General
Is this camp for children or adults? This camp is for musicians, singers, community dancers, and fans of traditional American Root music. Classes are geared for adult attention spans, but campers of all ages are welcome as long as they are into the music and can stay focused during class. Out of 120 students, there may be between 20 and 30 kids. We encourage kids to attend to keep this music alive and propelled into the future. This is a family friendly. multi-generational camp! We also have on-site a program specifically designed for young campers, which is taught by Amy Fairchild. This Musical Theatre program designed for kids age 10 and under and is operated from 9-noon daily. It is less intensive, and designed for a younger attention span.
Is this an Old-time Fiddle Camp? This camp offers a variety of genres; old time, swing, bluegrass, Irish, Southern, and more. Instructors rotate every few years to open up possibilities for new instructors and new genres.
How many people attend? Typically we have about 120 campers, 12 staff members, and half a dozen instructional assistants.
Can I bring family? Yes. If they are not signed up for music camp, they should not attend classes, unless they make arrangements to do so. They are welcome to attend evening events. If your family includes young children, as mentioned above, please consider the morning music classes as a fun and musical experience.
Can my child attend alone? No. All minors (under 19) need to be accompanied by an adult guardian (not necessarily a parent) who is responsible for them.
Can I bring my pets? Friendly dogs are welcome on a leash. Be sure to clean up after them.
Can I attend classes for more than one instrument? Not in the morning classes. Class sizes need to retain their size so that instructors get to know their students and build each day on what was worked on in the previous day. All other times (afternoon electives and jams) you can participate on any string instruments you want. For example; if you are in a fiddle class in the morning, but want to take an afternoon elective using your mandolin, and play banjo in an evening jam….go for it!
Are there classes for ukulele, autoharp, or dulcimer? Are there beginner classes for every instrument? We try to rotate the beginning instrument classes. Fiddle is not well suited for a beginning level instruction in a week’s camp setting.
How many people are there in each class? The morning classes, which are signed up in advance may have between 15 and 20, although it may vary. Afternoon class sizes will vary.
Registration
Can I come for (and pay for) just part of the camp? This camp is designed for full-time attendance. Modifications may be considered on a case to case basis.
If I come just to hang out and jam, I don’t have to pay or register, right? Wrong. This is a privately run camp on a school owned property. All guests need to register and pay. Exceptions may be made at the director’s discretion.
Can I sign up by phone and/or pay with a credit card? You can call for help if you’re having trouble with the registration system and we’ll help you sign up. And yes, you can pay by credit card.
I want to sign up for camp now, but don’t have all the money together yet. Will you take a deposit? Yes, you can make a deposit to hold your place, but please include a note specifying when you will pay the balance. A late fee of $50 may be added if tuition is not paid in full by June 1st. (The late fee can be waived at the director’s discretion for those on tight budgets who need more time).
I want to sign up for camp, but may have to cancel. What’s your refund policy? If you’re not sure you’ll be able to come, the best thing to do is sign up with a deposit of an amount that you are willing to donate to the scholarship fund if you can’t make it. That holds your place in the class, but still makes it easy for everyone if you have to cancel. If you are a “no-show” (those who don’t show up at camp, and don’t communicate that they’re not coming) do NOT receive a refund. If you are not there by 9 AM Monday morning and haven’t gotten in touch to explain why, you forfeit your spot, and your registration fee. (Exceptions may be made for hardship cases.)
Cancellation policy: Cancellations received on or before June 15, 2024 will receive a 50% refund. After that date no refund is given.
I want to come, but I can’t afford it. Can I get a scholarship? Are work trades available? Yes, and yes. There are some scholarships available for very low-income young people who are devoted to their music. If this sounds like you, your child, or someone you know, please email info@wvmusicalliance to apply. Scholarship recipients, or their parents, are asked to help out at camp with a camp chore or two (there are many to choose from). The scholarship program is made possible largely through the donations of generous campers who pay a little (or in some cases, a lot!) extra to help fund it. Many, many, many thanks to all those generous people!
Work trades: This option is intended for adults who truly can’t afford the fees to come to camp. If this applies to you, and you have something of value to offer, call to discuss partial reduction of fees in exchange. Some things that could be needed: graphic design, IT support or general computer help, publicity of all kinds (internet, radio, fliers at events, etc), massage, yoga, art, T-shirt production, cleaning, carpentry, goods, etc.
I signed up for camp but never heard if I made it into my class. Am I registered?
Don’t assume you’re registered for camp unless you received confirmation. All applicants are contacted when they sign up, usually by e-mail, and receive confirmation of their registration, or notification that they’re on a waiting list. Please wait one week from when you sign up, and then if you haven’t heard anything, there was a communications failure and you should get in touch to find out if you’re registered or on a waiting list.
Meals
How are meals handled? Many folks like to come prepared to make meals at their campsite. Others may feel they can afford the time to purchase a meal at one of several restaurants within a two block walk. The onsite catered lunch has been a “hit” with many campers. The charge for lunches Monday through Friday is $80 per person, catered by Z’sBBQ and served in the comfortably cool cafeteria. The catered meal option can be purchased as part of registration. If you choose to participate in the catered lunch, you’ll be glad you did–the food is really good, and eating with everyone in the dining hall is a fun part of the camp experience.
Can you accommodate vegetarian, vegan, food allergies, & special dietary needs? You can sign up for vegetarian meals, and we can meet other common dietary needs if you let us know in advance (food allergies, vegan, etc) when you register. We can NOT promise to accommodate all dietary needs, so please plan to bring your own food if you have serious restrictions.
