We’ve launched our new website. It’s new, so there will still be some kinks to work out. The exciting part is that we pulled it together in time to open registration for west coast camp!
The old website served us well for quite a few years thanks to Demetri’s creativity, technological savvy and deep, deep well of generosity. And while it is bitter sweet to see a body of your work pass on, Demetri confirms that passing the baton to board member Elena Erber and long-time EEFC member and former board member Matthew Fass is a welcome change of pace: “Congratulations on our new website. It really looks great and I know it will help shepherd the EEFC to being the ‘go to place’ for all things Balkan music and dance! Thank you for all your hard work!”
Why a new website? It was time to make the site easier to use. The site is designed to take advantage of newer technology like adapting to be viewed on different sized screens including handhelds. It’s built on a WordPress platform which provides a user-friendly back-end which means it will be easier for our staff and volunteers to add and update the content and keep you informed in a more timely manner. We’ve simplified many of the forms so we hope the process of registering or donating will be that much simpler. We’ve updated the calendar and have high hopes that you will use it often so it becomes the “go to ” place Balkan music & dance events and activities.
Rachel MacFarlane, Elena and Matthew have been pulling long hours to get the site up and running in time to offer a new interface for registration and payment. We made certain strategic decisions together regarding what content to bring over from the old site.
You may notice a few things missing. We’ve removed the EEFC radio since it hadn’t been added to for quite a few years. You won’t find the “Balkan Culture” pages for now. We’ll be relaunching that section with is resources and information about various aspects of Balkan music, dance, and traditions, in the future. We will take the seed of the idea that Demetri planted and grow into a revised and updated version. If you are interested in helping please volunteer.
Kef Times and Forum Folkloristika can be found under the “publications” drop down in the navigation bar. The contents of Forum Folklorisitka is being moved over little by little. Its a big job but we’ll get it there.