The
story, according to Ron Kravitz, goes that some years ago, Elise Rivers of Community
Acupuncture of Mount Airy called him from Ashland, North Carolina 9 pm one
Saturday night where she was participating in a community drum circle and said,
“Ron we got 85 drummers here. We got to do this in Philadelphia.” And so she arranged
for a gathering space in the shaded park-like area adjacent to the Lovett
Public Library in Mount Airy.  The
local drum circle is now in its third year. Along with Kravitz, Bobby Tyrone
and Quint Lang, a drum teacher from Collegeville, help lead the sessions, open
to novices and experienced drummers alike.

But
Kravitz, of Glenside, appears to be the force behind the drum circle. He is well
known in the area for his association with or founding of a number of other
grass roots music ventures: Music in the Moment, Underground at Ron's, African drum
classes and more. He brings a selection from his 1000 plus collection
of Bata and djembe drums, bells, and other percussion instruments for anyone to
use.

About
25- 30 people participated at the first Sunday of the month July session on a
steamy hot afternoon including some kids who just had happened to be passing
by.

Among
the other attendees were several first-timers like 12-year-old Jacob Slifker
who had discovered the existence of the circle while searching online with his
parents for somewhere to use his djimbe. During breaks, he got some tips  from the experienced hands on using it.

The
afternoon heat and repetitive, shifting drum rhythms induced a hypnotic effect
and Kravitz drew the circled drummers into chanting along and some into
dancing. The circle next meets on Sunday August 4^th from 1-3 pm next
to the Lovett Public Library at 6945 Germantown Avenue.

Watch video here.