Contra dance is returning to a regular schedule in Corvallis this fall! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Masks are required at this dance

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

The Nettles

The Nettles play improvisational music based on traditional tunes. Playing hard, they’re a Celtic jam band that makes audiences move and groove. Playing soft, they’re a lyrical folk-jazz group.

The Nettles blend traditional Irish and American music with modern spices. Laura Brophy’s fiddle forms strong melodies punctuated by soaring improvisation and intertwined with Kevin Nettle’s muscular guitar. The Nettles are propelled by the purring but powerful rhythm engine of Michael Proctor on bass and Tracy Daugherty on drums.

The Nettles play for festivals, dances, bars, and weddings on the West Coast. Their music retains the vital energy of its roots, but The Nettles’ unique interpretations add to The Tradition with every performance. The Nettles joke that “We never play the same tune once.”

Kelly Tabor

Kelly Tabor is a caller and organizer from Portland, Oregon. She enjoys dances that play with elasticity of momentum and works to incorporate them at an accessible level.
dance I visit.

Emma’s Revolution
Moving Forward Concert

Known for fearless, truth-telling lyrics and melodies you can’t resist singing, Emma’s Revolution is the dynamic, award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O. The duo are in their 20th year performing together. Emma’s Revolution’s songs have traveled around the world and have been sung for the Dalai Lama, praised by Pete Seeger and covered by Holly Near.

With one eye on the news, Emma’s Revolution consistently writes songs about critical issues happening in the world and enthusiastically lends their voices to the movements those issues inspire. “Our House is on Fire” was selected as the opening track for Hope Rises, a compilation CD from a national nonprofit co-founded by Noel (Paul) Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary. “Keep on Moving Forward” opened the UN’s Committee on the Status of Women’s Bejiing+25 Conference. The song originally opened the NGO Forum of the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, becoming its unofficial anthem. Emma’s Revolution are winners of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize and the first Phil Ochs Award.

“Our work has always been about building connection, love and justice through song,” the duo says. “During this pandemic, we have moved much of our work online, creating opportunities for people to sing together (Zoom-style), use songwriting as a way to process emotions in an unsettled era, and attend concerts where they can have a sense of connectedness, solace and even joy in this challenging time.”

As independent artists and queer and non-conforming women, Emma’s Revolution has a national presence among communities, organizations and venues that share the duo’s vision of valuing people over profit, choosing compassion over violence, demanding accountability, and building a more just and sustainable world.

“Fervent and heartfelt” ~ The New York Times

Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .

Corvallis Hoolyeh dances are back in person

2nd and 4th Thursdays from 7 pm to 9 pm.

Hoolyeh Folk Dance
COVID-19 Policy

Updated 2023-06-13

These policies are created by an informal Hoolyeh Live Dance Committee and are approved by the Corvallis Folklore Society. They are intended to keep our community and dancers as safe, healthy, and happy as possible.

Folk dancing involves physical exertion and close contact with many people and is therefore associated with greater risk of viral transmission than other common activities. To protect our community as much as possible, Hoolyeh folk dances will have the following precautions in place until further notice, which meet and may exceed mandated COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Please note: People at higher risk of severe illness from the COVID-19 virus, or who are in regular contact with someone at higher risk, including young children and other unvaccinated people, should not attend folk dancing at this time.

All attendees are required to:

1. Provide an email address for contact tracing if needed (gathered at dancing).
2. Be mindful of others’ variable comfort levels, especially with respect to personal space and level of touch.
3. Feel comfortable wearing a mask if that is their personal choice.
4. Stay home if you experience any illness symptoms.

Additional precautions will include:

• An attendance capacity of 20-25 dancers
• Unscented hand sanitizer available at the dance
• Ventilation (open doors and windows)
• Attendees should wash hands regularly
• Letting Dana know if you have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms after the dance or in the following week

Current fees are $5 per person if not CFS member, $4 for CFS member, 18 and under $2.

Contra dance is returning to a regular schedule in Corvallis this fall! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

Three Piece Sutra

Contra Sutra, less their drummer and with a different fiddler, becomes Three Piece Sutra, with

• Marni Rachmiel on flute
• Betsy Branch on fiddle
• Dave Bartley on guitar, mandolin and cittern

Marni Rachmiel (flute) has been playing for contra and English country dances since 1990. She’s closing in on the halfway point of her goal to play in every US state, and recently added the UK into the mix after spending a few years based in Cambridge. Bringing soaring harmonies and funky groove on the flute & sax and matching tunes to dances for maximal dance ecstasy is her happy place. Her improvisational CD “Violet” with Reverie, including two of her waltzes, is available on Bandcamp. Besides the various incarnations of Contra Sutra with Dave Bartley, The End Effects with Anita Anderson, and other contra/ECD configurations, Marni plays with the Fremont Philharmonic and Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band.

