Calendar
Submit calendar info to:
calendar@corvallisfolklore.org
In 2004, Brian Hart (Brian O’ hAirt) was the first American to win the ballad singing competition in the senior division at the All-Ireland Fleadh.
Len Graham is one of Ireland’s best-known singers, having gained an international reputation for his inimitable singing style.
Through many seasons of collaboration, the two have distilled the best of these traditions into a performance that weaves stories, songs, tunes and dance into “the one tradition”.
Please walk, bike or carpool, as there is limited parking on site.
NorthWest Autoharp will be a unique experience. Lodging is luxurious – compared to the usual music camp. And yet cost is still modest compared to other music festivals. The location is quiet and contemplative; there won’t be any other distracting activities. The cast and crew are dedicated to our favorite instrument!
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. Beth Littlewolf has been our cook for 25+ years. She makes wonderful fare that brings us all together in the historic Wilson Lodge for family-style meals. Meals at Westwind include snack Friday evening, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday, and early-wake up breakfast fare plus brunch on Sunday.
Join us for a free one-day DIY gathering
of ukulele players to Converge in Corvallis. Our goal is to play music and have fun at all levels of experience as we play the ukulele. Share in the joy of playing music; connect with other musicians in the region; learn new songs, and advance your ukulele skills.
Take free classes, teach a free session.
This will be a Do-It-Yourself event. When you arrive you can simply take a class at your skill level, or you can teach a song, a skill or a theory to others. It’s as simple as signing up on a volunteer board.It’s all free!
No registration. Just show up.
This event will be free and open to the public. Help us invite and spread the word by emailing friends and the many ukulele groups in Corvallis, Eugene, Salem, Portland and other neighboring communities.
Volunteers interested in leading a session are requested to bring extra music sheets or educational material to share. There is a copy center right across the street from our venue if you should need it.
A quadrant of skill levels:
- Beginners
- Beginner-Intermediate
- Intermediate
- Intermediate-Advanced
Learn at your appropriate skill level.
The Convergence will feature a quadrant of areas for beginners, beginner-intermediate, intermediate, intermediate-advance skill levels. Each quadrant will have sign-up area for volunteers to lead a 40-minute session teaching a song or a skill or a concept.
There will be a time allotted for a children’s circle.
Location:
We will meet in Central Park in downtown Corvallis, which will give participants close access to restaurants, music stores, copy stores and other businesses. We are looking at alternate venues nearby in the event of rain, and will announce those if necessary. Refer back to this website for that information as needed later on.
Parking:
Free Parking Area is located in the heart of downtown and limited to 3 hours per block. Metered parking is available adjacent to the Free Customer Parking Area and free unrestricted parking in the areas beyond that. The Free Customer Parking Area and metered spaces are enforced daily between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. except Sundays and holidays.
Portland FolkMusic Society presents Singtime Frolics
a spring weekend of singing, jamming, learning and sharing at Portland FolkMusic Society’s annual retreat.
Registration is now open!
Early registration ends Feb. 22
click HERE for more information
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. Beth Littlewolf has been our cook for 25+ years. She makes wonderful fare that brings us all together in the historic Wilson Lodge for family-style meals. Meals at Westwind include snack Friday evening, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday, and early-wake up breakfast fare plus brunch on Sunday.
CAJUN CELEBRATION OF SUMMER!
Music, Painting and Dance
Join renowned fiddle player Kelly Thibodeaux and learn Cajun style fiddling (no prior experience necessary – fiddles available for all), paint a bayou tapestry, do the two-step, sample Cajun cooking and more to celebrate the start of summer with a Cajun party. All ages welcome!
Registration limited to 15, so register early.
American Banjo Camp
Spend a weekend away from the toil and cares of everyday life, with nothing to do but learn about the 5-string banjo or fiddle or guitar or some other instrument from world-famous teachers, play in jams, eat delicious food, and possibly even sleep!
The American Banjo Camp takes place on the first weekend after Labor Day each year at a camp on the Puget Sound.
ABC is a camp for adults of all ages (students under 18 may attend if accompanied by a parent). There you can study old-time or bluegrass banjo with world-class instructors. Or you can take classes in fiddle, guitar, or other instruments (see the schedule).
The schedule is packed with hands-on classes and faculty concerts as well as dozens of jamming opportunities. An “Extra Day” offers a band scramble, student open mic, hosted jams, and panel sessions.
Registration is now open. Click here for details.
