MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           August 3, 2010

AlgomaTrad 7th Annual Camp Gets Tuned Up
Algoma - AlgomaTrad is gearing up for its 7th annual Traditional Music and Dance Family Camp on the F&G Line, St. Joseph Island from Saturday, August 14 to Saturday, August 21.  There will be yet another great staff comprised of musicians, dancers, and artists from different parts of Ontario, Québec, and the United States.  Among them will be the renowned French Canadian group "Dentdelion", fiddlers James Stephens, Terri-Lynn Mahusky, and Dan Schryer, Irish flute players and Old Time banjo players Mark Roberts and Andrea Cooper, fabric artists Mireille Gagné-Moes, and many more.  AlgomaTrad is a one-week, residential camp that offers workshops and concerts in traditional music, dance and art at the Algoma Music Camp site every August.   Although the day schedule is closed to the general public, many of the evening events (concerts, dances, fundraising auction) are open for anyone from the surrounding communities to come and check out the scene. All events are admission by donation. Artist CDs will also be available at each event.  So tune in for some of the best traditional music you’ll hear in Canada, right in your own very back yard! 
AlgomaTrad is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of traditional music, dance and arts that are part of our Canadian culture and heritage (www.algomatrad.ca). AlgomaTrad is still accepting registrations to the Camp, and several workshop positions are open for the Canoe Building classes as well.  For more information, call Pat or Julie at 782 4311.  AlgomaTrad is supported by a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Wednesday Aug. 18th 7:00pm Fundraising Auction -
A live and silent auction which raises money for the “Nicholas Missere Bursary Fund” to make attending AlgomaTrad an equal opportunity for anyone.  The fund is named after Nicholas, an aspiring young local fiddle player with a zest for life and twinkle in his eye, who passed away just prior to the inauguration of AlgomaTrad. AlgomaTrad welcomes donations in the way of items, monetary contributions, or attendance to this fun event.  Over the years, the fund has aided dozens of individuals and entire families to attend the camp, disbursing over $3500 each year.

 Friday Aug. 20th 1:30pm - Final Student Concert -
An opportunity to come out and see what has been learned in a short period of 5 days, and to experience the wonderful community that exists at the camp.

For more information, please call
Julie Schryer or Pat O’Gorman
AlgomaTrad
Phone: 705-782-4311 / Email: jnotes@vianet.ca

Click thumbnail for larger version of the poster

Welcome to our 2010 website and to the SEVENTH year of the Algoma Traditional Music and Dance Family Camp (ALGOMATRAD)! We are a non-profit, weeklong, intergenerational residential camp offering workshops in traditional instruments, dance, song, art, and craft.  Workshops are for campers of all ages and levels of proficiency. Highly qualified and experienced practitioners of the traditional arts lead the workshops. Concerts and dances are scheduled each evening. We have activity programs for young children and an arts and crafts program for a variety of age groups. The camp is aimed at individuals and families who would like to experience traditional music and dance in an inclusive, caring and family-friendly environment. Although AlgomaTrad is primarily a residential camp, there are some openings for day-campers; please inquire as to availability. This year, 2010, the camp runs from Saturday, August 14 to Saturday, August 21. If you are interested in our camp please read on!

AlgomaTrad 2010

Again, we have to say “so long for now” to those incredible staff members of 2008 and 2009 who put so much into the camp…we think the Campers would agree that our staff is all that they would wish for and then some. So Thank You a million times over to Pierre, Ian, Duncan, Ananda, David, and Judy; you made your mark here and we are forever indebted to you for that… surely we will see you all again.  Returning this year are James Stephens, Mark Roberts, Andrea Cooper, Terri-Lynn Mahusky, Emilyn Stam, and Chelsea Sleep (as well as chef, Nelda Kent).

New to the camp is the inspiring traditional Québecois group “Dentdelion”.  Led by a long-time leader of the Quebec trad scene, fiddler, singer, and tune composer Claude Méthé, and his wife Dana Whittle (guitarist, singer, accordionist, foot-rhythmer), “Dentdelion” includes their 14 year old daughter, Beatrix Méthé, also a mighty fiddle player and singer; their friend Denise Levac, on flute and voice; and her son, Colin Savoie-Levac (and this guy is unbelievably good for his age, I think he’s 17, well, really he’s good for any age!) on banjo, guitar, mandolin, vocals, and percussion. Last summer, they put on a wonderful acoustic concert at the hall around the corner, and then our boys Zach and Benoit had a fun music session into the wee hours with Colin and Beatrix. Not only great music, great tunes, and great arrangements, but great folks as well!
(dentdelion.net)

Also, new to the camp are:
Kate Murphy, long-time member of the Ontario traditional music scene, will be teaching piano, stepdancing and joining in on all the clawhammer banjo action as well. Kate became involved in the Old-time Ontario square dance scene in the early 70’s as a piano accompanist, accompanying fiddler Tommy McQuestin at dances. She learned stepdancing from Alex Mulligan of Bobcaygeon and performed at festivals in Canada and the USA with the Mulligan Dancers. She has also played in Muddy York (with Anne Lederman and Ian Bell) and sang in The Dawnbreakers, a group which included at one time, David Traverse-Smith and Oliver Schroer, a dear friend of Kate’s.

Lorraine Sutton will take on the caller duties this year. Lorraine was a member of the Winnipeg/St. Boniface French Canadian Step dance troupe “Les Danseurs de la Rivière Rouge” from 1977-1980. She is a co-founder of the Toronto Country Dancers 1983-1989 and is presently House Caller for Fiddlefern Dances in Owen Sound. Lorraine is also into crocheting in a big way and there is talk of creating an “AlgomaTrad Hat”!

Mireille Moes, originally from Joliette, PQ, is a local St Joseph Island fibre artist who recently conducted a fun, day-long workshop in wool felting at our house. Her journey with textile and fibre explorations began in 1980 after she and her husband moved to St. Joseph Island. She has won many awards at local festivals and fine craft exhibitions and has taught numerous workshops throughout the area. “Quality over quantity, respect the material, keep it simple, keep learning, keep creating, experiment, re-cycle, re-use, question, avoid trends, keep an open mind....”

Please check out Artist Bios for more information about our 2010 staff and feel free to contact us with any questions or for more information about AlgomaTrad.

The History: AlgomaTrad 2004 to 2009