Betsy Branch (fiddle) got her start at age 5 in classical music, and then in her 20’s fell in love with folk fiddle music. She has wandered her musical way through music from Ireland, Scotland, Appalachia, Quebec, Sweden, England, Bulgaria and New England, to mention a few. She plays regularly for contra and English Country Dances, and at times you can find her playing at a local pub. Her main work is teaching fiddle across the country, from Portland, Oregon to the mountains of North Carolina at the John C. Campbell Folk School. She was Program Director at Pinewoods Camp (Boston) for a camp called Harmony of Song and Dance through summer of 2023. As a music transcriber and editor, she has collaborated on a large book project with Kevin Burke, is the music editor for The Portland Collection (a series of contra dance tune books), and has collaborated with Sue Songer and Clyde Curley on a recording to accompany the books called A Portland Playalong Selection.

Dave Bartley (guitar, mandolin and cittern), combines a broad musical background with the rhythm sense of a drummer to provide an exciting and solid drive for contra, English
Country, ballroom and international folk dancers. He has played with the groundbreaking contra and couple dance trio KGB for 30 years and in other bands too numerous to list
here. He also has written almost 400 contra, English and couple dance tunes, many of which are now in circulation. In addition to USA and Canada, Dave has played in England, Franceand Australia. He has played in Balkan bands, swing and jazz combos, performed with the Seattle Symphony and Opera, performed traditional Greek music in concert in Greece, and at age 16 opened for Paul Revere and the Raiders. There’s more about him at davebartley.com.

Laurel Thomas

Laurel Thomas started calling contra dances in 2008. Since then, she has called at dances all over the Pacific Northwest, and has made several appearances on the East Coast. Dancers appreciate her clear teaching, articulate calling and her ability to choose fun, lively dances that have good flow. Her carefully crafted programs build skill level throughout the evening and aim to satisfy a mixed level crowd of beginning and experienced dancers.

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Revel’n

Evelyn Idzerda and Ron Snyder have wowed Best Cellar audiences in the past with their fine harmonies, flashy guitar playing and great song selection.

8:30 The Idle Hands Trio

Nick Rivard, Dave Chiller, and Ben Woodman will bring something new, to The Cellar: Acoustic Gypsy Jazz. Some great instrumental work to classic songs of the past.

 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 cellar” of the church, with an entrance around the back of the church.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@alyrica.net

Corvallis Guitar Society

The goal of the Corvallis Guitar Society is to act as a catalyst to bring local guitarists out of the woodwork and provide an opportunity to perform and enjoy guitar music in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The accent here is on participation and we hope people will want to participate in the open stage section also – no piece of music is too short or simple (though there is a five minute limit if we have a full sign-up sheet) and you are guaranteed a warm round of applause for showing us what you can do! We do have a limited number of open stage slots so be sure to sign up early at the front desk on the way in.

Our Mission

To promote classical and related guitar styles by providing a supportive performance environment for people of all ages and ability.

We seek to achieve this through a monthly meeting that provides an opportunity to discuss, listen to, and play solo guitar music including classical, flamenco, finger-style, jazz, as well as classical guitar ensemble styles.

Corvallis Community Choir first rehearsal

The Corvallis Community Choir is getting ready to begin a new singing term. We will meet Tuesday evenings, 7:00 – 8:30pm, from October 8th to December 12. Our fee is $70 per ten week term. But no one is turned away for lack of funds.

We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis – 2945 NW Circle Blvd. Come in from the parking lot on the west side of the Fellowship.

Come sing with us!

Corvallis Hoolyeh dances are back in person

2nd and 4th Thursdays from 7 pm to 9 pm.

Hoolyeh Folk Dance
COVID-19 Policy

Updated 2023-06-13

These policies are created by an informal Hoolyeh Live Dance Committee and are approved by the Corvallis Folklore Society. They are intended to keep our community and dancers as safe, healthy, and happy as possible.

Folk dancing involves physical exertion and close contact with many people and is therefore associated with greater risk of viral transmission than other common activities. To protect our community as much as possible, Hoolyeh folk dances will have the following precautions in place until further notice, which meet and may exceed mandated COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Please note: People at higher risk of severe illness from the COVID-19 virus, or who are in regular contact with someone at higher risk, including young children and other unvaccinated people, should not attend folk dancing at this time.

All attendees are required to:

1. Provide an email address for contact tracing if needed (gathered at dancing).
2. Be mindful of others’ variable comfort levels, especially with respect to personal space and level of touch.
3. Feel comfortable wearing a mask if that is their personal choice.
4. Stay home if you experience any illness symptoms.

Additional precautions will include:

• An attendance capacity of 20-25 dancers
• Unscented hand sanitizer available at the dance
• Ventilation (open doors and windows)
• Attendees should wash hands regularly
• Letting Dana know if you have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms after the dance or in the following week

Current fees are $5 per person if not CFS member, $4 for CFS member, 18 and under $2.

Roy Zimmerman is a satirical songwriter in the Tom Lehrer/Phil Ochs tradition with a great gift for clever and funny lyrics that really rhyme and an incredibly entertaining banter between his song

“You’re brilliant. Just brilliant!” — Terry Jones, Monty Python

Tom Lehrer himself says, “I congratulate Roy Zimmerman on reintroducing literacy to comedy songs.  And the rhymes actually rhyme, they don’t just ‘rhyne.'”

