Links and Resources

Other Corvallis Associations

Corvallis Swing Dance Society
“A fine social club for dancing the Lindy hop and other street dances of the proletariat.”
Swing dances, 2nd Sundays  3-5 pm
Links to other swing and Lindy events in the region.
Corvallis Fall Festival
Annual, late-September arts, crafts, and live music.
da Vinci Days
Annual, mid-late July, Mostly closed down since Covid. Celebration of science, arts, kinetic sculpture, etc.
Chamber Music Corvallis
“Celebrating 49 years of bringing only the finest chamber music to Oregon”
Corvallis Community Band
“…a musical organization, open to any one who plays a band instrument with at least high school level ability. The Band’s purpose is two-fold: to provide concerts for the enjoyment of the community and to provide a friendly, high-quality musical organization for people who want to continue playing music with other like-minded people”
Corvallis OSU Symphony
Corvallis youth Symphony Association
Heart of the Valley Choir
“… the choir supports the music education and personal growth of 300 children from Benton, Linn and Marion Counties.”
Hilltop Big Band
OSU Music Department

Local retail outlets of note

The Book Bin
215 S.W. 4th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 752-0040
Used and some new books, CDs, and DVDs. Occasional live music.
Bullfrog Music
423 SW 3rd St., (541)752-1253
“…a shop dedicated exclusively to new and used fretted instruments.” New, some used, repair, and instruction. Moved spring 2008 to new address, above.
The Fingerboard Extension
120 NW Second Street, Corvallis, OR 97330 (541)752-5679
New and used musical instruments, more stringed than otherwise.
Gracewinds Music
(closed)
Grass Roots Books and Music
227 SW 2nd, Corvallis 97333, 541-754-7668
A local book and CD store, Grass Roots handles the sales of tickets for many CFS events.
Happy Trails
100 SW 3rd Street, (541)752-9032
“The Best Selection of New & Used CDs in the mid-valley area.”
Majestic Theater
115 Southwest 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR 97333-4737, (541) 758 7827
Home of the Corvallis Community Theater Available for rentals. Occasional location of concerts of interest.
OSU “Beaver Store”
663 SW 26th Street, 541-737-4323
The Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop
125 SW Washington, (541)752-7720
“New, used, and consigned Instruments, Lessons, Complete Accessories, Restoration and Repair.” Occasional instrument set-up, restoration, and repair workshops. Troubadour also occasionally hosts concerts.
Windsmith
1305 Main St. Philomath 541-609-1672
Wind instrument specialists, also work with stringed instruments
Winestyles Corvallis
2333 NW Kings Blvd, Corvallis, 97330, 541-738-9463
Wine store with occasional live music events. Occasional event ticket sales.

