Calendar
Submit calendar info to:
calendar@corvallisfolklore.org
CFS annual Corvallis Contra Weekend 2023
Elixir
Elixir blends driving fiddle and guitar with the rich texture and rhythmic excitement of a full horn section, deftly weaving brassy riffs and daring solos in and out of traditional Irish, French Canadian and New England tunes. Elegant melodies evolve into raucous dixieland horn riffs; transcendent harmonies, playful improvisations, and rock, swing and reggae-inspired rhythms weave in and out of traditional and original Irish, French Canadian and New England tunes.
Countercurrent
A powerhouse acoustic duo based in Seattle WA, featuring fiddle, guitar, harmony vocals, and foot percussion.
Alex Sturbaum and Brian Lindsay display a musical fluency that comes from a decade of playing together at contra dances, concert halls, jam sessions, festivals, bars, and living rooms all across the continent. When dancers and listeners experience the blend of lyrical melodies, groovy chords, thumping percussion, and vocal harmonies all simultaneously, the reaction is usually “How does so much music come from just two people?!”
Nils Fredland
Nils Fredland has been calling dances with admirable skill and infectious energy since 2000. Respected for his expertise as a teacher and caller, sensitive leadership, and generosity, Nils is one of the busiest and most sought-after callers in the business. He draws on a large and varied repertoire of dances, presenting material from centuries-old “chestnuts” to cutting-edge contemporary choreography.
Nils is also known for breathing new life into traditional singing squares, and he has co-authored two books on the topic with master callers. Nils studied classical trombone at Indiana University, and has played his horn in ensembles ranging from symphony orchestras to ska bands. In Elixir Nils brings together his myriad talents in one thrilling package. Nils also works as the American Dance Publications Coordinator at the Country Dance and Song Society.
Jacqui Grennan
Jacqui Grennan is a contra dance caller, choreographer, and dance organizer in the Los Angeles contra dance scene.
A fixture in the Los Angeles contra dance community since 2010, Jacqui currently calls at contra dances around the nation and in her home community of Los Angeles, CA. Jacqui produced and organized the 3rd Saturday contra dance series held at the Woman’s Club of South Pasadena, CA, from 2014 to 2016.
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.
Register after Nov. 17, 2022 by completing the online application form or by printing, filling out and mailing the paper registration form.
Check the FAQ for Covid restrictions before registering.
The Best Cellar
Masks & proof of vaccination requested for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Jim Lynch
Jim Lynch is a singer/guitarist whose music reflects his passion for blues, country, old standards, and folk-inspired Americana. His set will include an eclectic variety of both well-known songs and hidden gems in these genres.
8:30 Loose Flagstone
Loose Flagstone is a Corvallis Celtic band featuring Leslie Glassmire (flute), Jennifer Parke (fiddle), Marjorie Sandor (guitar), and Tracy Daugherty (bodhran). Their repertoire explores a wide range of Celtic instrumental music, from great old Irish and Scottish tunes to some of the best contemporary Celtic music being played today.
Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is a sliding scale, 2-10 dollars, your choice. Kids are free and welcome.
Cookies, gluten free cookies, coffee and tea are available for fifty cents each.
In the sanctuary of the Methodist Church, on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
Corvallis Drum Circle
1st Saturdays, 6-7 pm
Outdoors @ 1st & Madison May-October
Indoors @ 101 NW 23rd St November-April
Free. All ages & skills. BYO drums & percussion
Info: Michelle drumcircleconnection@gmail.com
The Best Cellar
Masks requested for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Adam Scramstad
Adam is an award winning Acoustic/Electric Finger-style & Blues Musician, born and raised in Oregon. Performing regularly throughout the Pacific Northwest, Scramstad’s reputation as a professional Blues Guitarist & Vocalist is rapidly becoming widespread.
A strong and creative Songwriter in his own-right, Scramstad’s repertoire also covers a broad range of early American Folk/Blues artists’ works – such as: Son House, Bukka White, Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightning Hopkins, Blind Blake, John Fahey, Elizabeth Cotton.
Adam’s 2006 debut Solo album “No Sun Around Blues” climbed to #33 on the Roots Music Radio Blues Chart – June 2006. The CD is a mix of acoustic blues (w/vocal) & finger-style guitar songs, and quickly became a favorite of local NW Radio Stations. His music has been featured on the nationally syndicated “Blues Deluxe Show” as well as receiving regular airplay on many regional, national and international stations/shows.
Although he maintains a focus on Solo Acoustic Delta Slide & Country Blues (both vocal and instrumental), Adam also regularly performs with Blues Guitar Legend Terry Robb (Adam’s Producer & Mentor)– as an acoustic duo as well as slinging electric guitar in the acclaimed Terry Robb Band. You can hear Adam’s rhythm & lead electric guitar work throughout the 2012 Terry Robb Band release “Muddyvishnu”.
8:30 The Wallop Sisters
Suz Doyle and Jeannie Holmes (joined by their spouses, John Swanson and Nils Nielson) doing “Novelty Songs through the ages.” One of the most “alive” groups around. Full of energy, great singing, and some very special instrumental work.
Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is a sliding scale, 2-10 dollars, your choice. Kids are free and welcome.
Cookies, gluten free cookies, coffee and tea are available for fifty cents each.
