2025 Corvallis Contra Weekend
February 14, 15, 16
Two bands, two callers
Corvallis, Oregon
Covid policy: Negative test at arrival, N95 masks required while dancing.
See below for details.
Two great bands and two amazing callers will keep you dancing all weekend.
Nova is a neo-trad trio hailing from New England featuring Kathleen Fownes on fiddle, Everest Witman on guitar and mandolin, and Guillaume Sparrow-Pepin on accordion and piano. Nova draws from both traditional repertoire and original compositions to create high energy music. Inspired by time spent abroad in countries such as Ireland, Scotland, France, and the Netherlands, the trio has incorporated the sound of contemporary European folk music into their repertoire.
Root System is a new collaboration featuring Audrey Jaber (fiddle) and Amy Englesberg (keyboard/accordion), members of Free Raisins and Wake Up Robin, alongside Anna Patton (clarinet) from Elixir. Root System melds traditional folk with contemporary flair, delivering a dance and musical experience that is sure to keep you on your feet.
Will Mentor is a contra caller from Northern Vermont known for his clear teaching, upbeat wit, and relaxed stage presence. He loves to choreograph evenings with a variety of dances and tempos that at times surprise and always delight, all the while keeping intact his guiding principle as a caller: “It’s about the dancers!”
Lindsey Dono hails from the Pacific Northwest and is a serene and sunny caller. Passionate about the user experience, Lindsey leverages a background in cognitive science and a career in tech to continually hone teaching skills. When not at the mic, Lindsey can be found mentoring up-and-coming callers, geeking out over choreography, and working on dance floorcraft.
Sound, as always, will be provided by the inimitable Alan Roberts.
Schedule: There will be dance workshops featuring Contra, more Contra and perhaps some other dancing. Also several music workshops led by members of the bands. There are also plenty of opportunities for some open waltzing, jamming, socializing and whatever you want.
Larks and robins? Teaching and calling will use the gender neutral terms “Larks” (dancer on the left) and “Robins” (dancer on the right). If you haven’t been dancing with these tags yet, you will probably encounter them soon. Now is your chance to spend a whole weekend immersed in this calling style.
Facilities: Contra dance sessions take place in Gatton Hall at the First United Congregational Church of Christ, 4515 SW West Hills Road in Corvallis (no change from previous years). This hall has a nice wood floor, recently refinished, so it is important to wear very clean, soft-soled shoes for dancing. There will be open waltzing Sunday morning in a different TBD location..
Sunday waltzing: There is waltzing available on Sunday morning, with music by a pickup band of weekend dancers and community musicians with a variety of skill levels. All musicians welcome!
NOTE: This is a fragrance-free event. Please do not use cologne, perfume; or scented deodorants, soaps or other grooming products. We will provide scent-free hand soap at the dance venues.
Also note: We will make no attempt to “role-balance” the camp.
Registration
Registration will begin Fall, 2024. Check back for more info.
Payment
After you register online, you must also send full payment for all dancers in your sign-up group. The weekend costs $100. We prefer online payment (PayPal, credit card, or debit card), but you can send a paper check to “CCW c/o Corvallis Folklore Society, P.O. Box 1690, Corvallis, Oregon 97339.”
We offer a limited number of half-price grants for those who might not otherwise be able to come. Simply answer “Yes” to the question about wanting a grant during the sign-up process.
We want to encourage early registration, but also to handle fairly dancers who don’t get prompt word about registration opening and to allow for slow mail delivery. If we have more dancers who register and whose payments we receive by December first, we will hold a lottery and start a waiting list. As soon as we can, we will generate a list of dancers to admit. An email telling your status will be sent as soon as we know, but no later than December 21st. If you have not heard from us by December 23th, please double check your spam folder, then check with us at cfs.dance.registrar@gmail.com.
Late Applicants: You will be added to the waiting list. Your checks will be held until you are accepted.
If you need a quick response, perhaps because you need to make travel plans, please mention it in the comments section of the application form (it can’t hurt to contact us too). We enjoy meeting folks from outside our immediate community and will do what we can to help.
We will assume you have your notification unless we hear otherwise from you!
Cancellation: We will refund admission less $10.00 if cancelled at least 10 days prior to the dance. After that date, the full fee may be retained: We will attempt to fill vacancies from our waiting list and issue refunds at our discretion. Please do not find your own replacement. Please do not bring illness to share with other dancers. Let us know if that is the reason for your cancellation.
Housing: Please arrange your own housing. For a comprehensive listing of Corvallis hotels, motels and campgrounds, visit The Corvallis visitors’ bureau lodging website.
Eating: In light of Covid concerns, you will need to find your own meals. We will not arrange open-house pot-luck luncheons in 2024.
Covid Protocol: We will be requiring proof of one negative Covid test upon arrival at camp. Please bring your test or a picture of your negative Covid test to registration. Order free tests here.
We will requiring you to wear a high quality KN95 mask throughout the weekend at camp.
If you feel ill at all either on the day of camp or any time during the weekend, please do not return. We thank you for not bringing your illness to camp!
For more information, contact the registrar at cfs.dance.registrar@gmail.com.
Forgot where to send the check? “CCW c/o Corvallis Folklore Society, P.O. Box 1690, Corvallis, Oregon 97339.” or check the FAQ
