AlgomaTrad 2018 is Open for Registration!

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The 15^th Annual Algoma Traditional Music, Dance, and Heritage Arts Family Camp 2018 (AlgomaTrad 2018) is open for registration. The camp runs from Sunday evening, August 12 to Saturday morning, August 18.  Click HERE to Register.

AlgomaTrad 2018 features an exciting cast of great Canadian musicians and artists who will spend a whole week on St. Joseph Island instructing and performing. Tom Fitzgerald, (thefitzgeralds.net) of the famous Ontario fiddle and stepdance family The Fitzgeralds, was the 2012 Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion;

Four-time Canadian Stepdance Champion and multi-instrumentalist, Kyle Waymouth, (kylewaymouth.com) will be at AlgomaTrad for the first time;

Cape Breton fiddler Dan MacDonald is a great performer and excellent teacher who just released his first solo fiddle CD Urban/Rural to a sold out show at Hugh’s Room in Toronto;

guitarist and singer Andy Hillhouse, an original member of Mad Pudding who has toured with Pierre Schryer and is currently Artistic Director of Harrison Festival in British Columbia, is returning to AlgomaTrad to lead group singing workshops and master guitar classes;

fiddler, pianist and accordionist Emilyn Stam (emilynstam.com) returns to AlgomaTrad after a number of years touring throughout Canada and Eastern and Western Europe with The Lemon Bucket Orkestra, The Shoeless, Eh?!, Filippo Gambetta (IT), John David Williams, and Té (NL). She also is co-founder of Balfolk Toronto, a new movement of social folk dancing in Toronto which hosts weekly drop-in dance evenings with live music;

and Irish flute and clawhammer banjo players, Mark Roberts and Andrea Cooper, will bring their creativity and expertise to the AlgomaTrad experience once again after a 5 year hiatus.

Returning from last year are: Michael Ball and Jody Benjamin (ballandchain.ca) who have been performing and recording on the Canadian music scene for years, running the gamut from old country and alt country to cajun and zydeco and from bluegrass to American Old-time;

amazing bassist/guitarist Joseph Phillips (Pierre Schryer Band, London Symphony Orchestra, Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project) is returning this year bringing his incredible musicianship and great teaching ability;

the ever-amazing multi-instrumentalist James Stephens, a core member of the AlgomaTrad organization;

singer/songwriter Reenie Perkovic and multi-instrumentalist Lea Kirstein, the wonderful duet that perform together as Citizen Jane and who’s workshops and performances are always extraordinary;

and Dance Caller Drake Meadow, from Ann Arbor, Michigan who brought his enthusiasm and experience with a variety of forms of community dance to AlgomaTrad 2017.

And of course, local family group The O’Schraves will be there with their joyous music. Basketmaker Terryl Ryan, blacksmith Denis Frechette, and members of Jumblies Theatre will fill out the program so there’s something for everyone at the Camp this year. Complete AlgomaTrad 2018 staff bios and photos can be found HERE.

AlgomaTrad 2018 will occur at locations throughout the hamlet of Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island including the Centennial Grounds, the Legion Hall, and the Old Town Hall. As is customary, workshops will occur 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday with a vast array of choices, including fiddle, piano, whistle and flute, guitar, clawhammer banjo, bagpipes, singing, Ottawa Valley-style Stepdance, contra, square and Irish set dancing, community arts, basket making, blacksmithing, and much, much more. Evenings will feature concerts, dances, song circles, sessions and a fundraising live/silent auction. The Annual one-of-a-kind Staff Concert Extravaganza is scheduled for Tuesday, August 14, 7pm at the Centennial Grounds. For Registration Fees and general information about the camp, click HERE.