And the Beat Goes...

A drumming festival happens this weekend at Camp Kiwanis in Silver Springs, Florida. It's the 21st annual Paralounge Drum Gathering.

International percussion ensemble the The World Beat'nicks, the athletic Tampa Taiko, and celtic tribal percussion ensemble Tuatha Dea are among the headliners. This is a camping festival with some great learning workshops for kids and adults. They have extra drums to borrow if you don't have one -- how nice is that? .

I went to Paralounge when they held it at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida, and it was a really good time - kind folks and the percussion performances were fantastic, with performers showing us drum styles from all over the world. The drum circle was not your usual festival experience -- you know, drunk people who won't go to bed playing badly in the campground when everyone wants to sleep. This was a really good, really spiritual drum circle with dancing and transcendence.

Tickets are $55 for the whole weekend, and that includes primitive camping and an all-night drum circle with a great fire and drum circles. You can also get a day pass for $30.