In the sanctuary of the Methodist Church, on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
Corvallis Drum Circle
1st Saturdays, 6-7 pm
Outdoors @ 1st & Madison May-October
Indoors @ 101 NW 23rd St November-April
Free. All ages & skills. BYO drums & percussion
Info: Michelle drumcircleconnection@gmail.com
The Best Cellar
Masks requested for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Cassandra Robertson
A muse with a message, Cassandra has the heart of a lion, and the mane to match. Accompanied by her acoustic guitar, she floors the audience like a sonic boom with captivating messages of peace, prosperity, hope and above all, inspiration. Her unique style of “acoustic conscious folk” kick starts the heart and levitates the soul; reminding us all that we CAN positively affect the world we all share, as long as we choose planet over profit and remember to be ourselves.
8:30 Evelyn Idzerda and friends
Great vocal harmony and some pretty flashy guitar work.
Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is a sliding scale, 2-10 dollars, your choice. Kids are free and welcome.
Cookies, gluten free cookies, coffee and tea are available for fifty cents each.
In the sanctuary of the Methodist Church, on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
Salem Folklore Community’s
34th Annual
Westwind Weekend
of music and dance
A beautiful setting on the Oregon Coast. A pristine, sheltered beach, tidepools galore, wildlife in the water, woods, and air, hikes that lead to superb vistas up and down the coast. It’s a weekend at the beach, with music and friends old and new. It’s always sunny at Westwind, AND it almost always rains. Which is to say, any weather can happen.
A growing, family friendly community. More than a fourth of those who attend the Westwind Weekend are young people. Kids bring their friends. They dig in the sand, play Frisbee, hike, play cards, dance, play music, drink hot cocoa, help out, hang out, and build lasting memories.
Non-stop music jams. At any moment you’ll find swing favorites on the front porch, old-time in the shed, and Irish/contra tunes in the kitchen. Some of the finest musicians in the Willamette Valley come to Westwind and are joined by folks just learning to play and everyone in between.
Contra dancing and more. Friday and Saturday evenings feature the Westwind All Star Orchestra playing tunes, and dance programming that’s aimed at all ages and abilities. Expect family dances, contras and squares, and a set of Scandinavian favorites. Also find musicians jamming and swing or zydeco dancing underway outside the main hall.
Camper-led workshops. Gumboot dancing, daisy chain squares, swing chords, beach talk, favorite folk songs: come with your special talent to share or learn something you’ve never heard of before. Sunday morning expect time for singing the gospel of our non-denominational love of community.
A Saturday camper concert. Enjoy listening to the crazy, creative, and sublime as your fellow campers perform, or put together your own high or low art performance and step up onto the whale bone stage.
Happy, hearty vegetarian food.
Registration opens February 23.
Corvallis Drum Circle
1st Saturdays, 6-7 pm
Outdoors @ 1st & Madison May-October
Indoors @ 101 NW 23rd St November-April
Free. All ages & skills. BYO drums & percussion
Info: Michelle drumcircleconnection@gmail.com
The Best Cellar
Masks requested for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 A Bunch of Pals
A benefit for Mid-Valley Health Care Advocates
Audrey Perkins, Tim Hardin, Mark Weiss, and Chere and Cliff Pereira have been getting together to make music around a mobile fire pit during the pandemic and will share their music in various mashups. They play some very fun songs, use a lot of vocal harmony, and locally, lovingly, developed musicianship.
Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is a sliding scale, 2-10 dollars, your choice. Kids are free and welcome.
Cookies, gluten free cookies, coffee and tea are available for fifty cents each.
In the sanctuary of the Methodist Church, on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
Corvallis Drum Circle
1st Saturdays, 6-7 pm
Outdoors @ 1st & Madison May-October
Indoors @ 101 NW 23rd St November-April
Free. All ages & skills. BYO drums & percussion
Info: Michelle drumcircleconnection@gmail.com
The Best Cellar
More details soon.
Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
In the sanctuary of the Methodist Church, on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
The Best Cellar
50-year Celebration
Masks requested for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Some of the long time Cellar performers
including one who played the very first night of the Best Cellar, will be on hand. They include Rita Brown and Bill Smyth, Tom and Ellen Demarest, Barbara Gladstone, Audrey Perkins, John Swanson and Jeannie Holmes, Mark Aron, Sharon and Dave Thormahlen, Dave Plaehn, and Tim Hardin. We are also trying to track down some of the folks who created The Cellar back in 1973, so that we can honor them, as well. Please join us for this special occasion
Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
In the sanctuary of the Methodist Church, on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
Corvallis Drum Circle
1st Saturdays, 6-7 pm
Outdoors @ 1st & Madison May-October
Indoors @ 101 NW 23rd St November-April
Free. All ages & skills. BYO drums & percussion
Info: Michelle drumcircleconnection@gmail.com
Corvallis Drum Circle
1st Saturdays, 6-7 pm
Outdoors @ 1st & Madison May-October
Indoors @ 101 NW 23rd St November-April
Free. All ages & skills. BYO drums & percussion
Info: Michelle drumcircleconnection@gmail.com
The Best Cellar
Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Ben Woodman and Dave Chiller
Offering a set of original and standard instrumental music compositions, weaving guitar and percussion (tabla, handpan and cajon), in sweet dialogues, and intricate rhythmic harmonies, influenced by genres from around the globe. Ben has been diving deep into a variety of guitar styles, regularly performing in Portland and the Mid-Valley. Dave has enjoyed a long exploration of percussive genres and instruments, playing with a number of Corvallis groups over the years.
8:30 Singchronicity
Great vocal harmonies with strong instrumental accompaniment. Featuring songs from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, along with a few originals. Singchronicity has been performing together since the mid 80’s and features Jennie Wells-Whitney with Laurie and Randy Davison.
Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
In the sanctuary of the Methodist Church, on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com