Joni Mitchell says, “Roy’s lyrics move beyond poetry and achieve perfection.

“He spent the Comedy Boom years of the Eighties doing stand-up in San Francisco, sharing stages with George Carlin, Bill Maher, Kate Clinton, Dennis Miller and many others. He wrote all the material for his funny folk music quartet The Foremen, recording two albums for Warner/Reprise Records. He’s done several shows with The Pixies’ Frank Black, swapping songs in a solo acoustic setting.“Roy Zimmerman simultaneously inspires me and makes me laugh my ass off,” says comedian/author Paul Krassner.

Zimmerman tours almost constantly, taking his funny songs about fracking, creationism, marijuana laws, government shutdown, same-sex marriage, guns, taxes and abstinence across the country, often playing in some of the least Progressive places in America for the most Progressive people there.  “I get accused of preaching to the converted,” he says, “but I don’t think of it that way. I think of it as entertaining the troops.”  The world is full of funny songs, but Zimmerman’s hilarious, rhyme-intensive originals are also incisive calls to action, smart, savvy and undeniable. 

His songs have been heard on HBO and Showtime. He has recorded for Warner/Reprise Records. He’s been profiled on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Zimmerman’s YouTube videos have amassed over seven million views, and he’s a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.Sing Out! Magazine writes, “Zimmerman is a guy on the left skewering folks on the right with rapier-sharp lyrics … underneath the caustic satire is a man who is surprisingly optimistic.”

Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .

Contra dance is returning to a regular schedule in Corvallis this fall! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

Loose Flagstone

Loose Flagstone celebrates its fifth year as a Corvallis Celtic quartet drawing from Irish, Scottish, and American musical influences both traditional and contemporary. Their contra repertoire explores a rich mix of Celtic jigs and reels, rousing old-time tunes and New England dance music. Loose Flagstone features Jennifer Parke on fiddle, Leslie Glassmire on silver flute, Tracy Daugherty on bodhran, and Marjorie Sandor on DADGAD guitar.

Shell Stowell

Shell Stowell started contra dancing in 2015, and has been dancing up and down the West coast ever since. Driven by her passion for the dance, music, and community, Shell now plays the fiddle and helps to organize contra dances in Corvallis, and has been calling since 2019. As a dancer, Shell is known for her enthusiasm on and off the dance floor. As a caller, she incorporates her love of teaching, organizing, and music to strive for clear, energetic instruction and variety in her programming. Shell also emphasizes safe, inclusive dance etiquette that promotes positive communication between dancers.

Corvallis Hoolyeh dances are back in person

2nd and 4th Thursdays from 7 pm to 9 pm.

Hoolyeh Folk Dance
COVID-19 Policy

Updated 2023-06-13

These policies are created by an informal Hoolyeh Live Dance Committee and are approved by the Corvallis Folklore Society. They are intended to keep our community and dancers as safe, healthy, and happy as possible.

Folk dancing involves physical exertion and close contact with many people and is therefore associated with greater risk of viral transmission than other common activities. To protect our community as much as possible, Hoolyeh folk dances will have the following precautions in place until further notice, which meet and may exceed mandated COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Please note: People at higher risk of severe illness from the COVID-19 virus, or who are in regular contact with someone at higher risk, including young children and other unvaccinated people, should not attend folk dancing at this time.

All attendees are required to:

1. Provide an email address for contact tracing if needed (gathered at dancing).
2. Be mindful of others’ variable comfort levels, especially with respect to personal space and level of touch.
3. Feel comfortable wearing a mask if that is their personal choice.
4. Stay home if you experience any illness symptoms.

Additional precautions will include:

• An attendance capacity of 20-25 dancers
• Unscented hand sanitizer available at the dance
• Ventilation (open doors and windows)
• Attendees should wash hands regularly
• Letting Dana know if you have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms after the dance or in the following week

Current fees are $5 per person if not CFS member, $4 for CFS member, 18 and under $2.

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Compass Rose

Compass Rose is a unique musical group that performs an eclectic mix of songs from around the world and across the decades. The band includes lead singer Jeanette Hardison, harpist/singer Laura Zaerr, cellist/singer Sabina Monn, percussionist George Beekman, and bassist Bill Veley.

8:30 My Canadian Girlfriend

This international duo of Ellen van der Hoeven, from Vancouver BC, and Tom Rawson, from Orcas Island WA are armed with banjo, mandolin, penny whistle, and other weapons of mass delight. Ellen and Tom love to strike up hootenanny fun on both sides of the 49th Parallel. Their humorous stories, user-friendly songs, and acoustic folk philosophy are guaranteed to have you singing along in no time and to leave you smiling. Tune up your vocal chords; you’ll need ‘em!

“I have a banjo and I’m not afraid to use it.”

 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.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .