ST. CROIX FALLS – Local drumming group, the Northwoods Percussion, held their community drum circle on Sunday, April 2, at the St. Croix Falls Library. Organizers Donald Karsky, George Free and Cathy Lathrop, greeted attendees enthusiastically and encouraged all learning levels to participate, even offering their own drums to use free of charge.
The group is in their sixth year of drumming, taking a two-year break during the pandemic. Lathrop had moved to Hayward from the Twin Cities where she had been leading drumming circles. Missing the camaraderie of drumming, she found that Karsky had been leading a group drum circle monthly, and together they worked on finding a facility to host monthly drum circles. Lamar School was a space they used for drumming and more recently the St. Croix Falls Library. Karsky brings his drums for attendees to use, Free manages the program in bringing the historical perspective to the circles, and Lathrop dedicated herself to the business and social media end of the organization. The group has a solid core group of attendees that travel from as far away as Turtle Lake. They haven’t ruled out the idea of scheduling more drumming dates throughout the area to accommodate those traveling far and possibly scheduling more then just one drumming circle per month.
Lathrop was very happy to see the smiling faces at the drum circle and added, “For us, it’s just fun and it’s exciting to get other people excited about it. We are so grateful to have this space at the St. Croix Falls Library to offer these programs free of charge.” First-time attendee Alissa Sunshine from Balsam Lake likes to gather with like-minded people and expressed, “Music is so healing and so soothing. It’s just so connecting.”
Anyone interested in joining the Northwoods Percussion in a community drum circle is encouraged to check the group Facebook page “Northwoods Percussion.” All ages, levels and smiling faces are welcome to attend.
