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On Saturday, Takoma Park Middle School will become the site of the Midwinter Festival. Why? Because it's still really cold outside and the full-scale Washington Folk Festival is still several months away. Chair April Blum admits the event is a way to promote the various programs offered by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, but it is much more than that.

"I like people to not just come and watch," she says. "I would like people to come and do."

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own acoustic instruments with the intention of connecting with other music lovers for impromptu jam sessions.

"It's just a delight to walk the halls and see a group musicians in the stairwell playing bluegrass," notes Blum.

FSGW members refer to the event as MiniFest, although the programming is ambitious.

In room 122, a handful of entertainers will practice the art of storytelling. The most popular attraction might be the workshops. Throughout the afternoon, musicians will offer crash courses on everything from Scandinavian dance to guitar picking to the always popular doo-wop.

"When I stand in the hall and watch them come out, their feet are hardly touching the floor. They just float out," Blum says of Flawn Williams' doo-wop hour.

The members of Dead Man's Hollow, a bluegrass band that covers gospel murder ballads and the occasional Andrews Sisters tune, plan to give a lesson on close harmonies.

"We're just going to talk a little bit about how we use a blend of reading music, breaking down chords and our ear to find the harmonies that suit the songs," says DMH singer-guitarist Amy Nazarov. "There's science to it, and there's an art to it."

The group, which formed in 2001, contains six members with a variety of musical backgrounds. Guitarist and cofounder Mike Clayberg draws from punk influences. Nazarov enjoys "bad '70s soft rock."

"We are not straight-ahead bluegrass," she says. "We borrow from that genre and a lot of other stuff, too. We really do have a very interesting hybrid in terms of our tastes."

During the past nine years, Dead Man's Hollow has racked up five Washington Area Music Awards (Wammies) and recorded three albums. Nazarov says they don't deliberately aim for a vintage sound, yet their songs take on authentic Americana feel.

"I don't think we set out to write music that sounds old," she explains. "But there are reviewers who have described it that way, and we feel good when we hear that."

The group is scheduled for a live set in the cafetorium, a space that screams "middle school." Silver Spring-based singer Sheryl Sears, who will also play in that area, sees it as an opportunity to project a full sound.

"I've been in that space, and I know the distance between the audience and the stage is not that big," she explains. "I mean, it's a big space, but it doesn't go back so far that you can't see over people."

Although Sears enjoys singing Brazilian-style jazz, Saturday will be filled with numbers from the catalogues of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. Her usual trio of guitarist Carl Aiyeola and Allen Holmes on upright bass and harmonica are along for the ride. For MiniFest, Sears even added guest pianist Ian Walters and drummer Tim Brady. She promises "more of a torch element" when compared to her normal set.

"It's not just about me because I've got some amazing players who are capable of doing other work on their own," she says. "I'd really like people to get to hear them. That name [The Sears Trio] was really chosen out of convenience. It really is about all of the players."

Of course, it wouldn't be a FSGW event without some international flavor. Everything from Irish music to Guatemalan folk is on the schedule. Holding up Eastern Europe is Lyuti Chushki. The traditional Bulgarian melodies the band produces often sound frantic. At times, it's hard to believe the musicians can stay together.

"I don't mean to say that we're special or anything like that," says singer Tzvety Weiner. "It's just something that many people are not used to here. A lot of people are used to rhythms that you can walk to. [Balkan folk music] is irregular in that way. But after a lot of repetition, many people get it."

The complicated beats come naturally to Weiner, who grew up in Bulgaria with dreams of becoming a professional singer. She even attended a folk music high school. Then reality set in, and a career in technology became more realistic. Weiner didn't plan to revive her musical path when she ventured to U.S. to study computer science, but Lyuti Chushki founder Larry Weiner recruited her to join the group. She not only found the creative outlet she was looking for; she found a husband in Larry's son Brendan.

"I didn't really know myself as a singer," Weiner admits. "Believe it or not, you have to get into that mode of being onstage and being the center of attention."

Lyuti Chushki, which translates into "hot peppers," has performed at several FSGW events, and Weiner is happy to accompany instruments such as the gaida and the guitar-like tambura at MiniFest. The music she loves has become much more popular since she joined the band 12 years ago.

"This area's really growing for that kind of music," Weiner notes. "There's a lot more Bulgarians and Americans that really like this stuff. So, there's a lot of support."

A combination of acts new to the festival and FSGW veterans is what Blum and the rest of the organizers hope will attract a diverse audience from around the Washington area.

"We show up at 10 o'clock in the morning and it's a school," Blum says. "Two hours later, it's a party."

So, bring your guitar, and be ready for a good time.

The FGSW Midwinter Festival begins at noon and continues until 10:30 p.m. on Saturday at Takoma Park Middle School, 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park. Catch Dead Man's Hollow at noon. Sheryl Sears and Lyuti Chushki are part of the "Divas with Distinction" concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Ticket packages, including half day, child and family passes, range from $4 to $55. Visit www.fsgw.org for more information.