach about Lakota dreamcatchers specifically to provide a solid foundation for the legend of the dreamcatchers, merging it with her ability to make authentic style dreamcatchers as she was taught at the age of 5. “I believe this will be very appealing to children for the fact that children love the concept of bad dreams being caught in a web.”

Title:  Catching WindDancer
Leader:  Ed WindDancer
Fee:  Free
Scheduled Date/Time:  Friday, Nov 14; 2:45 PM
Program Length:  1 hour
Location:  Workshop tent, main festival grounds
Class Size:  Space available

Enjoy an up close and personal adventure with Ed Winddancer! In this open forum he will talk about many aspects of his culture, regalia, flute, and songs. Great opportunity for kids as well!

In Ed’s unique and one of a kind stage performances, you experience the history and rich sounds of the American Indian flute, and receive a rare opportunity to experience authentic traditional American Indian dance. He teaches about his heritage, culture, and explains in detail, his traditional attire along with its history and significance.

Personal Professional Instruction

Accelerate your flute playing by taking private lessons from one of our headlining recording artists. One-on-one or as a couple, take advantage of the opportunity to get personal guidance in a private lesson.

The following performers have agreed to offer private, personal instruction for a fee. Contact the individual artist to make arrangements for your personal lesson. These artists will be available throughout the weekend at the festival site, or contact them by e-mail to make arrangements prior to festival weekend.

Mark McGourley  (Flute and/or Guitar)

727-463-3299  (text or leave voicemail)

2025 On-Line Workshop Registration

To complete your on-line workshop registration, complete and submit the following form. When your registration message is received, a confirmation message will be sent back to you. If you don’t receive a confirmation within 48 hours, your message was most likely lost and not received. If this happens, please resubmit.

If multiple people are registering for the same workshops, you may put more than one name on the name line. If multiple people are registering for different workshops, to avoid confusion, please submit a separate registration form for each person. Required fields are indicated by a red asterisk.

WORKSHOP REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. If you are interested in participating in a workshop, show up at the workshop tent 15 minutes before its scheduled time to see if open seats are still available. Many workshops still have open seats.