Every Folk
Point Reyes, CA, October 17th - 20th, 2019
A camp for grown ups to explore traditional music and culture
Camp with us
Every Folk is a three day all-inclusive sleep-away camp for adults to learn fiddle tunes and folk music while also exploring dance, herbalism, craftwork, and food. By practicing these inherited arts and skills, we deepen our connections to the past and build community.
Starts: Thursday, October 17th, 2019 at 6pm
Ends: Sunday, October 20th, 2019 at 12pm
Clem Miller Environmental Education Center
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes Station, CA
What?
When?
Where?
You! And up to 70 other folks.
Don’t play an instrument? Not to worry! Music is for every folk and everyone is welcome. We’ll sing, dance, and celebrate our shared human experience.
Who?
Learn with us
Dance
Though we anticipate (and encourage) spontaneous bouts of dancing throughout the weekend, we’ll lead an organized contra and square dance on Saturday night, with a professional caller and a band provided by… well… the group! Kick off your shoes and grab a partner.
Music
American traditional music is vast and has deep Celtic roots. We’ll learn tunes by ear on fiddle, mandolin, guitar and voice in classes that delve deep into specific regions and techniques. Feel up for playing for the Saturday evening dance? All levels and acoustic instruments welcome!
Ever marveled at a single slice of bread? Wondered what makes sourdough sour? Think of how much effort went into the process: from planting the seed to growing the grains, harvesting the wheat to grinding, kneading, and baking. It’s a lot, and we want to explore various forms of baking with you! These will be the tastiest classes.
Baking
Herbal Medicine
Nature is a healer’s playground. We’ll go on a plant walk and learn about the edible and medicinal plants that grow right beneath our feet. By the end of the weekend, you’ll have made your very own syrups and salves to take home!
Embroidery
Pulling from the rich tradition of embroidery, we'll practice stitches and techniques that can be applied to doing your own hand-sewing, mending, and darning as well as adventurous artistic self-expression in free-form stitching. No experience necessary! We will create a version of the "sampler," a traditional embroidery teaching tool, using forms from plants we gather as inspiration.
Stay with us
Sleep
Lodging is provided! Five rustic cabins with bunk beds are just a hop, skip and a jump away from the central building. You’ll also have access to shared bathrooms and showers. Bring your pillow and a sleeping bag or bed linens and join us in the wilderness.
Explore
Every Folk will take place at the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center in gorgeous Point Reyes National Seashore. Immerse yourself in nature as you enjoy songs by the campfire in an outdoor amphitheater, rustic cabins, and hiking trails...and did we mention? It’s beautiful.
Eat
We'll feed you, too! All meals will be provided, from our Thursday evening welcome dinner to Sunday's farewell lunch. We will do our best to accommodate dietary restrictions while serving up the healthiest, most sustainable meals possible.
Meet us
David Pascoe
Co-founder & Fiddle Instructor
David is a fiddler, mandolinist, guitarist, and singer with a penchant for writing songs. Music is in his bones, so don’t be alarmed if he wiggles when he plays! He performs solo and in various bluegrass and modern groups, teaches workshops and private lessons for all ages, and lives for the moment when music comes alive in the people around him.
Catherine Cresalia
Baking Instructor
Catherine has worked in different bakeries across North America, including multiple seasons at a small bakery in Tofino, Canada. While there, she took a liking to traditional bread baking styles as she learned to mill her own grains, make sourdough bread, and create delicious pastries in a wood-fired oven. Her life's three loves are food, music, and dancing.
Madelene McCann
Herbal Medicine Instructor
Madelene is a holistic health practitioner and founder of Full Moon Folk Medicine. She has taught herbalism at Humboldt State University and for environmental education organizations throughout northern California. Her work is inspired by the songs of the plants, rhythms of the seasons, and magic of the soil. With her love of teaching, farming, and food, she hopes to inspire the reclamation of the human body’s own ability to heal.
Laura Benson
Co-founder & Singing Instructor
Laura has been singing and playing the fiddle since childhood and has traveled the world with her instrument, pursuing new experiences, friendships, and adventures every step of the way. She is deeply passionate about ethnomusicology, mythology, nature, and community building.
Jesse Fichman
Guitar Instructor
Jesse started on guitar when he was ten years old, playing in the bluegrass band The Mighty Chiplings. From there he discovered the California bluegrass community, and the rest is history! For two and a half years now, he has played guitar (and sometimes melodica & clarinet) in Blue Summit alongside AJ, Sully Tuttle, and their newest member, Chad Bowen.
Connor Maguire
Dance Caller & Instructor
Connor is a farmer who has played music from classical to jazz to far east stuff and now is itching his scratch from being bit by the old-time bug. From frantically learning fiddle tunes to frantically singing ballads he hopes to provide a giddy and passionate sense of our shared history and values through our traditional music to every folk, every last folk yo.
Carmen Olson
Embroidery Instructor &
Volunteer Coordinator
Carmen is an artistic jack-of-all-trades. She loves to make little intricate things. And big wild things. To curate large-scale visual experiences and to create interactive art and performance. She particularly likes collaborations and community projects - to watch the way art can be a vibrant language of expression, presenting visions of what we hope and dream for in our communities and our world.
AJ Lee
Mandolin Instructor
AJ currently tours the California coast with her band Blue Summit, based out of Santa Cruz, as a mandolinist, guitarist, and vocalist. She was recently awarded Best Female Vocalist of the Year for the 8th time by the Northern California Bluegrass Society, and she was also awarded Best Mandolin Player of the Year for 2018.
Steve Lavering
Banjo Instructor
Steve started playing 5 string banjo in 1979 and has taught since 1989. He uses a song based approach for students to incrementally increase fundamental skills to play the type of banjo style/material that a student desires to master. When he's not teaching, you can find Steve in Southern California surfing or playing with The Pollen Collective.
David Cook
Camp Chef
David has become a culinary pillar of the West Marin community and prides himself on using fresh, local ingredients. He is a co-owner and chef at Coast Cafe in Bolinas and he hosts “Fishtales,” a radio food talk show on KWMR in Point Reyes Station. He has spent his last few summers as the Camp Cook at Point Reyes Summer Camp at the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center.
Pack
Please be prepared to bring:
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Sleeping bag or bed linens
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Clothes for all weather (days get hot, nights get chilly)
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Dancing shoes
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A refillable water bottle
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Sunscreen
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Instruments**
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Spare strings**
**if you have them
Join us
We only want your happy cabbage! Scholarship applications are live!
Click here to fill out a scholarship application.
We'll be accepting scholarship applications through Tuesday, September 10th, at which point we'll award a limited number of scholarship tickets.
Any questions or concerns? Email us at camp@everyfolk.com.
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