Organizations and events in the region

Eugene Folklore Society
Contra dances on 2nd and 4th Saturdays
Annual Dance Camp in early April
Odd year dance camp in July
Wooden Boat Festival
Held in September in Port Townsend, WA. Lots of music plus a great shanty sing.
Eugene Irish Cultural Festival
6th annual festival, March 5 & 6, 2009
Lane County Ukulele Club (ukulaneys – Eugene)
Cute on-line (flash) uke tuner!, chord charts, songs (in PDF files), sources for Ukes, and links to on-line tunes.
Salem Folklore Community / KMUZ
Salem Folklore has no online presence. However, the free music station KMUZ is associated. Mini-festivals in June and December, the annual Westwind Musical Gathering on the Oregon coast, the first weekend in May.
Salem Uke Strummers Association (SUSA)
Monthly gatherings (second Sundays)
Portland Country Dance Community
Contra dances on 2nd, 4th, and 5th Saturdays
English Country Dancing every Friday
Contra dance and music camp over Labor Day
(NEW) In-Town Contra dance weekend in May
PCDC has a nice set of links to other dance events
Portland Folk Music Society (Formerly the Portland Folklore Society)
Concerts, coffee houses, song circles, and open mikes. They also have a thorough calendar and set of links.
Portland Songwriters Association Society
Workshops (third Saturdays), showcases (second Wednesdays), seminars, quarterly newsletter (available on-line), song contest ($1000 in prizes), and membership directory.
Bubba Guitar (Old Time Music in Portland)
Thorough calendar and links (to articles, associations, and tunes), old-time square dances, annual Old-time music gathering (mid January).
Portland Uke Association
“Dedicated to the fun and fellowship of ukulele playing.” Monthly gatherings (fourth Sundays), with beginner instruction.
Mid-Columbia Folklore Society (Hood River and The Dalles, OR)
Contra dances on 2nd Saturdays, October to June
Occasional House Concerts
Annual “Simcoe Mountain Music & Dance weekend” (early September)
Central Oregon Songwriters Association (Bend)
Monthly gatherings (last Sundays), index of member bios,
The Olympia Old-Time Music Festival\
“This is the 2nd annual Old-Time Music Festival, held in beautiful Olympia Washington. There will be two square dances, an awesome concert, workshops for various instruments, and tons of jamming all weekend long. This is a festival for old time musicians, square dancers, contra dancers, folk enthusiasts, shape note singers, and all others that can enjoy having a good old time. Visit our website to find the detailed schedule of events.” $10 each evening, many free events during the days.
Northwest Folklife
Best known for the (free) Northwest Folklife Festival at the end of May (estinates up to 50,000 visitors each day for four days), Folklife also produces a film series and educational efforts throughout the year.
Seattle Folklore Society
Concerts, house concerts, song circles, a very thorough monthly newsletter, jam sessions, and contra and English Country dances. They also provide a lengthy list of places to play.
Songwriters Of the Northwest Guild (S.O.N.G.) (Seattle area)
Monthly gatherings first Thursdays), featuring workshops, presentations, and critiques. “Member showcase” links to member information and MP3 files.
Pacific Northwest Folklore Society
Fee library folk song concerts (summers) second Friday coffee house concerts, occasional house concerts, and an active web site with audio & video files, photos, and a listing of events.
Three Rivers Folk Society (Richland, WA)
Concerts, song circle, contra dances, coffee houses, annual “Tumbleweed Music Festival” Labor Day weekend
3RFS has a nice set of links
American Banjo Camp
Labor Day weekend, Fort Flagler, Washington
Workshops, jamming, concerts, and demonsrations. Register in advance ($395), first-come, first served.
Vancouver (BC) Folk Song Society
Twice monthly folk singing events, annual summer and winter retreats, informal events in member’s homes, and participation in major peace marches.
British Columbia Folklore Society
Folklore with a broad definition, music, songs, legends, material culture, and history.

Other regional dance organizations

  • Ashland- 3rd Saturday contra dances
  • Astoria -Monthly contra dances (dates vary). For more information, call (503) 325-0278
  • Bend -2nd Sat contra dances
  • Coos Bay -3rd Sat contra dances, start time 7:30pm
  • Eugene -2nd & 4th Saturdays
  • La Grande -NE Oregon Folklore Society – 2nd Saturdays
  • Grant County (Mt. Vernon) – Fourth Saturdays
  • Hood River -2nd Sat contra dances
  • McMinnville English Country Dance Lessons -Every Thursday (with break from Thanksgiving through New Years)
  • Portland- Portland Contra Dances – Every Saturday (some hosted by PCDC)
  • Elsewhere- Contra Dance Links on the Web
  • Elsewhere- The Dance Gypsy (New England and lots of camps)

Also of interest in Oregon & Washington

National Organizations

The Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS)
  • International membership organization,
  • publisher of books, recordings, and a monthly newsletter, (with an archive of articles)
  • organizer of week-long dance camps,
  • and source for many recordings and publications.
North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance
International organization, with a huge annual conference, almost a “folk music industry trade show,” now held in Memphis each year.
FAR-West (Folk Alliance Region – West)
The regional branch of the national organization, with a conference in the region each year.
National Old Time Fiddlers Association
Serving the Old Time Music community and promotes Old Time Fiddling throughout the world.

Other things

A webpage about “all” dance stylesBrief overview of dozens of dance styles, outstanding dancers in some of the styles, a few interesting dance moves. Very much not contra or folkdance oriented.

Whofish link for non-profit    https://nonprofit.whofish.org