What if I want some vegetarian and some meat meals? You have to sign up for one or the other. BUT, at the end of the meal, after everyone has been served, it’s OK to go through the line again to sample the veggie food if you signed up as an omnivore, or vice versa, if there’s extra left. “After everyone has been served” are the key words here, like wait at least half an hour after meal time began.
Camping
Are there RV hook-ups? RV’s are welcome to camp in the graveled school parking lot. There are additional RV and campsites available within a few blocks to a couple of miles from the school. Check www.wallowacounty.org/categories/rv_parks_camping.php
What’s the weather like in July for camping? Usually July is a beautiful, but sometimes HOT month in the Wallowa district of NE Oregon. Days are generally warm (in the 70s and 80’s), while nights can be a little chilly (in the 40s). But thunderstorms and rain are possible — it’s always a good idea to check the weather forecast and prepare accordingly. There are plenty of indoor rooms for evening jamming — if you’re dry and warm enough in your tent to sleep, that’s all you really need to do there.
Lodging
How about nearby lodging and restaurants? Wallowa Elementary School is located in the center of the town of Wallowa. There are a variety of eating establishments within walking distance of the school. The Mingo Motel (541-886-2021) is located 1 block from the school site and often gets booked up a year in advance.
However, there are several motels within driving distance. Please consult Wallowa Valley Chamber of Commerce for a list of available lodging. www.wallowacountychamber.com, or 541-886-2422.
Is there WiFi internet on site? Yes.
Is there cell reception? Yes. Mostly reliable.
Getting to Camp
How do I get to camp? The address of the Wallowa School is 315 W 1st St, Wallowa, OR 97885. Take I-84 East to La Grande (Hwy 30) to I-82 (Wallowa Lake Hwy)
Can you help me find (or offer) a ride to camp? Carpooling is in! If you are interested in sharing a ride to camp, indicate that when you register and you’ll be put you in contact with any others from your area who are also interested in carpooling. Ditto if you can give someone a ride.
How early can I arrive? You can arrive anytime after 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
I can’t get there in time for registration; can I arrive late? Yes. On Sunday, after check-in, the evening orientation and program starts at 6:30 PM. If you arrive late Sunday night, you will miss staff introductions and some fun first-night activities, but you’ll still be on time for your morning class (which starts 9:00 a.m. Monday). You can also arrive early Monday morning. Regardless of when you arrive, you need to check in and register when you get there.
Staff
Will the staff stay up late and jam with us? Many of the teacher’s assistants will. A few of the instructors might also, but most of them are pretty fried by the end of the day and need some down time to be off duty and rested for the next day. There will be some jams scheduled with the instructors as afternoon and evening elective choices—that will be your best chance to jam with the teachers.
Will the staff eat meals with us? We have a designated staff table in the dining hall. This is not meant to be elitist; meals are just the best time for us to have staff meetings. At lunch the instructors meet at the staff table.
Can I be a teacher’s assistant on the volunteer staff? Volunteers serve as teacher assistants in the morning classes and help run the camp in many other ways. If you’re interested in doing this, you should know about what’s involved.
First of all, your motive should be to help run the camp (as opposed to “getting in free”). Everyone at camp, staff and students alike, has time to have fun, but if you’re on staff it is hoped that you’re sincerely interested in doing what you can to help make the camp be all it can be for the students.
Secondly, since most of our volunteers serve as teaching assistants, you should be fairly proficient on at least one instrument, or preferably two, (and/or be a good singer), and be interested in, or better yet have some experience in, teaching or helping teach. To this end, it helps to have at least one reference from someone the director knows and trusts, like for example any of the instructors she’s worked with in the past.
You should like to work! as there is plenty of work involved in running the camp. Some of it is fun (playing music for the buck dancing class, working with an admired instructor in the morning classes, etc) and some of it is just plain work (moving chairs around, staffing the registration table, running errands, etc). A good attitude about working in general is definitely an essential component to being a desirable camp volunteer.
Then there are certain skills or attributes that are definite pluses. For example, help is always needed with publicity. This involves knowing your way around the internet and being able to find where musicians are likely to discover links to the camp website; chatting it up on Facebook or other similar sites; contacting radio stations, newspapers, newsletters, music teachers, etc; helping make sure we have fliers at bluegrass and oldtime events, etc etc etc. If this is something you’d be good at and like to do, you would be a very valuable volunteer and since most of this work happens before camp, you wouldn’t be obligated to do as much work at the camp itself.
Graphic artists also could provide valuable help, and people who are good with computers in general.
If some or all of this is sounding like it has your name on it, get in touch and we can talk about it. Contact director Robyn Burns at 503.423.7730 or email robyn.leeandra.burns@gmail.com
How do I get hired as an instructor? Generally there will be a good number of local teachers hired for each camp, interspersed with some from out of state. Some are nationally known; some less well known but great teachers. Great teachers is the key word(s) here—it’s evident that being a superb performer and being a superb teacher are often two different things. The camp benefits from having great players around, but even more important is people who are good at, and really enjoy, teaching. At the same time, it’s nice to have a certain number of people who are well known in the world of traditional music on staff each year. So these are some of the things that are considered in making decisions about who to bring to camp.
If it sounds like you might fit this description (great player/performer, fantastic teacher, working in the field and somewhat well-known), get in touch and we’ll talk.
Robyn Burns
Wallowa Fiddle Tunes
Camp Director
503.423.7730