| Breaking Up Christmas Dance | January 5 |
| Come dance on Saturday, January 5, 8:00 pm at the "Breaking Up Christmas" Square Dance, featuring the Thompson String Ticklers and Evie Ladin calling. Dance is at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street (between Broadway and Telegraph) in Oakland. This dance will be filmed for an upcoming PBS documentary about the composer Charles Ives, hosted by Michael Tilson Thomas and the SF Symphony. While we're not pretending that this dance is happening in the early 1900s, we hope the mood of the dance will bring to mind that bygone era. To that end we strongly urge you to dress in "timeless" attire: skirts for the women, no shirts with logos or tie dye, etc. | |
| From Women's Hearts & Hands Guitar Camp | January 18-21 |
| Mendocino, CA. Excellent guitar instruction for women by women in a supportive, beautiful environment. Beginner - Advanced Intermediate. Blues, Jazz, Fingerstyle, Celtic, Brazilian, Chord Melody, Chord Theory, Alternate Tunings, Performance Opportunities. Delicious, nutritious catered meals. INFO: 415-669-7447, www.WomensHeartsAndHands.com | |
| CA Sacred Harp Singing Convention | January 19-20 |
| 10:00 am, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA. All are welcome: come to sing, or come to listen!! INFO: 310 557-1927, calsacredharp.googlepages.com/home | |
| Oldtime Fiddle Contest & Festival | January 26-27 |
| Citrus Fairgrounds, Cloverdale, CA. Good food, great jamming, tough competition, crafters booths, door prizes, Saturday Night Dance and fiery Cajun and zydeco two-steps, workshops in fiddling, accompanists, clogging, story-telling, and more. INFO: 707-894-2067, www.cloverdalehistoricalsociety.org | |
| Russian Festival | February 1-3 |
| Russian Center, 2450 Sutter Street, SF. Russian dancers and singers, art gallery featuring Russian artists, delicious Russian rood and pastries, vodka tasting, tea from antique samovars and more. INFO: www.russiancentersf.com/russian_festival.htm | |
| SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival | February 1-9 |
| Venues around San Francisco, the East & North Bay. Concerts, workshops, dances, kids' show and more. Many great local and out of town bands. INFO: www.sfbluegrass.org | |
| Autoharp Workshop with Carey Dubbert | February 2 |
| Castro Valley, CA. Workshop with Carey Dubbert, autoharp and hammered dulcimer champion, 10:00 am-noon, followed by a pot-luck lunch and house concert at 1:30 pm, followed by a jam. INFO: Sally Schneider, 510-690-1775, | |
| San Diego Brazil Carnaval | February 2 |
| 4th & B Streets, San Diego, CA. Brazilian music and of all types, dancing, capoeira, food, and amazing costume. INFO: 619-224-4684, www.brazilcarnival.com | |
| Bluegrass on Broadway | February 15-16 |
| Downtown Redwood City, CA. FREE! Includes the Northern California Bluegrass Awards. INFO: 650-218-9845, | |
| Mariposa Storytelling Festival | March 7-9 |
| Mariposa, CA, near Yosemite. Magical weekend of storytelling. Patrick Ball, Milbre Burch, Lyn Ford, Andy Offutt Irwin, Barbara McBride-Smith (MC), Tim Tingle. Order tickets early - many performances sell out by January. INFO: 209-966-3155, www.arts-mariposa.org/storytelling.html | |
| Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Fest | March 8 |
| Sebastopol Community Center, Sebastopol, CA. Jam packed day of great Bluegrass & Old- Time music. Featuring: Nina Gerber and Kenny Edwards, John Reischman and the Jay Birds, Sol Flamenco, The Road Oilers, The Mighty Crows, Alhambra Valley Bluegrass, Julay Brooks and the Night Birds and more. INFO: 707-829-8012, www.cbaontheweb.org/cba_news.asp?newsid=2947 | |
| Sonora Celtic Faire | March 8-9 |
| Mother Lode Fairgrounds, Sonora, CA. Camping, Living History, Reenactments, Dancers: English Sword, Irish Step and Highland, Music: Black 47, Beoga, Cara, Malinky, Tempest, Wicked Tinkers, Golden Bough & Black Irish Band. INFO: www.sonoracelticfaire.com | |
| BACDS Spring Dance Weekend | March 14-16 |
| Monte Toyon Camp, Felton CA. Join us for our annual Spring Dance Weekend of dancing in the redwoods just east of Santa Cruz. The weekend is filled with classes in Contras, English Country dance, couple dance, and Squares; workshops for callers and musicians; dance parties; and much more! Lynn Ackerson, David Newitt, Nils Fredland with music by The Figments, Moving Violations, Bristol Players, Jon Berger, Chuck Ward INFO: www.bacds.org/camps/sprwkend2008/ | |
| Playford Ball | March 29 |
| Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Oakland, CA. English Country Dance and music. English/Special dance. Alisa Dodson with music by Rebecca King, Jim Oakden, Shira Kammen, Danny Carnahan. Rehearsal dance on March 28. INFO: www.bacds.org | |
| Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival | April 12-13 |
| 10:00 am-5:00 pm, Westside Park, Bodega Bay, CA. Wine tasting, food, live music, artisans and vendors, kids activities and the ever popular bathtub races. INFO: 707-875-3866, www.bodegabay.com | |
| Lark In The Morning Camp | August 1-9 |
| Mendocino Woodlands, Mendocino, CA. Registration is open for Lark Camp 2008 - its 28th year! Lark Camp is a celebration of music & dance that takes place in the Mendocino redwood forest. It fills up fast! Sessions 24 hours a day, music & dance workshops, dances, parties & more. Workshops for beginners-professionals. A unique aspect of Lark Camp is the great variety of music & dance: Irish, French, Hawaiian, Andean, Balkan, Cajun, Spanish, American, Middle Eastern, Mexican, African, Scandinavian, English, Breton and more. Full camp is 8 days, half camp is 4. Registration forms and complete INFO: 707-964-4826, www.larkcamp.com | |