CFAA Cultural Meetups (CCM) is a community program started by CFAA in 2016 to promote a low effort, high value performance opportunity for kids in our community (and those of you who are kids at heart).
These events went virtual during the COVID period and was paused ever since.
We are restarting this effort in 2024 demonstrating our commitment to the community development. The CCM we are doing in March 2024 is the 25th edition of this event.
Here are the guidelines for CCM:
1. Anyone can attend CCM FREE of cost
2. Anyone can perform FREE of cost . However, those who pre-register in the registration form below will get priority.
3. This is not a competition and there are no judgments. If you need feedback you should ask the teacher (guru) to attend and provide feedback
4. Parents of the kids performing are obligated to understand what CFAA is and what our mission is. Click on “About Us” Link at the top of this page to learn more
5. CCMs are always free and is funded 100% by the grants we seek by putting in significant volunteer efforts from the CFAA team
6. CFAA’s only goal is to encourage the performers and to give them a non judgmental platform
7. Every performer will get 5-6 minutes for their performance. We recommend that alapana, niraval and more involved singing is avoided at CCM unless there is extra time on the day of the event
8. You should plan to attend CCM only if you can commit the whole 3 hours to have your kids perform and stay to encourage the rest of the kids. If your goal is to simply come in for 5 minutes to have your kid perform, perhaps this is not the best fit for you
9. There are no pre-allotted slots. Please do not email us asking for timeslots.
10. The event takes place between 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon with no breaks
11. Order of performance is always on a first come first serve basis
12. When you sign-in, you should provide the following details (Name of the performer, Grade they are in, how many years of training, Song you are singing, Composer, Raga/Rag, Tala/Tal, Teacher Name)
13. ll singers are requested to bring your Sruthi Box/Drone/Phone Sruthi as required and come prepared to set the required sruthi
14. If you think your singer requires an accompanying artist you can arrange for that artist yourself. No permissions needed from anyone
15. You have to be respectful to the venue (they are temples and places of community activities so their activities get preference without notice). Also be kind to the volunteers who are doing this on their personal time.
16. Everyone is equal and there are no preferences of any kind at CCMs
17. If you are planning to perform multiple events, you have to wait until everyone present has had a chance perform at least once before you get your second chance
18. CFAA will provide professional sound system setup with amateurs to the best of our abilities. Glitches with these are natural in any setup like this. Please take this in the stride and work as one team
19. CFAA will provide tea / water / refreshments free of cost
20. If you have signed up your kid to volunteer at the event, first determine if you want them to be able to speak (they should be at least 10 years old to speak) or do other activities. No preparation is needed for volunteering. CFAA volunteers will provide instructions to them on the event day at the venue
21. If you want to support CCM and CFAA activities, ONLY thing you need to do is to attend all our events and become a Patron Donor if your financial situation allows (starts at $25/month). Click on the “About Us” link up top. This is not mandatory at all and you can always attend CCM events and perform there completely FREE of cost as mentioned above
22. Join the CCM WhatsApp Group, but use that only for discussions related to CCM and be respectful in all your communications
