RagFest Music Festival

Ragtime Speakeasy a Smash hit


As good as was the first Ragtime Speakeasy (October, 2011), the one just held – on April 4, 2013 – was even better, with fantastic music from “Ginger Ale and His Sparklers” (Brad Kay and Those Syncopating Songbirds), wild antics from a cast of raffish characters, and a general air of breezy fun. The event also helped raise more than $2,000 to help produce RagFest 2013, and for one night, the Muckenthaler Cultural Center reverberated with vibes sympathetic to its origins – the mansion was built in the mid-1920s. See the full report with plenty of photos



Erika C. Miller Bob Pinsker	RagFest 2012, the 12th annual Orange County ragtime music festival, was a huge success in Fullerton over the weekend of April 14th and 15th. We drew a near-capacity crowd to Steamers for about half of the Saturday afternoon, while more than 500 people visited the Muckenthaler Cultural Center the next day and enjoyed several dozen sets performed by more than 40 pianists, vocalists, instrumentalists and band members. Continue to watch this space and check back with our home page. In the coming weeks, we’ll have photos of the event, a description of the Steamers performances and a review, by ragtime pianist-composer Fred Hoeptner, of the Muckenthaler portion of the festival. We’ll also have upcoming announcements regarding RagFest 2013, including dates, times and performers, so stay tuned!
	Here is the windup for RagFest 2012, the Grand Finale! We had a lot of performers this year. Many of them came up on stage at the end to salute the audience. To see more pictures and written reviews of RagFest 2012, go to the 2012 Photo & Written Review page. RagFest 2012 Grand Finale

The Orange County Ragtime Society

Continuing in 2013, the OCRS will meet eight times in 2013 at Steamers.

May 18 from noon to 3:30 p.m.
June 15 from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., Steamers Jazz Club
July 20 from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., Steamers Jazz Club
September 21 from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., Steamers Jazz Club
October 19: RagFest from noon to 6:00 p.m., Steamers Jazz Club
October 20: RagFest from noon to 4:00 p.m., Muckenthaler Cultural Center
November 16 from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., Steamers Jazz Club

There is no cover charge or admission price. Reservations are not required, but seating is first-come, first-serve. The format is 'open piano,' meaning that those with demonstrated ability performing ragtime (or ragtime-related music) are welcome to perform. See the OCRS page for further information!