Come join us for the fourteenth annual American Banjo Camp. The dates are Sept. 9-11, 2016. We also offer an optional Extra Day beginning mid-afternoon on Thursday Sept. 8 (for details, see below). Our new site is the Pilgrim Firs Conference Center near Port Orchard, WA.
American Banjo Camp offers a weekend of intense instruction with some of the best old-time and bluegrass banjo players around (not to mention great fiddle and guitar players), plus demonstrations, concerts, and plenty of jamming opportunities.
We have full time programs in bluegrass banjo, old-time banjo, fiddle, and guitar. We offer four levels of banjo instruction: Novice, Lower Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced.
Here’s our 2016 staff:
Bluegrass Banjo Instructors:
+ Janet Davis (Arkansas) – One of America’s foremost banjo teachers and a regular columnist for Banjo newsletter
+ Bill Evans (California) – Versatile instructor; veteran of Dry Branch Fire Squad and numerous other bands
+ James McKinney (Georgia) – Virtuoso in both Scruggs & Single String Styles.
+ Alan Munde (Texas) – Legendary picker, innovator, and educator; banjo player for Jimmy Martin, Sam Bush, and Country Gazette
+ Mike Munford (Maryland/Pennsylvania) – Hard-driving, eclectic player; banjoist for the well-known national touring band Dirty Kitchen
Old-time Banjo Instructors:
+ Riley Baugus (North Carolina) – Widely-traveled exponent of the Round Peak and other traditional Appalachian styles
+ Bob Carlin (North Carolina) – Versatile master of numerous traditional banjo styles; noted scholar of banjo & old-time music history
+ Michael Miles (Chicago) – Clawhammer innovator; known for his original banjo “suites” & for clawhammer adaptations featuring world music and classical music.
+ Joe Newberry (North Carolina) – Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist; plays a powerful clawhammer style; he often appears on Prairie Home Companion
+ Ken Perlman (Massachusetts) – Pioneer of melodic clawhammer; author of several widely-acclaimed clawhammer instruction manuals
Novice Programs:
Mike Stahlman from Portland, OR continues as our bluegrass novice specialist, and Laura Smith from Bellingham, WA is once again our old-time novice specialist.
The ABC Fiddle Program:
We offer a full time fiddle program at ABC. Returning as our principal instructor for 2016 is Erynn Marshall, the first woman (and the first Canadian) to win first place in old-time fiddling at Clifftop. Fiddle classes will also be offered by old-time fiddler Greg Canote and by bluegrass fiddler Paul Elliott.
New! the ABC Full-Time Guitar Program:
ABC offers a full-time program in guitar this year. The principal instructor in guitar for ABC 2016 is Chris Luquette, who plays in the Dirty Kitchen band. Camp accompanists Jere Canote and Peter Langston will also teach in the program.
Accompanists:
Our old-time accompanists for 2016 are Greg Canote and Erynn Marshall (fiddle) and Jere Canote (guitar). On the bluegrass side, Peter Langston is our guitar/mandolin/dobro accompanist, Paul Elliott joins us for his ninth year as our fiddle accompanist, and Mick Nicholson is back as our bass accompanist.
Special Classes:
ABC also offers a variety of “miscellaneous” classes. So far, our 2016 offerings currently include bass, mandolin, and jazz ensemble.
The ABC Extra Day:
Our Extra Day gives students and staff a chance to get to know each other, and ease their way into the regular Camp with a bunch of low-pressure activities in a relaxed atmosphere. Generally, on Thursday evening we have a student open mic and band scramble followed by instructor-led jams; on Friday morning we offer round-robin demonstrations. There is an extra charge for students who wish to take part in the Extra Day, which also covers the cost of lodging and meals (dinner on Thursday through lunch on Friday).
You can access artists’ bios, logistical information, and the registration form on our website, https://AmericanBanjoCamp.com. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to email us at info@AmericanBanjoCamp.com.
Portland FolkMusic Society presents
Singtime Frolics
a spring weekend of singing, jamming, learning, sharing and good food at Portland FolkMusic Society’s annual retreat.
click HERE for more information
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. Beth Littlewolf has been our cook for 25+ years. She makes wonderful fare that brings us all together in the historic Wilson Lodge for family-style meals. Meals at Westwind include snack Friday evening, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday, and early-wake up breakfast fare plus brunch on Sunday.
Hambo Workshop
with John Scott
Hambo is not a dance you can learn in 5 minutes. It takes instruction, time and practice.
- This class is for beginners, or anyone who wants tips & practice opportunity with coaching.
- No partner is needed!
- The May 6th evening contra dance will feature several live HAMBOS to practice your skills!