“Every song is a picnic.” A benefit for the Rustic Falls Nature Camp

While tromping through the woods in southeast Wisconsin looking for a good place to fish, angler and baritone Warren Fremling heard the pounding of hammers. Fremling, choir director at Congregation Solel in Highland Park and a garrulous soul struck up a conversation with Eric Lentz. Lentz is the co-founder along with his wife Deanna Hallagan of the Rustic Falls Nature Camp, a place where at-risk and special needs kids as well as cancer survivors can get out of town and into nature.

Fremling wanted to help. He organized a concert with some of his pals.

On Sunday, April 18, 2010, 4:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Deerfield, IL, Rick Neeley, Small Potatoes and Warren Fremling will be presenting a benefit concert for the Rustic Falls Nature Camp.

Rick Neeley has been playing folk music in the area for four decades. His banjo picking and 12 string guitar playing hearkens back to the great old folkie days of the 60′s. Neeley is not only a fine musician but a very engaging performer.

“He has a relaxed rapport with his audience and a pocket full of great songs and stories. And make no mistake when Rick entertains the audience is his.”
.  . . The World Folk Music Company

The duo of Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso make up Small Potatoes.  Manning and Prezioso describe their music as “Celtic to Cowboy”  They both sing, they both play guitars and an array of other instruments.  They even yodel. “They don’t sound like anybody else. I like that. They lay out a blanket and every song is a picnic.” Warren Nelson Big Top Chautauqua/Tent Show Radio–Wisconsin Public Radio, Bayfield, WI

Small Potatoes

The classically trained Fremling began his career as a folk singer roughly “10,000 years ago.” You can preview Fremling’s CD, Dancin’ With the One Who Brought Me, at cdbaby.com. We wrote at the time of its release, “Listening to Warren Fremling singing folk songs is a pleasant antidote to the harsh screeching of the today’s media. It reminds me that there have always been struggles, tears, joys and love and that we have always been uplifted by our creative spirit.”

Creating a nature camp had long been a dream for Lentz and Hallagan. Here is what Lentz says about the Rustic Falls Nature Camp.

In June of 2005, our lives took an unexpected turn. I was diagnosed with colon cancer. My priorities became my family, my health and working toward a future. Rustic Falls could no longer be a dream. I am determined to make it a reality.

In September of 2006 we were fortunate enough to purchase a portion of an abandoned dairy farm. It is an ideal location for the development of our camp. I have spent the four years clearing and developing this property. We have put in trails that run through a pine forest. The view over the marsh land will be spectacular. We hope Rustic Falls Nature Camp will offer a place that will enrich all who come through its door.

This is a great cause and great bill. Tickets for the benefit  are just $20.00 for adults, $15.00 for kids 18 and under. If you can’t be there but would like to contribute, you may contribute to:  Rustic Falls Nature Camp, 8044 Karlov Ave., Skokie, IL 60076, Phone: (847) 763-2100, Email: rusticfalls@yahoo.com